Helping God Out?

When you look at the lineage of the Messiah you will see that He will come through the seed of Abraham but the question then is which of the two sons of Abraham will the line be passed.  Those who have been around the the Christian faith know the answer but take a moment to consider this. 

There are two places where you can read about which line the Messiah would come through.  One is in Genesis 17:17-19 which says: 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" 18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before You!" 19 But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him and then in Genesis 21:12 we read: But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.

What we see  here is the lineage of Jesus. He is coming through Abraham and Abraham has two sons – which is he going to come through and why? Abraham’s response in Genesis 17:18 show that by this time, he was quite content with Ishmael as the promised son. He believed that Ishmael is the one that is promised. In 13 years, Abraham had grown quite attached to the boy. But God definitely rejects Ishmael and states that Sarah will bear Abraham a son and that this son will be the one with whom God will establish His covenant.

Why not Ishmael? Because Ishmael represented man’s effort helping God out. In Ishmael, Abraham could boast, because he was able to produce a son. But by the time Isaac came along, both Abraham and Sarah were humanly beyond their ability to reproduce. They could take none of the credit. All the glory went to God. God’s delay with Abraham and Sarah brought them to the end of themselves so that His grace got all the credit. If our proud flesh can grab any glory for itself, it will. That’s why God waits until we come to the end of ourselves many times to meet our needs – so we do not take credit.

Again, this is true of salvation. If we think that we can contribute anything to our own salvation, we’ll take the credit. If we think we came to Christ by our own free will, we’ll boast in our wise choice. If we think it was by our faith, we’ll boast in our great faith. If we think it was by our rational ability, we’ll boast in our great intellect. But if our salvation depends solely on God, and if God chose those who were foolish, weak, and despised, then no man can boast before God as Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 1:27-31.

We can’t take any credit for our salvation if it is totally of God and not at all from us. In our flesh, we can produce an Ishmael and its good enough for us, but God doesn’t work that way. He wants to bring us all to the end of ourselves, and then He gives us Isaac as a free gift, so that we bow before Him, lost in wonder.

So when it comes to the lineage of Jesus he could not come through Ishmael who was of the flesh but had to come through Isaac who was of the Sprit and miraculous. We can see in in two places in the New Testament that Christ came through Isaac. We see it in Matthew 1:1-2 which says: The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: It is also seen in Luke 3:34 which says: the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor.

So for us we need to make sure this Christmas we are worshipping the one who came through the Spirit and miraculous line. We also need to make sure we are not trying to help God out in our flesh but allowing God to be God and do His God thing! Too often we want to help God along like Abraham did with Ishmael.

What is one way you have tried to help God out in life?

(I will be out almost all day so I will respond when I get a chance)

Abraham- 5 Lessons–Part 5

 The Final lessons in these 5 lessons is:

God Blessed when Abraham trusted.

Genesis 22:15 – 18 – Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the  sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

Because Abrahams trusted God for the provision, God provided abundantly. God just did not bless Abraham a little but he blessed his socks off. Have you ever met those people that God just seems to bless them around every turn? I would say that most likely they are people who are trusting God with radical obedience.

Abraham was blessed by God in the present and in the future. Keep that in mind, because there might be those times when you are faithful and the blessing do not seem to be right on the heels of your faithfulness. God gave a might blessing but there was plenty of obedience required to get to that point. God may choose to bless earlier here on Earth but the real blessings come when that day we reach heaven. We need to be storing up our treasures in heaven as Jesus tells us.

Are you trusting and being blessed beyond measure?  Trust God and Store up those treasures in heaven!

When you are done reading this today I want you to remember the 5 lessons from Abraham that we looked at this week:

1. God calls you by name so be listening and respond.

2. God has given us instructions  and so we need to be obedient to them regardless of how much information we are given.

3. Trust God for any and all results

4. God provides when we trust.

5. God will bless when we trust.

We need to be placing our trust in God and live it out in obedience and he will take care of us.

