“And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me” (Genesis 22:12)
TEXT — Genesis 22:1-14
Message
Sometimes, we use the expression, “acid test”, loosely, without contemplating its full ramification. The term originated during the earliest times when gold was widely circulated. Nitric acid was applied to an object of gold to see if it was genuine. If it was fake, the acid decomposed it; if it was genuine, the gold was unaffected. All sorts of things are tested to prove that they are real. When you go to a bank, for instance, and give a currency bill to the cashier, she holds it to a special light. She is checking to make sure it is genuine. Does our character survive the “acid test” of this world?
God tested Abraham to determine the genuineness of his faith. Having waited 25 years for Isaac, the son of promise, he must have found the demand to sacrifice the object of his love, as a difficult command to obey. However, Abraham took his son and went in the direction he was told. He knew God was in control. That was the reason, when Isaac asked the question about the lamb for the sacrifice, Abraham responded that, “God will provide.” When it was time to offer Isaac, the Lord brought a lamb as substitute. God commended his obedience and blessed him greatly. The greater the test, the bigger the reward.
Before we start singing ‘Abraham’s blessings are mine’, let us pause and ponder his obedience. Several obstacles confronted him on his path of obedience. Informing Sarah about the request could have botched the whole plan. And if Isaac himself had not cooperated and submitted, it would have been difficult for old Abraham to compel him.
What comes to us today as we read this is that our faith will be tested before it can be accepted. Our love must be proven to ascertain its genuineness. How deep is your love? And how genuine is your faith?
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
God bless us.
God bless Our Pastor.
He is an excellent father of faith