It was a most unwelcomed and unwanted whisper. The Most High was always so life giving, life affirming... but this time there was death in His voice and a demand that seemed so indefensible, incredible and yet inescapable. Genesis 22 (MSG) 22 After all this, God tested Abraham. God said, “Abraham!” “Yes?” answered Abraham. “I’m listening.” 2 He said, “Take your dear son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I’ll point out to you.” The solemn spoken Sovereign left no room for misunderstanding or mistake. He spoke of sacrifice, of giving up your most treasured, of surrendering your most loved, of sentencing your dearest dream to death. The divine whisper had often told of prosperity, posterity, possessions, protection and privilege...but not that night. There are seasons of life when The Most High wants to secure your calling in a different, deeper dimension: - where He appoints you to a new place and anoints you with a new grace. It is at this pivotal point that He summons you to Mount Moriah - the mountain of death - to enter into a new life. We are beckoned by the inviting whisper of God to die to the dictates and desires of our own self-driven lives; to live in the power of The Holy Spirit, counting our lives to be crucified with Christ. This is not a pre-requisite to salvation; but, rather a call to service in His conquering kingdom. We live in proportion to the degree to which we are willing to die. Its a Gethsemane Encounter! Matthew 26: 36-38 Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.” 39 Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?” Pulpits today ask: What do YOU want to do? Prosperity preaching invites and instructs us on how to get much and then how to get more ... A cycle of materialism, money and mansions: - a me-mentality that shrinks the gospel and diminishes the history and mystery of Christs cross and call. The discipleship mandate is as simple as it is profound: Come and die Its this whole Jesus idea of taking up ones cross and following him. I realize this is not popular but The Whisper of God cuts across much of the current culture, modern messages and the materialistic mind-set of todays Christianity. Sacrifice and surrender was in His whisper and Abram had to listen and lean into a trust that was greater than his own understanding. As you read this it may be that His whisper comes once more into your world. It might come camouflaged as a holy discontent, a spiritual hunger, an unexplained desire to discover Him: perhaps a stirring toward the Eternal. If He would speak those words to His own Son... if our Master had to climb Mount Moriahs path then surely our feet and faith must follow Him there as well. Romans 12 (NLT) 1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. How do you handle the unsettling, unyielding voice of God? 1. Without Delaying - Genesis 22:3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. Hesitation is the breeding ground for fear and excuses. Reluctantly, reason begins to tamper with your trust, reducing your resolve and turning Today I will into Someday I might. 2. Without Doubting - Genesis 22:7-8 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. Without this assurance that God will provide, how can we walk on ... The wood, yes! The fire, yes! But where is the sheep? When God whispers His plan there always seems to be a missing part that He must supply; a mysterious problem that He must solve. Hear the tireless and tried testimonies of the many who have died to self that they might live to God ... God is faithful; His provision is always on time and enough; His ways are best; Ive never been sorry... 3. Without Diminishing - Genesis 22: 15-18 15 Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” If you will not withhold your best He will not withhold His. The whisper of God resounds in the remote recesses of our inner parts - He asks not what we have given but what are we withholding? We must not diminish His demands to accommodate our comfort or convenience. A God-moment, a God-miracle on the very mountain where you thought your dream was going to die? Yes! Gods provision will sustain and fulfill Gods promise to you. The whisper of God is good even when not understood. He sees beyond our blindness, knows that which to us is hidden and gentle calls us to a place where His provision will be seen and where our destiny and purpose will be discovered. In closing, Im first to say that like the inner- circle Ive slept while He wept. Ive given a deaf ear, many times, to Gethsemanes grand invitation. But in the moments of solitude Ive heard His sacred whisper to go up Mount Moriahs sacred slopes to see His provision and to claim His promise as mine! Randy B.Leavitt
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 01:00:21 +0000
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