What do you think about all this?

Abraham–5 Lessons- Part 4

Lesson #4 -  God provided when Abraham trusted

Genesis 22:9, 10 – Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

Picture in your mind this teen boy getting everything ready and wondering where the sacrifice is then his dad says – come on over here I need to tie you up. You have this boy who is big enough to fight back but he does not. At this time, Abraham was more than 100 years old, and Isaac would have been able to get away had he chosen to. Yet he submits to his father perfectly. In remembering Abraham’s faith, we should never forget Isaac’s faith. Abraham then says to Isaac, Go ahead and climb up on that pile of wood there. You can see the tears streaming down Abrahams cheeks as he lifts the knife. Imagine the look on the face Isaac as he sees his dad with the knife over him.

At this time, Abraham doesn’t know how God will provide. He is still trusting in the ability of God to raise Isaac from the dead, but he won’t stop trusting just because he doesn’t know how God will come through. Abraham knew God would provide a sacrifice, but where? Where was the lamb? That question had been asked by all the faithful, from Isaac to Moses to David to Isaiah, all the way to the time of John the Baptist when he declares: Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! In John 1:29.

We see that Abraham was ready to do the unthinkable then God provided: Verses 11 – 14 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 stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." ¹³ Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided."

Abraham trusted and it did not look like God was going to come through but then – He stops Abraham and provides a ram. You might say that it is not fair and it is not right that God would tell Abraham to do something then stop him. If God really wanted to test Abraham, why didn’t He make him plunge the knife into his son’s chest? What we fail to understand at times is that God often takes the will for the deed with his people. When He finds them truly willing to make the sacrifice He demands, He often does not require it. People can tell God tell they will not do something – then the say they will – then God says alright – you do not have to do it because you heart is in the right place now.

Abraham displayed his heart towards God in that he was willing to give his only son. God displays His heart towards us in the same way, by giving His only begotten Son. When God asked Abraham for the ultimate demonstration of love and commitment, He asked for Abraham’s son. When the Father wanted to show us the ultimate demonstration of His love and commitment to us, He gave us His Son. Have you accepted the gift of the Son in your life? God has demonstrated His love for us by giving His only son.

That is what happens when we trust God, He Provides for us.  Have you been living in a way that shows your trust in God – He will provide every time!

What are your thoughts?

Abraham–5 Lessons–Part 3

Installment 3 of 5 lessons from Abraham.   Here is today’s lesson:  Abraham Trusted God for the results – even when God was silent and Isaac was not.

Look at Genesis 22 verses 4 – 8 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you." 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 the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.

Abraham saw the spot off in the distance where they were to go and sacrifice. We see in verse 5 the optimistic and trusting Abraham telling his servants:"Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” The servants were not to be a part of the sacrifice and so they are given instructions to stay but then notice the key phrase: we will worship and return to you. Do you see the we? Why does he use we – is not he to sacrifice his son on the altar?

You might wonder, does this mean Abraham somehow knew this was only a test and God would not really require this of him? Not at all, but instead, Abraham’s faith is in the knowledge that should he kill Isaac, God would raise him from the dead, because God had promised Isaac would carry on the line of blessing and the covenant.

He knew in Isaac your seed shall be called which is found in Genesis 21:12 and Isaac had yet to have any children. God had to let him live at least long enough to have children! Look at Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Abe knew anything was possible, but it was impossible that God would break His promise. He knew God was not a liar. He had no precedent to believe that he would be raised from the dead because no one in the Bible had yet been raised from the dead, but Abraham knew God was able. God could do it!

Are you modeling that God can and will do amazing things if you allow Him? Do you live life in a way that shows others that God is able or do you worry and manipulate and model a God that is disabled? Remember that others are watching, and so what are you modeling: An Able God or a Disabled God?

