I. The Ultimate Sacrifice; Sunday, May 11, 2014 (Sunnyslope) Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. A. Good morning, church! B. Today is Mother s Day 1. And of course as such it is tradition we remember and celebrate the mothers in our midst 2. and to celebrate motherhood in general C. Does anyone know the history behind the formation of Mother s Day? 1. In 1872, the author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, Julia Howe suggested the idea of a special day set aside to honor Mothers and celebrate peace, but the idea never took root 2. Never that is, until the early 20th century 3. A couple of years after her mother's death, Anna Jarvis held a ceremony to honor her late mother a) The experience so moved her, that she began a campaign to establish a formal holiday to recognize mothers b) West Virginia adopted the idea in 1910, other states followed their lead the next year and in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday of May "Mother's Day," a national holiday to honor mothers 4. You d think this would be something Jarvis would be proud of a) But it turns out, that wasn t not the case 1 of 10
b) A few years later, she was arrested for disturbing the peace at a Mother's Day rally c) Jarvis deplored the commercialization of the holiday and the way people used it to make profits d) In 1923, she filed a law suit to stop a festival where the organizers were selling white carnations as a fund raiser on Mother's Day 5. She didn't lead a campaign to begin this holiday so card companies and florists could make money, she wanted it to be a day that stirred sentiment in the children of the world a) She was more successful in starting the day than stopping it b) Regardless of some people's motives, the idea of honoring mothers was contagious D. Jarvis was willing to sacrifice the very thing she had created, Mother s Day, because she saw it being corrupted 1. This is an interesting and I think compelling lesson for us: a) The idea that to bring about what we want most b) we often must sacrifice what we want most 2. It seems counter-intuitive, backward, and wrong-headed 3. but this wisdom that when we sacrifice what we want, we receive what we need is a message told repeatedly throughout Holy Scripture E. As a mother (or father), what could be more precious than the life of your son or daughter? 2 of 10
1. As a human being, what would be more precious than your own life? 2. And yet, we know from Scripture that so save our lives, we must sacrifice them Luke 9:24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. II. This reminds me somewhat of Abraham s climb up the mount when God called him to sacrifice Isaac A. The story comes from Genesis, chapter 22 B. Perhaps no scene in the Bible except Christ on the Cross on Calvary itself is more poignant C. And interestingly, I see a clear foreshadowing here of the death of God s Son Christ 1. In the same way Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, God in fact did 2. God called Abraham to obey and willingly sacrifice 3. But He didn t require the actual sacrifice 4. Only the submission, willingness, obedience, and trust D. Let s look at the start of the story: Genesis 22:1-2 1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." 1. A few things pop out at me from this passage a) First, I find it interesting how God phrases His command b) He doesn t say take your son only 3 of 10
(1) He clarifies who he s talking about three times: (a) (b) (c) Your only son Isaac Whom you love (2) We know that Isaac was Abraham s only son, and certainly Abraham would have been well aware of that fact (3) Abraham also certainly knew his only son s name (4) And we can certainly assume Abraham knew that he loved his only son c) So why was God so specific? Why did God get so explicit? (1) I don t think it was because Abraham would have otherwise been confused who God was talking about (2) Rather, I think it was because God was, through the language of His command, expressing to Abraham God s complete awareness of the gravity, the value of the sacrifice He was calling Abraham to make (3) I read in thus the following: (a) As God, I know this is your only son, and thus I know the 4 of 10
singular value of this sacrifice. (b) (c) His name is Isaac. I know him well. I know his heart. I also know that you love him. d) The language only son must have pierced Abraham s heart deeply (1) Isaac was Abraham s only son in the sense that he was: (a) (b) (c) The only son of promise The unique son The son of miraculous birth e) Abraham s love for his son is a faint picture of God s love for Jesus (1) The sacrifice of Isaac was a picture of the greatest act of worship: Christ s self-sacrifice to accomplish the will of God. 2. The other thing here, which may be somewhat difficult for us to understand, is that Abraham for many years at this point experienced direct, audible communication with God a) God s call here wasn t a faint whisper in the back of Abraham s subconscious b) This was the voice of God 3. We have things a bit more difficult, I think a) I suspect we don t hear the audible voice of God b) Instead, we feel God s call on our hearts 5 of 10
