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Bible Passage: Genesis 22:1-18

The Christian life is free, and it costs nothing to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But there is a lifelong subscription you pay for being a Christian. Ps 50:5 says “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

God is a God of covenants. He is interested in people of sacrifice. Sacrifice is the central theme of Christianity. The Church is founded upon the bedrock of sacrifice. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave HIS only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Sacrifices are flavours we need to add to our Christian life and service, if we are going to reach our world with the gospel of Christ.

The story of Abraham in this passage is a wonderful and famous story of that age, looking at the strange command God gave to Abraham and the strange obedience and all the strange issues in the command. Genesis 22:1-2: “And it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 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.”

A. ISSUES IN THIS COMMAND

• The command – Genesis 22:2: “..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”
• The Person to be sacrificed – Isaac ‘’who thou loveth.. ’’not the bullocks, not thy servant, not thy steward of thy house, not an adopted son, not Ishmael- it is Isaac whom by name is your laughter – the child of covenant. This implies God is saying give me your heart, not your garment, as in Joel 2:12-13 – “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”
• The place of sacrifice – Land of Moriah. Moriah should be about 3 days journey enough for Abraham to have changed his mind – but his early rising, saddling, cleaving the wood to slay his only son of promise proved his deliberate and complete obedient. This suggests that the issue of laying down ones heart to work for God requires preparation, it should be a mindset, and it can’t be an emergency factor. It must be an elaborate adaptation to the will of God.
• The manner – offer him for a burnt offering. He must not only kill his dear son, but kill him as a sacrifice, kill him devotedly, kill him by rule, kill him with all pomp and ceremony with all seriousness and composure of mind, with which he used to offer his burnt offerings. This suggests that laying your heart at Calvary must be determined, must be for the sake of salvation – 1 Pet. 2:1-2. “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby”

B. WHAT IS SACRIFICE

As a worker in His vineyard, it means – a sacred rendering; a selling or giving up; act of yielding/ resigning in favour of.

Abraham broke a difficulty through obedience; the feat Lot’s wife could not achieve at Sodom. Remember Lot’s wife thought about her possessions, friends and other things and thought of going back.

At the point of laying your heart for your father’s business, it may appear a difficult and traumatic thing to do. Sometimes, it would appear as if God is contradicting Himself by trying to interrupt your life and plan, asking you to forgo your comforts, riches, etc., and seek righteousness first.

Sometimes, God would ask you to follow Him without giving any reason. Abraham would have been right if he had asked God why He wants him to kill the son of promise.

Abraham didn’t consider what his wife would ask him of her only son. This suggests that the issue of your determination to work for God or salvation does not require consultation with your wife or close associates. It is supposed to be a close matter to your heart only.

Abraham didn’t consider what the Egyptians, the Canaanites and the Perizzites who dwell in the land would say – the eternal reproach. This educates us that in your decision, you need not bother about reactions of your environment, your social friends, etc. It further emphasises that God’s command must not be disputed, but obeyed, and we must not consult with flesh and blood about them. Gal 1:15-16 says ’’But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, [even] from my mother’s womb, and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles; straightway I conferred not with flesh and blood”

 C. UNDERSTANDING SACRIFICE

• No witness of heaven upon a man’s life without a sacrifice.
• God testifies concerning a man when He receives our sacrifices.
• Without faith you can’t offer an acceptable sacrifice.
• God is more interested in the man that is offering a sacrifice than in the sacrifice itself.

D. THE ROLE OF YOUR HEART IN SACRIFICE

• Your heart is the basis for sacrifice.
• Your heart determines your sacrifice.
• Developing your heart for sacrificial living.
• Offering the sacrifice that counts.

E. THE SACRIFICE OF SELF

• God considers your sacrifice of tremendous treasure and value.
• You or your body is required first in sacrifice before your gift, talents, time, money, energy or any other things.
• Why the sacrifice of self? – I Cor. 6:18-20 says ‘’Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own; for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.” And Mat. 6:33. says ‘’But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

F. CONCLUSION

Jesus had left us an example that can’t be waved aside. The patriarchs of old have done the same. What will you do for your maker in your own generation.

May God find a heart of sacrifice in you. 

Deacon Wole Bodunde

Our weekly Services – Digging Deep and Faith Clinic, holds on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Please, endeavour to attend the weekly services where we dig deep into the word of God on Tuesdays and Pray collectively to God on Thursdays.

All House Fellowship Leaders are reminded to submit their reports today. Also, all Church Members should note that all House Fellowships holds on Sundays in the evening at all the House Fellowship Centres.

By the special grace of God, our House Fellowship is expanding and we need more House Fellowship Centres.

The Church received Letters of Appreciation from Pastor (Mrs) V. O. Alayo and Deacon and Sis. Kalejaiye for various supports.

