PUSH BUTTONS.
The Giver Comes First.
I believe if cavalry was to stand in the sunshine and cast a shadow, it will fall on Gen 22 seeing that it was a pivotal time of transition for Abraham. All that God had promised Abraham was predicated upon a son; an heir, God had given him the land to posses it but what good is it to acquire things when you have no one to pass it too, Isaac is the seed that will bring the harvest, everything in his entire historical and future data is hinged on the survival of this one child. Then God said the most ridiculous thing you want to tell a 100 years old man with just an only beloved child.
“Take your son, your only son, whom you love-Isaac- and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you” Gen 22: 2 (NIV)
Isaac was not just going to be offered as an offering but a burnt offering…to be wiped off completely and yet without argument or protest while the dew was still descending and the sun about to peak in that Eastern sky, Abraham got on a journey that lasted three days to a place he wasn’t even told. Moriah is a string of mountains, God didn’t tell him which one.
Somewhere in your life the lord will request what he has given to you, to see if you have fallen in love, with the gift rather than the giver. When God gives you something; keep your eyes on the Giver, not on the gift. Imagine Abraham telling Sarah “the one time God opened your womb, what came out of it will be sacrificed to the Lord". Quietly he obeyed the Lord. When God leads you to that supposedly special someone, you must keep your eyes on God; not on the person
When the believer prays, the lower goal of praying is to get an answer. The higher goal is to get a hold of God, not on the answer, when we pray, the lower goal of God answering us is to give us something or someone. The higher goal He has is to make us Something or Someone. Abraham was 75 years old when God promised him a son. He was 100 when Isaac came. In that time Abram became Abraham, he had changed.
“and get to the region of Moriah..” You don’t have to have all the details, just get into the region, it is only in the region you will find the exact mountain, the region is the right company of saints, the region is the reading and studying of the Word, the region is walking in obedience to what He has told you even though you haven’t seen the place. Get in the region.
Following God is the most amazing mission of your life, when you really start following God, He will make you do things you don’t know how to do, he will make you go places you haven’t been too. He is looking right into your heart to see if you are going to prioritize His gifts above His person.
When you study Genesis 22 very well, “The Place” is mentioned about four times, so critical. The right son, the right wood, the right knife, but without the right place will be an abortion of destiny. You can’t afford to make the right sacrifice in the wrong place. The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman was about “The Place” where is this place? Let the New explain the old.
“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” — John.4.20
“Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.” — John.4.21
“the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” — John.4.23
Listen there is a place in the Spirit you got to fight your way into, you have to get to the place God can do what He is trying to do in and with your life. There is a place in the spirit where no confusion can get to, there is a place in the spirit where provisions are transferred, there is a place in the spirit where weariness will dissipate out of your mind, there is place in the spirit where no weapon formed against you shall prosper.
Notice, the closer Abraham got to the place, the more he separated himself from the people. The closer you get to the secret place of the spirit, the more you have to separate yourself from some things and people that will not allow you go within the veil. The devil’s best opportunity to get you is before you get into the place.
The Place was a private affair between the Father and the Son, just the two of them, that’s the place of sacrifice where you don’t withhold the gift from the giver. it was not the nail that killed Jesus, Isaiah said he was smitten of God, wounded for our transgression.
Oh dear Lord! Abraham finally got to the place, tied his son and was about to kill his only son and God called out to him
“Do not lay a hand on the boy,…Now I know that you fear God”
In effect, Now I know I can give you a gift and it won’t become an idol, now I can give you a house including wealth, influence, a Job, spouse, and it won’t become so cute that it becomes an obsession. Ultimately you come to the place where it is not about the gifts but about the giver.
To someone reading this, the Lord is saying to you “I will give you what you want, if it doesn’t take over you, I will give you what you desire, if it doesn’t become your god.” The problem with the prodigal son was that he loved the gift above the giver and things fell apart. Whenever the Lord gives you something, do you forget the giver? Don’t love his things more than you love him. Get into deeper realms of worship where you tell him “you are worth more than these”
Imagine Abraham had gotten into the wrong place (mountain) in the region of Moriah? That would have been the end we will hear of him. His provision was waiting on him. Your provision is tied to your being in the right place. Jesus said the Place is Spirit and Truth!!!!
God is working something in you dear believer
God wants your life to matter forever. He wants to work His eternal into your temporal. His ultimate into your immediate. His quest into your requests.
Nothing may seem to be happening in your life now like Abraham, but remember that when heavy construction is being carried out in the metropolis, there usually a blockade and no one can pass through, with the sign “Caution, Men Are Working”
“Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.” — Gen.22.13
You are not waiting on the Blessing, the Blessing is waiting on you. Get into the place of Truth and Spirit and there; withhold nothing from Him.
Do have a remarkable week.
Michael D. Olaniyi
@mdolaniyi
Push Buttons is a weekly devotional of The Powerpoint Tribe
