Where Is The Sacrifice?
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Transcript
intro
intro
Text - Genesis 22.6-8
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.
7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
Title - Where Is The Sacrifice?
Introductory
Introductory
Why the title is a questions - where is the sacrifice?
it based on a fundamental concept - there is no worship without sacrifice
it goes both ways
man - I want to worship God: where is my sacrifice?
God - I want to be worshiped: where is the sacrifice?
Common issues with worshipers
people worship without sacrifice
people who would not worship because they have no sacrifice
Is this true?
Worship was not man’s idea - it was God’s idea that man should worship Him!
If worship was God’s idea, then principles and requirements will come from Him.
God asked Abraham that he offer up his only son for a burnt offering (sacrifice)
God was testing Abraham - how far he was willing to obey God
God was revealing some fundamental truths about worship
Worshipers do not come empty-handed
15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty);
16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.
17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.
He demands the best from His worshipers
God asked for Abraham’s “only son”
Some offerings are more important than other offerings
Sermon Points
Sermon Points
God provides the sacrifice
God provides the sacrifice
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
Abraham and Isaac reflect 2 different types of worshipers
one who already knows what God requires
for Abraham God has already provided!
the other one who have no idea where to get the sacrifice - Isaac
for Isaac God will soon provide
God provides -He makes sure there is a sacrifice.
The sacrifice comes from God!
Note:
Provide - Heb. YIREH (Jireh) from the root word RAAH, to see
God will see to the sacrifice
RAAH is the same word used in Genesis 1 when God “saw” His creation
Genesis 1.4 - God saw the light that is was good
Genesis 1.10 - the dry land…God saw that it was good
Genesis 1.12 - the plants… God saw that it was good
Genesis 1.18 - heavenly bodies… God saw that it was good
Genesis 1.21 - fish and birds…God saw that it was good
Genesis 1.25 - beasts… God saw that it was good
Genesis 1.31 - God saw everything He had made was good
God provides - it means our sacrifice for worship comes in the form of provision.
Provision - a supply; a preparation beforehand
God provides for our different needs
Your sacrifice is already among the provisions you received from God.
Because God demands worship, He will see to it that there is sacrifice available!
It is God’s part to provide the sacrifice
It is OUR PART to worship God by His provision
That is Jehovah-Yireh
God tests man first before He provides
God tests man first before He provides
Worship is also God’s way of testing His worshipers
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.”
12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
God was testing Abraham’s obedience and faithfulness
Not that God didn’t already know, but to put in record for all to know!
God do not ask for human sacrifice other His own Son, Jesus Christ.
In reality, God has a right to ask for Isaac’s life since it was God’s gift to Abraham
Note - all the firstborn belonged to God since the Exodus, because He redeemed them by means of the blood of the passover lamb
but God did not have them killed, and instead demanded a redemption price - Numbers 18.15-17
Today we already know what kind of sacrifice God requires - the best!
how far are we willing to go to worship our God?
how much are we willing to give back to God in worship?
Note: difference between offering and sacrifice
Offering - anything that we give to God in worship
Sacrifice - the offering that we kill on the altar; an offering of life
burnt offering, sin offering, etc.
our offerings - our money, our gifts and talents, our contributions
our burnt offering -
Christ - our offering for sin -
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Our very lives -
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
ALL - means everything we have and we are!
more than burnt offerings
6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.
1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?
2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the Lord. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.
God provides the sacrifice in the right place
God provides the sacrifice in the right place
Abraham saw God’s provision in the mount God has chosen!
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Abraham looked around - because had stopped him from killing Isaac he assumed there is a sacrifice somewhere
like the ram, Jesus was the SUBSTITUTE that God PROVIDED in OUR PLACE!
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Those who are NOT WILLING TO DIE on the altar, so that they can truly worship God, CANNOT APPROPRIATE THE DEATH OF CHRIST IN THEIR BEHALF!
Abraham was willing to part with his only son!
Isaac was willing to die! (he has now found out that he was the burnt-offering!)
Jesus is the SUBSTITUTE to those who are GIVING THEIR LIVES to God!
God, knowing that Abraham and Isaac were willing to go up to worship Him, made sure that there is a substitute lamb at the right moment.
Abraham and Isaac SAW God’s provision on the mount, because they were willing to go up to worship God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
So, where is the sacrifice?
God will see to it - He will provide the sacrifice!
But first, God wants to see if you are willing to give up whatever is in your hand - your own life, strength, soul, mind!
And if you are willing, then you will find the sacrifice right in the place of worship!
There sacrifice is found in three places
first, it is in God’s hands
then, it is placed in your hands
finally, it is found in the place of worship
How is our worship today?
are we worshiping God by our “offerings” ?
are we worshiping God by our “sacrifices”?
SONG - Lord I Offer My Life