E. Let s continue: c) But that sort of call is I think easier to ignore; or to set aside for a while, procrastinate on (which is essentially the same thing) d) When God calls, we must obey; and we must obey not at some vague time in the future when it s convenient, but as soon as practical Genesis 22:3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 1. We can see here that Abraham immediately obeys 2. The next morning, the very next time there was daylight in which to make the journey, Abraham sets out 3. We need to adopt this attitude 4. When God calls us, we need to immediately obey F. Let s skip ahead a few verses: Genesis 22:9-10 9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 1. And this is the supreme test of Abraham s faith a) God ordered him to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering in the land of Moriah b) And of course, actually, God had no intention of allowing Abraham to go through with it c) He was and had always been opposed to human sacrifice 6 of 10
G. And so the angel of the Lord calls out to Abraham to stop: Genesis 22:11-12 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." 1. Abraham, Abraham is the first of ten name duplications in the Bible a) Seven are spoken by God to man b) And all introduce matters of special importance III. To offer Isaac was surely the supreme test of Abraham s faith A. God had promised to give Abraham a numberless posterity through his son 1. Isaac could have been as much as twenty-five at the time, and he was unmarried 2. If Abraham slew him, how could the promise be fulfilled? 3. Well, we know from later in Scripture that Abraham expected God would raise Isaac from the dead Hebrews 11:19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. 4. This faith was remarkable because there was no recorded case of resurrection up to this time in the world s history 5. Notice also Abraham s faith in 22:5 7 of 10
Genesis 22:5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you." a) He fully expected to return with his son alive and well B. Abraham was first justified by faith, but then justified, vindicated by works here 1. His faith was the means of his salvation, while his works were the proof of the reality of his faith. C. When Isaac asked, Where is the lamb?, his father replied, God will provide for Himself the lamb. 1. This promise was not ultimately fulfilled by the ram of verse 13, but by the Lamb of God, Christ D. There are two great symbols of Christ in this chapter 1. Isaac is the first a) An only son b) Loved by his father c) Willing to do his father s will d) Figuratively received back from the dead 2. The ram is the second a) An innocent victim that died as a substitute for another b) It s blood was shed c) And it was a burnt offering wholly consumed for God 8 of 10
IV. And now we come to the part where God adds to His already covenanted blessing to Abraham Genesis 22:15-17a 15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17a I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. A. So there s nothing new here so far B. God is reiterating what He had previously promised to Abraham C. However, then God continues and adds to the covenant Genesis 22:17b 17b Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." D. God s promise here means that Abraham s descendants would occupy the place of authority over those who would oppose them E. And finally, most importantly, the whole world would be blessed because of this act of Abraham s obedience 1. I believe here God is making reference to the ultimate sacrifice of His Son Christ on the cross 2. The whole earth, all creation is blessed because of Christ s sacrifice 3. And it is from Abraham we have David, and from the line of David we have Jesus 9 of 10
V. The tremendous message and lesson for us here is to learn that when God calls us to give up something we see as valuable, if we obey, it ultimately means being blessed to a vastly greater extent A. We need to be willing, both as individuals but also as a collective, a church, to let go; to release our tight hold on what we currently have when God calls us to sacrifice 1. We have to be willing to take risks, to give up the very things we think are most precious 2. We have to discern and follow God s commands 3. And be willing to give up what we have now for something even greater B. That is, of course, extremely difficult C. Pray that we each individually and collectively as a church can trust God enough to do what we are called to do D. I d like to conclude with a passage from Paul: E. Amen Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship. 10 of 10