God was silent and did not tell Abraham what was going to happen but Abraham had a relationship with God which taught him to trust Him even when he did not understand or have all the answers. Abraham trusted God for the results – whatever that was going to be. How about you – do you trust God for the results for the things happening in your life?

God was silent but Isaac was not. There are many discussions on how old Isaac is at this point – you will hear numbers from 3 to 23. I personally believe that Isaac was a teenager at the time. He knows what is going on and asks the good question:"Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" He knows what needs to be at a sacrifice and he knows what is missing. Imagine what then is going through Abraham’s mind as Isaac asks this question. He though with his response again shows his trust in God: ⁸Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together. Love the trust in God shown here by Abraham – that trust is built as you get to know God and know that he is faithful. Abraham knows God is able and trusts that fact.

I love also the picture of the two of them walking on together. Abraham the father is walking with his son but also you can see that God the father is walking with Abraham his son. I can see in my minds eye the two of them walking together and Abraham walking along and praying that God will provide a sacrifice and at the same time trusting that God will provide.

As you go through your day today and as you lead those around you trust God even when he is silent and you have a ton of questions.

Any thoughts?

Abraham–5 Lessons–Part 2

We are looking at 5 lessons from Abraham found in Genesis 22 this week.  Here is the second installment.

God gave instructions and Abraham followed with what information he had been given.

Look at this as seen in  in verses 2-3 of Genesis 22: He said, “Take now your  son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah,  and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

This is some hard information to process when you think about. I am sure that every parent would rather give themselves up as a sacrifice rather than give their child as a sacrifice.  Abraham asked to willingly sacrifice his son and  I can not imagine!

Think about the hard task Abraham is given here. He is to go and sacrifice his son that he loves. Imagine the mixture of emotions that Abraham had to be going through. What you would read, if you were reading through Genesis, is that Abraham has a relationship with God and God has dealt with him in the past but this was different.  This was much different because this time God was asking a lot – a whole lot.

Now,  I would think that because Abraham knew God pretty well by this time in his life and that there would be a sense that God would take care of him and Isaac. Abraham has seen God come through in some pretty amazing ways by this time in his life.  Even still I am sure that this was pushing Abraham way beyond anything he could have ever thought of.  I am sure there was nervousness and major fear in him about whether or not he would have to really sacrifice his son. I am sure there were doubts about if this was the right thing to do in this situation. I am sure he was wondering if he really heard God right.   I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I would have MAJOR doubts on every level!

What we do not see here in the text is Abraham arguing with God about this. We do not know if he did argue with God about this but I would have to think there was some serious discussion about it. Most of us argue with God over much smaller things in life but this was huge. Think about it – Abraham had no idea at all if God would provide a substitute or not. But what does he do?  He just followed God even when he did not have all the information believing that more information would be given later.  He was obedient and trust with what he knew about God.

When we read the Word of God we have all the instructions we need in this life. We need to make sure we are spending time in God’s word and listening to His instructions through prayer and meditation. We have an advantage over Abraham in this way because Abraham would not of had anything other than past experience to go on. For all of us, God still might ask us to do something without all the information, but we by being in the Word of God, by prayer and meditation, and by past experience,  should know that God will be faithful.  How do you do when you do not have all the info?  Do you act in obedience or do you try to find a way to stall until you get all the information you think you need?

If you are a leader, sometimes you will not have all the information but you will need move ahead and  trust God with what information you have at the time.  God will provide the way – if you stay out of the way.

Do you stay close to God and trust and obey or do you run the other way?  What are your thoughts?

Abraham–5 Lessons–Part 1

The first of the five lessons is seen in Genesis 22:1- Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!"  And he said, "Here I am."

I do not want us to focus here on the fact that God was testing Abraham and we could have a long discussion about that but I want to focus our attention today on something else, something powerful that happens.

