Ash
Wednesday
February 18, 2015
Genesis 22:1-18
The Attitude of Testing
“Here
I am Lord”
God tests Abraham’s faith by commanding
him to sacrifice Isaac.
“Here I Am Lord”
There was once a commercial, which said: “Delta is ready
when you are!” In our lesson for today, Abraham is always ready when
he is called and needed. In each case, he replies, “Here I am”. Abraham
is always ready and willing to respond. He is always there when you need
Him. What an example for us! When a job needs to be done, who will
say, “Here I am”? When you need someone desperately to help in time
of need, does the Christian say, “Here am I”?
A Christian is ready when called…
1. A Christian is ready when God calls. Vs. 1 tells us “Now it came about
after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him,
"Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." -
The call of Abraham was a call to obey. True, it was an
awesome task, to sacrifice his only Son. But clearly Abraham knew that the Lord
would provide. Do we trust God at His Word? When summoned to obey
God do we trust Him at His Word? Abraham trusted God at His Word. We
can do nothing else. During this 40-day pilgrimage may we trust God at His
Word. Following Him as we listen to His Word. When He speaks - we listen. When
He commands - we follow. As He leads may we follow willingly, trusting in Him
to will and to do what He has promised.
TRANSITION:
The Christian is ready when God calls and listens to God. But we are
also ready when we listen to the call of our neighbor. We are ready to
say “here I am”…
2. When man calls. Vs. 7 tells us “And Isaac spoke to Abraham
his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I
am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood,
but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" – Abraham was
given a question to answer. Isaac had a legitimate question. Where
is the lamb? Abraham could only tell his son what he knew to be
true, that the Lord would provide. We live in a world in which many are
searching for meaning in life and answers to their problems. Where
are people to be directed? When seeking direction where do we lead
people? Do we give them our own words, do we given them advice and words that
we think they will want to hear? We must point people in only one
direction and that is to the person of Jesus Christ. He is the way,
the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through
Jesus. “Jesus is the answer for the world today” so goes the words
of the old spiritual. May we point people to Jesus the joy of man’s
desiring – Jesus our only hope in desperate times. During this 40-day period of
Lent may we point people to Jesus our strength and our redeemer.
TRANSITION: We
follow Christ and His word. We point people to Christ. We also say “here
I am” when angels call.
3. When angels call. Vs. 11-12 says,“But
the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham,
Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." And he said,
"Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for
now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only
son, from Me." – This angel of the Lord - The angel
of the Lord is Jesus Himself who gives us a call to receive grace.
On that day Abraham’s son Isaac was spared and a lamb was
provided. God would not spare His only Son. Jesus Christ,
the Lamb of God, was sent into this world to take away the sins of the
world. The hymn tells us“A lamb goes uncomplaining forth, the
guilt of all men bearing” That lamb was Jesus. He went to the
cross to suffer and die. He went to the cross to take away our
sin. He went to the cross to win for us salvation and life.
And that’s what Lent
is all about! It’s about Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world. Lent is a time when we think about what Jesus did
for you and for me. During this 40-day journey may we walk with
Jesus as He makes His way to the cross on Good Friday. When He speaks to us in
His word we will say with Abraham of old “Here I am” when
others ask “who is this Jesus? We will say “here I am” to
witness of what we know and what we have seen. When Jesus speaks we will
say “Here I am” and He will simply say “I am with
you always, even unto the end of the age!”
Image: Abraham sacrifices Isaac, Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcut (c) WELS permission granted for personal and congregational use
Words –850
Passive Sentences –7%
Reading Ease –87.6%
Reading Level –3.9
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