Genesis 22:2-8 says, ”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.
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
- Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
- And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
- 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?
- And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together”.
Beloved, good and honest sacrifice is the best and surest way of attracting God’s bless-ings for God honours them that honour Him and lightly esteems they that despise Him. Many people have been blessed or exalted in this life in one area or the other because of the sacrificial services they rendered to God.
The quick responses they got from the Lord have gone to show that sacrificial service is a sure way of obtaining God’s bless-ing. Every promise of God carries its own condition along with it. The beneficiaries shall have the blessing, provided they faithfully do the service. This is a standard from which God has never departed and every promise is made in reference to it. As you deal with God, you must expect to be dealt with by God. So if you wish to be assured of a blessing, you must follow the examples of those whom the Lord has bless-ed in time past.
Abraham paid the price for his honour when he obeyed the instruction of God to leave his kindred and country to an unknown place. He also obeyed God when he was instructed to sacrifice his only son.
He actually was prepared to offer his only son Isaac as sacrifice to the Almighty God until the ram which the Lord prepared for Himself in the place of the child manifested.
God has so designed it that before anyone will be exalted or honoured in this life and hereafter, he or she must offer some sacrifices as was the case in the Bible days.
Genesis 12:1-3 says, ”Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
The scriptures are not written in vain, everything we read there-in is supposed to be applied in our daily lives; and as we do them the blessing which the people who ran the race in the before us and received re-wards will be extended to us. As we follow the steps of our fathers of faith and go on to do what they did, we cannot be denied God’s blessing and honour.
Abraham was exceedingly blessed by the Almighty God because he paid the price. And so, if today, you desire to be honoured, you must pay the price in one way or the other, you must determine to deny yourself the pleasure of the world.
Luke 5: 1-7 says, “And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
- And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink”.
Simon Peter and the members of his fishing team toiled all the night but caught nothing. It was only when he obeyed the Lord, made the sacrifice by giving out his ship to the Lord for a preaching session that the Almighty God blessed him bountifully by making them catch a large number of fishes. No one ever gives to the Lord for the cause of the master’s work without receiving a reward much bigger than what he gave; this is because nobody can give above God.
Whenever the presence of God is felt, it is important that you identify with Him by giving to His work, and then He will surely bless you beyond expectations. Remember, the way you serve or give determines the way you will be blessed or received from God. If you give plentiful sacrifices or render bountiful services, you will be rewarded with bountiful blessing. The measure of your sacrificial services will attract equal measure of blessing.
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