Sermon(Gen 22:1-19): Worship

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025286779

 

>> ... 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. .... 8 Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. .... He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ... 14 So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” 15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, 18 and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice. ... (Gen 22:1-19) <<

 

God ordered Abraham who had a son at the age of 100 to offer the son to God as a burnt offering. Why did God command Abraham to completely burn his only son Isaac to God? Just because he wanted to test Abraham's obedience? In my opinion, God ordered Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering in the same context as Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist at the time of New Testament. When Jesus began to do the work of God officially, he made righteous his humanity which he had taken into his being, by being baptized by John. So he could complete the salvation of all humans without any legal defects. Then how about Abraham? Abraham was called to God to be his servant from the place where his ancestors had worshiped idols. God promised him enormous blessings. Abraham abandoned all idols, and followed God everywhere, worshiping him with sacrifices of cattle and sheep. However cattle and sheep were not sufficient in the sight of God, considering the great mission that Abraham and his descendants should fulfill. The iniquity Abraham inherited from his ancestors fundamentally required more than cattle and sheep in order to be got rid of. Therefore God, concealing his true mind, commanded Abraham to offer up his only son as a burnt offering. When Abraham obeyed the word of God, and when Isaac obeyed his father and the God, the iniquity (the unrighteousness) that Abraham had inherited from his ancestors and the iniquity of Abraham and his son themselves were forgiven by God, so that these two men were recognized as righteous ones by God. When Abraham and Isaac completely gave up all their will and completely obeyed the word of God in complete self-sacrifice, the house of Abraham was qualified to take on the great work of God. By this, the Devil lost the ground to oppose God, saying, "Is Abraham qualified to take on such a great work?"

 

Aaron and his sons killed several animals and offered them to God when they were inaugurated as priests. They first offered sin offerings for the sins of themselves who were to take priesthood. The utensils to be used in the temple of God must first be sprinkled with the blood of animals. The blood of the sacrifices removes the unrighteousness of men and utensils to make them righteous, and makes them fit for the holy use. Look at Moses. He was called by God, but God tried to kill him on his way to Egypt. It was because of the matter of his son's uncircumcision. At this time, Moses' wife Zipporah cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' feet with it, and said, "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me! (Ex 4:25)" So Moses could save his life. Moses' sinful ego died completely then. We can say that Moses was pardoned his iniquity by the blood of his son, and could perform his great duty of priest (and leader). The moment when Abraham raised his knife to kill his son on the pile of firewood, the burnt offering was as good as completed. And in fact, not only Isaac but also Abraham could be regarded as the sacrifice of the burnt offering then. Because the hearts of the two had already burnt away. This event of offering Isaac can be said to be the priest inauguration of the two. "'Now' I know that you fear God. (Gen 22:12)" It was the inauguration ceremony of priest because of this 'now'. After that, Abraham and Isaac, the father and the son, experienced the death of old men (old egos) and became new men. All their sinful egos died, and they became holy servants of God with perfect holiness. My beloved brethren, especially honorable servants of God! Do not lose your holiness. Burn out all your sinful appearances. Do God's work only after you have solved your sin problem completely. Whenever you recognize your sins, repent them so that you may be holy ones to God. Holiness is our strength. The Devil cannot touch the holy ones. God's blessings and promises come to the holy ones. God's help is directed to the holy ones. All the great servants of God, after being holy, became the great servants of God. You are the least worker of God if you're living an unholy life while you hold a high position in the church or are in charge of a large church. We must realize that we can't be used by God until our sinful selves die and are offered as burnt offerings. Some get seriously ill and experience the burning of all of their selves, and then become servants of God. It is in the same vein. There are several ways in which one's self is offered up as a burnt offering, for him to be righteous, for a priest must kill his will and follow only God's will. On the contrary, what a nasty inauguration of the priesthood if a man becomes a reverend by illegal means! The sinful self of such a man never dies, but rather evil demons dwell in his evil heart, so he does Devil's work until death.

 

From today's Bible text, we learn the true nature of the worship of God. First, we must worship God at a place designated by God. "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. (v. 2)" The important thing here is the clergyman God appointed. The church where a man, who became a reverend without God's permission or bought the place of reverend, is at work as a minister is an illegal church. God is not there. Neither is God in a church where a heretic man works as a pastor. You must worship God in the church which God has built, and in which there is a pastor God has appointed. Only then will your worship reach to God. The place designated by God for worship is the church whose pastor God has appointed. Sometimes God sends you to some church with a mission. In that respect, you'd better go to a near church, which is a legal church for you. Attend the worship of a near church if possible, unless God has ordered you to go to a faraway church with special mission. You can evangelize your neighbors easily if you go to a church near your home. You worship God vainly if you go to a church, the building of which is not God's but private building, for God is not there. By the way, why do people sell and buy the church these days? If a church prospers and has many members, the building of the church can be sold to another church, and the church may buy a larger church building for the members to move in. (It is better for the church to give the building to another church for nothing. But it can't be forced.) I know, of course, that there are some unavoidable reasons for the buy and sell of the churches. But it is definitely wrong that a man, who was the owner of the church building, leaves the church with the retrieved investment after he sold the church to another clergyman when he failed in the ministry.

