MEMORISE:
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
READ: Genesis 22:7-14
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
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.
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
MESSAGE
It is amazing that in spite of the exuberant declaration of faith in today’s memory verse, some children of God still look up to financiers, godfather and other human providers to meet their needs. We must take note that what this verse says and learn an eternal truth from it. In it, the Holy Spirit lumped all our life requirements into singular form and simply called it “need”, because they are not a big deal for our God to handle. Failure to understand this truth can cause a child of God to fall for the devil’s trick of supposedly turning stone into bread. He tried to deceive Jesus with this tactic in the wilderness of temptation, but thank God he failed (Luke 4:3-4). What does it mean to turn stone into bread? It means obtaining satisfaction through satisfaction through illegitimate means or outside God’s plan of provision for you.
Today’s Bible reading narrates Father Abraham’s encounter with the Almighty Jehovah-Jireh on one of the mountains in the land of Morah. Abraham had been instructed to go to the land of Morah to sacrifice his only son of promise there. In the course of their journey, Isaac, already accustomed to the rites of sacrifice, noticed that something vital was missing. In Genesis 22:7c, he asked his father:
“Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
This serves as a great lesson to all parents. Do your children know what it takes to serve your God? What have taught them about Christian service in tithing and other areas of giving? What about the requirement of peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14)? In response to Isaac’s question, Abraham demonstrated his faith in God’s ability to meet his needs, saying in Genesis 22:8:
“My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering”
Beloved, it is time for you to re-examine your walk with God to see if you possess enough trust in the One who is able to meet all your needs without you compromising your faith. Do you need a job urgently? God knew this even before you were born. Do you need a promotion to take you over and above the tyrant boss who is hindering you from serving your God as expected? Jehovah-Jireh will do without you being a sycophant or sleeping around with the personnel manager. Are you in serious debt and your income is not able to pay it off? Trust in Jehovah-Jireh and don’t attempt to use His tithes to pay your debt. The one who paid your debt of sin is also able to pay your debt of money (Romans 8:32). I say to you in the words of Apostle Paul, “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” do you believe this? Blessed are you if you do.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, help my unbelief and meet me at the point of my need today in Jesus’ Name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 23-24
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 8: MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE
1. My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!
2. May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!
3. While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.
4. When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold, sullen stream
Shall o’er me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
Oh, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!
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