Message & Sacrifice

Genesis 18:19 “I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”

When you stand and say, “God, here I am. I am available” Firstly, You Face The Fear You Never Thought You Could Face. Secondly, You Trust the Promise You Never Thought You Would Trust. Thirdly, You See the Miracles You

 Never Thought You Would See. And fourthly, You Hear the Message You Never Thought You Would Hear. For Samuel, the message was that he needed to have a higher standard than all the people around him. For you, for instance, it could be that you have a spreadsheet with every detail on every column worked out. But God is saying He needs to add a column, change a formula, change an equation and you are insisting on keeping your spreadsheet the way it is.

Well, I have news for you, if you are available to God, God is going to mess up your spreadsheet. Why? God’s destiny for you is bigger than the spreadsheet you have put together. If you are not willing for your plans to get messed up, you are going to miss the greatest things that God has for you. I am all for planning, I am big on planning, but I am completely open to God. If He needs to mess things up to rebuild it, I am all in. Sometimes, the potter needs to break the pot so that he can rebuild and make a more honourable pot. God has something to do in your life that is greater than your plans. Your plans are nothing compared to God’s plans for you. 

The fifth thing that happens when you stand and say to God, “Here I am. I am available”, is You Make A Sacrifice You Never Thought You Could Make. Genesis 22:1-2 “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your 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.” (NIV, emphasis added). And Abraham took the boy, you know the story, and God stopped him. God was just looking for the willingness in his heart. Most times, God is looking for the willingness in our hearts. You need to understand that in your relationship with God, sometimes God will test you. God tested Abraham. 

Why does God test us? Why did God test Abraham? God tests us not because He does not know what is in our hearts. He is God, He already knows what is in our hearts. God tests us because He wants us to know what is in our hearts. 

Prayer (song): Lord, I give You my heart. I give You my soul. I live for you alone. And every breath that I take, every moment I’m awake Lord, have Your way in me. Amen!