Within this Breakthrough series, we have focused on how to grow in our walk with the Lord by prioritizing intimacy with God, trusting Him when we don’t understand, and choosing to seek truth. Today, we’ll look at the life of Abraham and see how obedience to God can revolutionize our faith by bringing us closer to Him.
Lessons From Abraham
There is a major difference between hearing God and obeying God. Abraham had decades of experience following God by the time we read about his moment of testing in Genesis 22. Throughout this chapter, we see Abraham’s obedience modeled from the moment that God shows up and calls his name. This obedience remains, even when God tests him by asking him to sacrifice Isaac. All the way through this chapter, Abraham’s response is faith and obedience. May way look at our lives and say the very same!
"Here I Am"
In Genesis 22:1, we see that God calls out to Abraham to test him. Upon hearing God call his name, Abraham simply says “Here I am.” He doesn’t yet know what God is going to ask of him - but he makes a decision ahead of time to make himself available to God’s call. The word that Abraham uses here is “heneni.” Hineni is “a pure, astonished, unguarded affirmation given before all the facts are known. It is a spontaneous, unequivocal commitment” (Sefaria). One author says “you’ve got to watch out how you say it, because it is a way of expressing total readiness to give oneself - it’s an offer of total availability” (One For Israel).
This is the willing response that Abraham gives when God calls his name. He doesn’t know the testing to come, but he trusts the God who calls him. We’re going to look at three ways that God can often guide us - but the most important thing to remember is to make ourselves available to Him, no matter what He asks of us.
God's direction can be clear
In Genesis 22, God gives Abraham clear directions on exactly what He is calling Abraham to do. Those directions are not easy. God calls Abraham to sacrifice the son who God had finally provided to him after years of infertility and prayer. Sometimes God gives us clear directions - and often they are not easy to follow. The clearest source of direction that we have as modern believers is found in the Scriptures, which contain everything we need “for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Like Abraham, we must take God at His word and obey Him - even when the command is challenging.
god's guidance can be quiet
While God speaks clearly to Abraham in Genesis 22, there are other moments in Scripture where God’s voice is defined as a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12). God will not always give you a 10 step game plan on where He is calling you to go. Sometimes, He will quietly guide you through prayer, worship, and conversations. Once you have made the decision ahead of time to say “yes” to God, make the decision to seek God daily and leave space for Him to speak to you gently. If you crowd out your life with other noises and voices, you will not be able to hear Him when His guidance comes softly.
god grows us in the silence
Once God told Abraham to take Isaac up to the mountain, he faced a 3 day journey with his son up to the altar. I imagine these days were filled with deafening silence. God gave Abraham a command, and now he had to wait in the silence to see how God would work. We know that God would provide a sacrifice in Isaac’s place, and we can see that Abraham had faith in God’s provision (Genesis 22:5-8). Still - he had no concrete clarity on what the plan was. All Abraham knew for sure was what God had asked and how much it could cost him to obey.
Abraham’s obedience even in the silence resulted in his ability to see God provide a means of salvation for Isaac and gave him insight into the salvific heart of our God that would one day send Jesus to die in our place. When it feels like God is silent and you are tempted to despair on the road of obedience and sacrifice - hold steady and keep the faith. God may be growing you in ways you never expected.
Conclusion: obedience will lead you toward god
Sometimes God directs us clearly, other times He guides us quietly, and often He grows us in moments of silence. No matter how God is moving in your life - make a decision ahead of time to obey Him at all costs. Just like Abraham, this obedience will draw you even closer to God and offer you opportunities to experience His character and provision in powerful ways. If you want breakthrough in your life this year, make a choice to live in obedience and surrender!
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Breakthrough Week 4: February 2nd, 2025 Preached by Pastor Ben Dieterly
Article Edited by Julia Castro
This sermon series was inspired by the Think Ahead series preached by Chris Beall, Tim Doremus, Sam Marin, and Craig Groeschel. We have used some of their free resources to assist us in organizing our sermon outlines for this series!
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