The Cloud of Witnesses
Former title Lessons From the People of the Bible
Set 1Available for NZ$25 + shipping. Enquire at the email address at the bottom of the page. These lessons are also available as PDFs (with the number of lessons in brackets). Abraham (5) — David (5) — Esther (4) — Gideon (5) — Isaac (6) — Jacob (7) — Job (6) — John the Baptist (6) — Jonah (4) — Jonathan (6) — Joseph (10) — Joseph of Nazareth (6) — Mary (4) — Mary Magdalene (4) — Mary of Bethany (3) — Moses (5) — Nehemiah (8) — Nicodemus (4) — Noah (6) — Paul the Apostle (5) — Peter (5) — Philip (4) — Ruth (7) — King Saul (6) — Stephen (6) — Thomas (4)Download the complete set 1 as PDFs (2.46 MB).The lessons of set 1 are also available as individual online lessons below. |
Set 2Available for NZ$25 + shipping. Enquire at the email address at the bottom of the page. These lessons are available as PDFs (with the number of lessons in brackets). These PDFs have not yet been updated to the new name. Andrew (7) — Caleb (7) — Daniel (7) — Elijah (6) — Elisha (5) — Isaiah (21) — John (22) — Joshua (16) — Leah (2) — Luke (22) — Mary Magdalene (3) — Matthew (9) — Miriam (4) — Nahum (2) — Rachel (6) — Rebekah (5) — Samson (5)Download the complete set 2 as PDFs (1.85 MB). |
Abraham
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Lesson 4: Abraham – Passed The Test
Reading
Genesis 22.
Just trust and obey God
God is not so much interested in our comfort as in our character. God isn’t wanting us to be happy all the time but obedient! I guess if there is one thing I have learnt over the years, it is that God wants us to trust Him in every circumstance of life.
Just when I congratulate myself on learning to trust God through one set of circumstances, He appears to send another one along of deeper significance and I’m left hanging on for dear life.
It’s so easy in our world of convenience and instant gratification to treat God more like a genie of the lamp than the Holy God He is. We get into a fix, maybe even of our own making, and start screaming to God to get us out. And if He doesn’t, we immediately think He doesn’t love us or He is not the Good God we once thought He was.
Everything we experience here on earth is actually designed to prepare us for Heaven – scary thought, isn’t it? To prepare us for a life of total obedience and immeasurable power. The trouble is power without obedience self-destructs.
We always want the power without the humble obedience. Without the heart-wrenching cry of – “Not my will be done but Yours be done.” Yes, we need to be prepared to offer that exclamation of ultimate worship to God, the Father – just as did Jesus, the Son (And just as Abraham did when he offered up his son Isaac).
The problem with that is, of course, that it only leaves our lips when God has challenged us and is about to take away from us the very thing we hold most dear.
You know what the greatest treasure in your life is. Maybe it’s your job, your achievements, your wealth, your ministry, your spouse or your child.
Whatever it is - will you offer it up to God unreservedly? Because until you do, you will know nothing of what God means by “obedience is greater than sacrifice!”
Abraham would say to us today...
No matter how much you think you are a Christian, the real test comes when what you treasure most has to be laid on the altar for God. Will you do that? I did and never regretted it.
Prayer
Father, none of us relishes those hard tests, and yet You desire that we learn to trust You in every area and through every circumstance of our lives. Please give us the courage to hold onto what You say and to be obedient to whatever You ask of us – so that one day we will hear those immortal words – Well done, good and faithful servant. Amen.
Additional readings
Genesis 6:8-22; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 24:13-35.
Questions
How do we reach that place where we can trust God in the most difficult of circumstances?
What do you believe God will do for you?
Are you prepared to let it go, so God can fulfil it in ways beyond your wildest dreams?
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