 

Second, God wants you to offer yourself wholly to God more than the animal sacrifice itself. "Offer him there as a burnt offering. (v. 2)" The sacrifice is burnt to God when it is a burnt offering. Burnt offering means that all is offered up to God. God wants us to worship him with all our heart, our will, and our strength. What is especially important in the worship today is for myself to attend the service. It's a grave sin to skip the worship in order that you may have a trip. Do not think you can skip worship once in a while because you donate a lot. Is there anything worthier than I in the world? I am worthier than a lot of money to God. If I love God, it is natural that I should go to church to see God in person. Are you a good son if you go on a trip on your parents' birthday, just sending them some beef? My brethren, God is your spiritual Father. The time of worship is when you see your Father. Even if you have no money and can't make a contribution of money to the church, God is much pleased when you show yourself to God at the time of worship. Look at Abraham in the text. He goes up the mountain to present his son to God. My brethren, imitate Abraham! Give strict instructions to your children lest they skip the worship of God. The vacant chapel is not good to see. Preach the gospel diligently to people, and make the chapel full of saints at the time of worship. When I was a middle school student, I attended worship services without skipping, worships such as the Wednesday evening service, the Sunday daytime service, and the Sunday evening service. And I always sat in front then. One day, the pastor said during his sermon, "That is a good boy, for he attends all the worship services." Of course, later, at some period in my life, I couldn't attend the worship that much. But when I first believed in Jesus, I tried to attend all the worships if I could. Have you ever heard complimentary words publicly from the pastor in the time of worship? But it won't be common.

 

Third, the sacrifices necessary for the worship are prepared by God. Have faith in the God of 'Jehovah-Jireh', that is, "God prepares." >Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” (v. 8)< God did not allow Isaac to die at the decisive moment, instead made a ram caught in a thicket nearby so that Abraham could get an animal for a sacrifice. My brethren, the offerings you offer to God are from God. Do you think, 'I donate the money that I've earned by my strength'? What a great misunderstanding! All the money you've earned is God's gift. All grains you offer up to God are the gift of God. If children bought gifts for their parents, in thanks for their love and care, where did the money the children spent come from? We all are living under God's protection. God gives us the power and ability to prepare offerings, for God himself. My brethren, don't be ashamed of your small tithe. Don't feel ashamed when you have no money for special donations, seasonal donations, thanksgiving donations, and construction donations. Do not say, "I can't go to church because I have no money for donations." If you continue to attend worship with joy and with awe of God, God will prepare your offerings. God makes preparations for the prosperity and the success of your home, business, and work, when you diligently attend the worship. God will increase your tithing. God will be the God of Jehovah-Jireh to you not only economically but also in every respect of your life.

 

Fourth, we are fully blessed when we fully worship God. "I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice. (v. 17, 18)" You'll reap as you have sown ㅡ this is the law of the kingdom of God. Abraham could be the father of nations when he didn't withhold his son but willingly intended to offer him to God. His descendants became numerous. We are blessed with material blessings if we live a life of worshiping God, which I've said already. God gives us abundant riches so that the material offerings for God may be abundant. In addition to this, we receive the blessing of the prosperity of our descendants when we worship God wholly. To worship God is to fear (revere) him, and God promised that he will bless the offsprings of those who love and fear him, to the thousand generations. 'There will be a lot of descendants' means that his descendants all will be healthy, live long, and be free from external invasions. This means that God will bless and keep his house from generation to generation. In addition to this blessing, God promises that he will give victory to those who live the life of worshiping God. "And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. (v. 17)" This means that his descendants will attack the castles of enemies, open the gates of the castles and occupy the castles. My brethren, do you want to live a victorious life in all respects? Partake faithfully in the worship of God. God gives victory in everything to those who sincerely participate in the worship and please him. He will give them victory over their enemy Devil, and over their enemies persecuting them. And 'shall possess the gate of their enemies (v. 17)' means that God will extend the space for them to live in. God blesses your descendants with many children, and their land will become small for them soon. Then God will help them open the gates of the enemies, conquer the fortresses and occupy the lands. If you worship God faithfully, every land your descendants will tread will be their land. If they start business, they will not fail but prosper day by day. If they take the civil service examination or the corporate examination, they'll pass the exam without any difficulties, and will not get fired but retire at the regular age limit. And if they run for some place, they'll be elected. In addition to these, God will grant your descendants the blessing of spiritual riches. "And by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves. (v. 18)" Of course, this passage basically says about Jesus, Abraham's descendant. Yes, my brethren! He who worships God faithfully tends to share his blessings with others. His blessings will overflow to others. The other people will thank and respect him. The worthiest man in the world is he who lets his blessings reach to others. Therefore if you worship God faithfully, you'll receive the blessing of wealth, of descendants' happiness, of victory over enemies, and of honor. My brethren, I hope you all receive these blessings.

 

May all of you imitate the faith of Abraham, and be blessed with everlasting blessing of God, even to the one thousandth generation of your descendants.

 

Chong Tack Kim

                                   - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -