| Gene 22:5-6 (KJS) And
Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad
will go yonder and worship, and come again to you,
[6] And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon
Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both
of them together.
The first time the word worship is used in the bible, it is used in
conjunction with burnt offering, or sacrifice.
I. You can’t worship God without a sacrifice.
1. Worship is not, "what is God going to give
me", but rather "look at who He is".
A. With a burnt offering, you don’t get anything back.
2. It is true that we should expect to receive the
promises that God said was ours, we should likewise worship God with a
sacrifice.
A. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi and told them that God was will pleased
with their sacrifice.
Phil 4:18 (KJS) But I have all, and abound: I am full, having
received of Epaphroditus the things [which were sent] from you, an odour of a
sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
B. We should be a church made up of people like Paul, that says, "I know
both how to be abased, and I know how to abound…"(Phil 4:12). And "I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me"(Phil 4:13).
C. We should be a church made up of people like the Philippians that put
worshipping God before their own needs. They sacrificed to God, …I am full,
having received of Epaphroditus the things [which were sent] from you, an odour
of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. (Phil
4:18).
II. Don’t give God something that doesn’t have any value to you.
1. If you don’t place any value on your sacrifice, it
will not be acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
A. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son whom he loved.
Gene 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom
thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a
burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
III. When you worship God with a sacrifice, don’t do it with the intentions
of getting something in return.
1. With a burnt offering, there is nothing left for you,
it all goes to God with nothing in return.
2. There is a time and a place to receive what you need
from God, and sometimes He gives it to you as you are worshipping Him, but
receiving something back for what you sacrifice to Him should not be your motive
for worship.
A. You worship Him for who He is.
IV. As you worship God, His presence will come.
1.In His presence, you will find His will for your life,
(the direction He would have for you to go, and the instructions on how to do
it).
A. As Abraham worshipped God with his sacrifice, God’s instruction and
direction came to him, as God led him to a ram caught in the thicket, and
directed him that it should be the burnt offering.
Gene 22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of
heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing
unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld
thy son, thine only [son] from me.
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind [him] a ram
caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered
him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
B. Your eyes will be open to what He would have you see, and your ears open to
what He would have you hear.
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