it doesn’t say, “If you love Me, you will read your Bible for one hour every day, pray without ceasing, be nice to everyone, give a 10 percent tithe and 5 percent to missions, and volunteer in church.” So many people allow religious practices and man-made interpretations of the Scriptures to rule their spirit. Well-meaning Christians steer people down the wrong path of regulation and ritual instead of one of living in the grace of relationship with Christ.
If you’ve ever been to Hillsong Church, you know that we place great value on biblical principles such as servanthood, tithing, giving, sharing the faith, and worship. But we’re not bound by them! It’s not an environment where you’ll be kicked out if you didn’t say your prayers or forgot to bring your Bible. When you walk in a true, living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ, obedience becomes not a sacrifice but an overflow of your love for God. Your ability to hear God’s voice (and not only hear Him but listen and trust His best intentions and promises for your life) becomes the greatest driving force of your desire to obey. Seeking first the kingdom becomes a natural response rather than a forced reaction.
The Cost of More
One of the foremost examples of obedience in the Bible comes early in God’s Word. The Genesis story of Abraham and Sarah bearing a promised son in their old age is one of those shout-from-the-rooftop, our-God-answers-prayer testimonies. For years, this barren woman carried the shame of her condition, while her husband waited on the fulfillment of a prophecy that he would father multitudes. Multitudes? From a ninety-year-old barren woman? Yet our God once again did the impossible. They named him Isaac, and I imagine he was the joy of their lives. He was the culmination of hope and trust, a promise and a dream that their descendants—through this small child—would be as numerous as all the stars in the sky.
So that is why I find the story of Abraham and his miracle son on a mountain in Moriah perhaps the most confronting story in the Old Testament. As a dad, my natural inclination is always to protect my children and do anything I can to keep them from harm. When they were young, it was “Please hold my hand” when crossing the road or always being careful to double-check the latch on the pool fence. As they got older, it became “Drive carefully” and “Don’t be late,” said kindly but firmly as they walked out the door. It would be true to say that our children tend to keep our prayer lives active, and although I have always been devoted to keeping my word and not canceling preaching appointments, if someone in my family were genuinely in pain or trouble, everything in me would want to rush to his or her side. My commitment and loyalty will always be to family.
That’s why, as a dad, I can’t even contemplate how it must have felt when God asked of Abraham the unthinkable:
It came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”
And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.” (Genesis 22:1–8)
I’ve read this passage numerous times in my Christian journey. We know what comes next, but do we ever stop to think about those moments between the sacrifice and the provision? Obedience. Abraham certainly wasn’t doing it because he wanted to. I imagine he was walking up that mountain trembling, wiping tears from his eyes and sweat from his brow, praying that this wasn’t the moment when God would snuff out His promise.
Think of the conversation when Isaac looked at his father, confusion and innocence on his face. “But Daddy, where is the sheep to kill?”
Abraham’s response—“God Himself will provide the lamb”—was faith filled, but his actions were defining. He didn’t just stop at lip service. The Scriptures tell us he bound his son, laid sticks around him, placed him on the altar, and raised his hand to slay his boy.
Obedience is costly.
Trust the Provider
In Abraham’s hand he held his boy, in his heart he held his promise, and in his obedience the Lord provided.
The Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
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. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”
Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (verses 11–18)
Can you digest those promises? Blessings: “I will bless you.” Fruitfulness: “I will multiply you.” And the blessing didn’t stop with Abraham, for God said that because of his obedience, the nations would also be blessed.
I want to suggest to you that there is “more” on the other side of your obedience, both now and in the future. Your ability to hold fast to the promises of God, trust in His provision, and believe that His desire for your life is abundance will hold you in good stead time and time again. That when the difficult times, the testing times, the waiting times, and the trying times come, Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord our Provider, is walking ten steps ahead, purposing the above-all-you-could-ask-or-imagine life, both here and in eternity.
Abraham’s initial promise (found in Genesis 15) was for numerous descendants. His reward for obedience was an honor bestowed on him that would outlast time. You see, Abraham was to become the patriarch of the Davidic line that would lead to Christ. It was obedience that led him to abundantly above all he could ask or imagine.
What a promise! What a hope we have! Unlike Abraham, we have been given all the promises of abundant life
