What does 1 John 4:19 teach us? We love because He first loved us.
(He is the initiator. We are the responders.)
Abraham (the father) loved his son first and Isaac responded with love that naturally lead to him TRUSTING and OBEYING his father
We see this as Issac "bowed", "bended his knee" in submission and LAID down and let his father bind him when he noticed there was no lamb for the sacrifice
because he didn't question his father's love for him.
Although God has the right to lead and IS the leader..
if WE don't give Him the right to lead, He cannot lead us!
Image: Someone we trust and love (husband, parent, friend) grabs our arm and tries to lead us somewhere..
We would follow.
But if it's a stranger, we would not follow!
Thought this was the perfect picture for an example..Nooree does not look like he knows where he is even going in this picture..and we are in some creepy looking woods..but because I know and trust him..I still follow....(although it looks as though I prob shouldn't in this case..but unlike our husbands, God always knows where He is taking us ..hhaha)
Do we know and trust Him??
Why do the sheep lay down?
Psalm 23:
The sheep that knows the Shepherd will lie down when He tells them to, even though everything around them looks like they shouldn't rest or lie down, because they trust the Shepherd.
They don't have peace in the circumstances, but in the one who leads them.
And as the sheep learn to follow the Shepherd, they learn to TRUST and OBEY more and more.
Definition of Forebearance: Patience, endurance, abstinence, self-control, abstaining from the enforcement of a right.
It was in the SMALL areas of life that Abraham practiced and learned to bow his knee to God..
so, when it came to the BIG thing..He was able to do it.
Because he knew that it was GOOD for him!
*Our role as parents are to teach our children to be humble before the Lord and bow their knees to God as we also bow our knees to God.
Gensis 22:1 says God tested Abraham. Why does God test us?
- 1 Peter 1:6-7 - That the genuineness of our faith would be shown and bring praise, glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Exodus 20:20 - So that we would learn the fear of the Lord, given the gift of the fear of the Lord and so that we won't sin.
- Deuteronomy 8:2 - To humble us (bow our knee to Him) and for us to see what's really in our hearts.
- Deuteronomy 8:16 - To humble us and to do good for us in the end.
- James 1:2-3 - To produce steadfastness.
"Faith is shown to be real when it's tested." - Wonmin Kim (hehe)
Hebrew word for "worship" is shachah or proskuneo in Greek which means to bow self-down, crouch, fall down flat, and humbly beseech.
Abraham said he and Issac were going to go worship and come back down..
He was saying that they were going to "bow down" and submit to God's perfect will.
It's hard to put our hope in God in things that we don't understand and follow Him in areas..
but Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to not to lean on our own understanding and trust in the Lord!
We need to learn how to submit and bow down to our earthly authority figures (husbands, parents, etc..) even when they are wrong (except when they are sinning)..and it will make you stronger and we receive blessings from that as well.
Some good questions from our sisters:
- What are the "Issacs" in your life that you can't lay down before God?
- Can we prioritize God over the many little "issacs" in our lives?
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