If you are an Aluminium Professional, please, see Deacon Akinyemi

Registration for new session of Baptismal class has commenced. Register with Deacon Akande or Brother Israel Akintimehin

The 2 CDs for 21st Anniversay of RCCG Miracle Centre are now available at a cost of N500. Get your copies now.

Bro. Sina Afolabi has written a book on 100 Success verses in the Bible. Please, kindly get your copy of the book. A copy costs N500 (five hundred naira)

A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17)

Practical steps to be a good friend

6. Can be trusted– Pro 27:6 {Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses} A friend is one who is honest with you no matter what. There are people in this world that will flatter you and exalt you to make you feel good, but a friend is one who sees through all that and speaks the truth. Be careful of the flatterer. 

7. Give earnest counsel – Pro 27:9 {Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel.} The counsel of a friend is so refreshing, that the Bible says it is like perfume and incense. Beware of those “friends” who counsel you for their own gain. 

8. Lift up – Eccl: 4:10 {If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!} An old and proved saying goes like this, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” How true that is! We live in a world that uses us for its own gain and then dumps us when our usefulness is over. Christ did not give us up when we were dying in sin. He gave his life for us when we needed him and that is a true friend. John 15:13 says “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”

9.  Listen. Listening is so important not to underestimate, but it can be hard to do. The best way to listen is to try and understand the situation from your friends’ point of view. If you aim to do this, you’ll naturally find yourself beginning to ask the right sort of questions and they will appreciate having someone who really cares about how they feel and what they’re going through. You don’t need to have all the answers, and you shouldn’t assume your friend wants advice – they might just want to talk so that they can work out what they’re going to do themselves.

10.  Ask them what they need. If you’re worried about someone and you want to be there for them, just ask them what they need – that way, you know what they find helpful during tough times, and you can be there in a way that’s most useful to them.

11.  Get physical. Smiles and hugs are a great way to show friends that they’re not alone, that you’re there for them, and that they are important.

12.  Keep in touch. Even if you aren’t nearby each other, making an effort to keep in touch through facebook, emails, text messages, BB, WhatsApp and calls will show your friend you are there for them.

13.  Tell them how you feel. You don’t have to make a big deal of it all the time but sometimes there are moments where letting someone know that they’re important to you through something you say, can make a big difference to how someone is feeling.

14.  Get the facts. If your friend has a medical condition, or a mental health issue, a good way to offer support is to learn about what they’ve been diagnosed with. Taking an interest in what they’re going through shows that you care, and that you’re planning to stick around no matter what’s going on.

15.  Be willing to make a tough call. If you think the safety of your friend is at risk, you might need to act without their consent and get help. It can be a hard choice particularly when you’re worried about their reaction, but remember that you are acting because you care and you don’t want them to be hurt.

John 15:13 talks about the ULTIMATE FRIENDSHIP. {Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends}God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jesus gave his life for us that we should not perish. In John 15:14 He says that “You are my friends if you do what I command.” Jesus loves us and He is our friend. He gave his life for us as a role model of how a friend should be

Who is NOT a friend?

– A faithfu1l friend is a strong defense: and he that hath found such an one hath found a treasure. — Ecclesiastics 6:14

The Bible speaks of several men who deceived others under the guise of friendship. This world is full of convenient friendship, and the devil is pretty good at this game. So, once again, I turned to the Bible to see what it has to say about this kind of friendship.

An enemy is one who-

1. Is Selfish – Pro 18:1 {An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment.} There are many “friends” who are friendly only because they seek your favor. They can use you for their own selfish gains. 

2. Seeks wealth and gifts – Pro 19:4- 6 {⁴Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man’s friend deserts him. ⁵ A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free. ⁶ Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts.} King Solomon would have first-hand knowledge about this because he was the wealthiest man alive during his time, and many “friends” would have passed by his house. 

3. Gossips – Pro 16:28 {A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.}  You should notice that it says “A” gossip. Even a small, little, tiny gossip, could go a long way to spoil a good friendship or relationship. It is important not to gossip on your friends. Also do not listen to gossip because it leads to separation of friends and suspicion. 

4. Flatters – Pro 27:6 {Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.} About flatterers the psalmist says Psalms 5:9 {For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.} The Bible goes straight to the point where flatterers are concerned. They are called as unfaithful and wicked.
Proverbs 29:5 says that“A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.”Job 17:5 says “He that speaketh flattery to [his] friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.” So let us beware of these things and not resort to flattery, but rather speak the truth and glorify God.

5.  Lovers of this world – James 4:4 {Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God} 

So who are your friends?

Ps 119:63 says “I am the companion of all that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.”  That is who our friends should be. Our friends should be people who fear the Lord, and who keep his commandments. And as a friend, we should also fear the Lord and keep His commandments. This is the basis of Biblical friendship.