1. God called Abraham by name and Abraham was listening and responded.

God calling Abraham by name indicates that he knows Abraham – that there is a relationship there. If you study the book of Genesis you will see that there is quite a relationship between God and Abraham. It should not surprise us that God knew his name because He knows all of us by name and he desires a relationship with all of us. Do you understand the fact that God knows you by name today? Has God ever called out your name? I am sure that he has but the real question comes back to what Abraham did – listen and responded.

God knows you by name and calls you by name but are you listening? Are you too caught up in the things of life and miss out on the calling that God has for you? If you do hear, are you responding to the Lord calling your name or are you ignoring it? We can act like we do not hear it but know that the Lord is calling for you.

Abraham responded with “Here I am”. Which reminds me of this verse from Isaiah – verse 6:8 which says this: Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!" There is interesting common ground between both Abraham and Isaiah and that is that for both of them there was a calling. With Abraham it was about God calling to get his attention then giving him the instructions which we will see in a moment. With Isaiah it was about the calling being made and Isaiah being willing to volunteer. They both are dealing with a calling – both without all the details being given. Isaiah after volunteering learned he was going to share the Good News with people who would not listen and whose hearts were calloused – not a job most people would want to volunteer for.  You have to wonder would Isaiah have been as willing if he known this information in advance. We then see that Abraham is called then finds out that it is to sacrifice his son – again it would be tough to accept the call when if you knew this would be the task at hand. In both cases it would be tough but as we see with both they accept the call.

God is calling but are you responding? Maybe you are waiting till you get all the information before you are willing to answer the call of God? Think about that because most of the time will do not have all the answers and information before we go. God is call but are you responding ? Have you responded? Have you responded to the call of God in your life – whatever that may be?

What are your thoughts on this today?

Crossing the Drive Thru Line

Yesterday I went out with my wife after she finished leading the morning Women’s Bible Study at the church.  We were going to get some lunch and pick up a couple of items quickly at Wal-Mart but before we did that we needed to go to the bank.  We almost always  go through the drive- thru and we did this time.

Now, you need to understand this about me.  When I go to a drive thru whether it is a fast food restaurant, the bank, or wherever, I want to get as close as I can to whatever I am pulling up to.  I do it because I find it fun and also I find it to be a little game to see how close I can get to the drive thru window or in this case drive thru vacuum tube.  

As we were pulling up to the drive thru in the second lane over my wife told told me she need a deposit slip.  I said okay and then it happened.  What happened, you ask.  Well, I pulled so close my side-view mirror hit the send button and it sent the tube inside with nothing in it.  Seconds later the teller inside said “Hello, what can I do for you today”.  Now imagine this; you pull up to the drive thru and before you even stop your car you send the tube in because you hit the send button with the car!  Now when this happened I got to laughing.

I was laughing for several reasons, one was because I did need to send the tube in to to get the deposit slip from the tell and it went in without me intending it too.  Secondly, I am dying laughing because all I could imagine was if I did not need to send in the tube and I had to explain it to the teller.  In my mind it went something like this:  “ahhh…. yeah ….well could you send the tube back out because I just hit the send button with my side-view mirror by accident“.  It was hysterical to me, but my wife was only less than mildly amused.  As the teller is sending out the deposit ticket, I am laughing so hard tears are coming down my cheeks.  My wife is sitting there filling out the deposit ticket and looking at me like I am an immature man (and I am).

Here is the deal with it all; I wanted to get as close as I could to the drive thru and in reality I went over the line.  How often do we live our lives trying to get as close to the line of sin without going over it.  I am reminded of Lot who pitched his tents toward the sinful city and eventually ended up in the sinful city.  He kept creeping closer and closer and eventually he ended up crossing the line – just as I did pulling into the drive thru.

“Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.” Genesis 13:12 (ESV)

Let us be careful that we are not like Lot and trying to get too close to sin because eventually we will cross over the line. Let us be like Abram who went the other way away from the sin.  Let us make it our habit to move away from sin rather than seeing how close to it we can get without getting burned.

What are you thoughts, have you ever got too close to the drive thru or sin?