15.1.07

The Wealth of Possessing Nothing

Mercy's Cross-14 January 2007~My notes

The desire of God's heart is to have completely our hearts.

Tangible things are things that God has given us to manage, but not possess. Spiritually, you have to give everything away. Materially, you have to be willing to open your hands and give the ownership of your stuff to God. What will you do with what God has given you? What do you have that you did not receive from God?

Jam 2:13 No mercy will be shown to those who show no mercy to others. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Jam 2:14 My brothers and sisters, what good does it do if someone claims to have faith but doesn't do any good things? Can this kind of faith save him?
Jam 2:15 Suppose a believer, whether a man or a woman, needs clothes or food
Jam 2:16 and one of you tells that person, "God be with you! Stay warm, and make sure you eat enough." If you don't provide for that person's physical needs, what good does it do?


Jam 1:9 Humble believers should be proud because being humble makes them important.
Jam 1:10 Rich believers should be proud because being rich should make them humble.


Mat 5:3 "Blessed are those who recognize they are spiritually helpless. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.


We should recognize that our stuff is not ours, but it is given to us for awhile so that we can work for God.

Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me.
Mat 16:25 Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me will find them.
Mat 16:26 What good will it do for people to win the whole world and lose their lives? Or what will a person give in exchange for life?
Mat 16:27 The Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory. Then he will pay back each person based on what that person has done.
Mat 16:28 I can guarantee this truth: Some people who are standing here will not die until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."


The primary reason we give of ourselves is because it reflects God. When we stand before him on that day he will reward us for that faithfulness. God wants us not to live our lives only for ourselves.

Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me.


Jesus carried his own cross. We had nothing to do with that. Like Jesus, we have to carry our own cross, whatever that cross may be. It's only through experimentation that you will discover what God wants you to do. You can't learn anything about the grace of God without being in a community (i.e. alone). If you are alone, you can't learn to bear the burdens of others, love others, forgive others and learn from others.

Gen 22:1 Later God tested Abraham and called to him, "Abraham!" "Yes, here I am!" he answered.
Gen 22:2 God said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will show you."
Gen 22:3 Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place that God had told him about.


Isaac was the son of promise through which Jesus would come. God asked Abraham to do the hardest thing ever, but he did it. He had two choices; either to trust God or not.

Gen 22:3 Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place that God had told him about.


Between verses 2 and 3, Isaac dies in the heart of Abraham. He prepares everything for the burnt offering. To Abraham, Isaac was already dead.

Heb 11:17 When God tested Abraham, faith led him to offer his son Isaac. Abraham, the one who received the promises from God, was willing to offer his only son as a sacrifice.
Heb 11:18 God had said to him, "Through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name."
Heb 11:19 Abraham believed that God could bring Isaac back from the dead. Abraham did receive Isaac back from the dead in a figurative sense.


Abraham believed God was able to raise his son from the dead. God is the resurrector.
Remember this: The Spirit of God the Resurrector, the Holy Spirit lives in you.

Gen 22:4 And on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from a distance.


He traveled for 3 days and for those days, even though Isaac was alive, talking to him and with him, in his heart he knew he was dead. (Can you imagine being with someone for 3 days knowing that they were already dead? If I had been with David 3 days before he died and I knew he was going to die, but there was nothing I could do about it, I think I would have died of heartbreak more so than I did when I didn't know anything was wrong with him and then he died suddenly.) It is quite evident that God didn't make this journey easy for Abraham. (This is a parallel to Jesus' death. He was dead for 3 days and then God raised him from the dead.)

Gen 22:7 And Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, My father. And he said, Behold me. And he said, Behold, the fire and the wood! But where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will see to the lamb for Himself, for a burnt offering. And the two of them went together.
Gen 22:9 And they came to the place which God had said to him. And Abraham built there the altar, and arranged the wood. And he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on the wood.
Gen 22:10 And Abraham put out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.


When Isaac spoke to Abraham and asked him where the lamb was for the burnt offering, it was probably a temptation for him to find a lamb to sacrifice instead of his son. How many times do we let those closest to us influence what we do and say when we should be listening to God? (I'm so guilty of this.)

Gen 22:11 And the Angel of Jehovah called to him from the heavens and said, Abraham! Abraham! And he said, Behold me.


There are times when you are walking in what God wants you to do, but you don't listen to God because you are so distracted. Sometimes what God wants you to do will change. (Do I listen to God when I'm supposed to change paths? I can't say for sure that I do all the time. I'm pretty stubborn. Then, there are times when I can hear him clearly. Those times are in the minority.)

Gen 22:12 And He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy, nor do anything to him. For now I know that you are a God-fearer, and you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me.
Gen 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked. And behold! A ram behind him was entangled in a thicket by its horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it for a burnt offering instead of his son.
Gen 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Will See; so that it is said until this day, In the mount of Jehovah it will be seen.


God shows his love here and we see that God loves Isaac as much as he loves Abraham. This test was for Abraham to know where his heart was.

YHVHYRH (Yehovahyireh)~God My Provider; God will see to it

Gen 22:16 And He said, I have sworn by Myself, declares Jehovah, that on account of this thing you have done, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
Gen 22:17 that blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the shore of the sea. And your Seed shall possess the gate of His enemies.
Gen 22:18 And in your Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed My voice.


At this point, Abraham possesses nothing even though the Bible records that he was a rich man, materially speaking. He had given Isaac, his only son whom he had waited for for so many years and whom he had wanted for so long, to God in the deepest place of his heart. But, because he obeyed God, he had everything. Spiritually, he was wealthy beyond measure.

God doesn't test you because he doesn't know your heart, it's because you don't know your own heart. The more you know God, the more you know your own heart. This increases your faith.


~~~~~~~~~~These are just my notes from the service yesterday. For some reason I took a bucketload of notes. Like I was in class or something. I noticed that even the lady sitting next to me was copying some of my notes. Weird, but ok. It's just that I've never had anyone copy off of me in church. It's kind of funny now that I sit here and think about it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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2 Comments:

Blogger . said...

havnt heard from you in a while. (and you dont answer my emails :(..)

let me know how that religion/god thing works out, id be interested to know.

iv tried to keep my faith alive, im close enough to trip the wire.

i have heard that the entire thing is just an entire psychological crutch, if you will.

dont take anything i say to the heart though. my head isnt the clearest its been in a while. (for example, its almost 4am and i have class in a couple hours. insomnia sucks.)

January 17, 2007 4:38 AM  
Blogger Anais Nin said...

Well, I tried to write a response to you, but for some reason Blogger decided not to save it.
Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't been answering your emails. I did get the one you wrote about being in that bad accident. I didn't really know what to say to you. I wanted to call you and ask if you were alright, but you never answer your phone and never reply to my text messages. So I guess we're both at fault. I'm so sorry that you had that accident and that you are in so much pain. I really hope that you get better soon.
Oh, and just fyi, I've been a Christian since 1988. So, this posting of notes from church services and from Celebrate Recovery though it's a new thing here on my blog, is not a new thing for me. It's not a "God-thing". I've been trying to have a relationship with God ever since I became a Christian. It waxes and wanes, just like any other relationship I have, which is totally my fault because God never goes anywhere. It's me that moves. So, I just wanted to let you know that my being a Christian isn't a new thing. You know, Sally and Tanya are Christians too.

January 17, 2007 10:27 AM  

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