“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”.

…Romans 12:1

Abraham’s obedience in sacrificing Isaac without hesitation was one of the things which got him inducted into the biblical hall of faith (in Hebrews 11). It was one of the key stories we grew up on in Sunday school. So Abraham is revered among believers as he rightly should. Little recognition though is given to Isaac for his participation on the events on mount moriah!

What may be responsible for this is the imagery that we grew up on of isaac being a young boy between 2 and 6 when he was offered by Abraham. But proper theological study by hebrew scholars indicates that Isaac though not an adult, was certainly not the young helpless child we grew up imagining. Chronologically the Mt. Moriah experience took place when Isaac was somewhere between the age of 18 & 30. This being the case, it casts a new light on the whole event. It means Isaac was certainly old enough to offer formidable resistance to his 100 yr old plus father who was attempting to sacrifice him to Yahweh without his prior consent.

We know that prophetically innocent Isaac was a typology of Jesus who was offered up by the father as remission for our sins.

All new testament believers being slaves to Christ are called to offer themselves as living sacrifices unto God. Isaac’s perfect obedience offers 4 key Litmus tests that will reveal the degree to which you and I as christians are prepared to offer up ourselves (Body + Soul + Spirit) as living sacrifices.

Isaac’s 4 Litmus Tests of a Living Sacrifice

I. Availability | ‘Take-ability’

“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”

Genesis 22:3
  • One key litmus test to know how prepared you are to be a living sacrifice for God is your ‘take-ability’. Early in the morning before other business could be conducted, as a matter of top priority and urgency Abraham took Isaac (presumably without notice). Isaac offered no resistance, or complaint, He was Available!.
  • Romans 8:14 tells us that “as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God“. Matthew 4:1 also offers a direct parallel of Jesus whom immediately after His baptism “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil”.
  • Are you available for God to ‘take you’ (or your time) without notice??
  • Or is your schedule so tight and busy that He realistically cannot get your undivided attention until friday?.
  • Can the Holy Spirit lead you out in worship/intercession/study in the early hours of the morning or must He book an appointment & wait if He wants to fellowship with you outside of the time you have allotted to Him in your strictly regimented schedule??
  • Can you honestly say that you are led of the Spirit regularly as a sheep is led of the shepherd? or are you too self-willed and ‘independent’ like a stubborn horse or mule that needs to be ‘reigned in’ by the bit-n-bridle of pain & trouble before you come close to your father?..Prov 32:8-9

II. ‘Yoke-ability’ | Burden bearing!

6 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.

Gen 22:6
  • In Mathew 11:29 Jesus invites us to take His yoke upon us. But yielded sons who love their father and their Lord with all their hearts do not require an invitation nor need to to grant their Lord permission
  • Abraham simply took the yoke of burnt offering and placed it upon isaac.
  • Can & does Jesus confidently and comfortably place Kingdom burdens and issues from His heart upon your shoulders? Or must you be compelled to carry the cross like simon the cyrene?
  • Are you the type who is only interested in kingdom matters in so far as no sacrifice is required of you or unless it pertains to your supplications directly?
  • Abraham and Isaac ‘went both of them together‘ as two who are in the complete agreement Amos 3:3 describes.
    Are you in full agreement with God as it pertains to His call on your life, carrying your cross and denying yourself daily etc?
    Or are there still many areas where you are still wrestling Him like Jacob?

III. ‘Constrain-ability’ | Bound by the Holy Spirit!

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

Genesis 22:9
  • To become born again is to be free from the judgement and power of sin and the bondage of satan. We all know this. BUT It doesn’t actually mean we are free to live our lives as we please now. The truth is that it is no longer your life, it belongs to Christ and you are yoked now to Him. The awesome news though is that this is a better condition than being ‘free’ because He himself is true life! And only in Him will you walk in true freedom.
  • Isaac’s submissiveness demonstrated one crucial requirement for offering up ourselves as living sacrifices. He allowed himself to be bound by His father without resistance and rancour.
  • Like Isaac, to become true living sacrifices, we must submissively yield ourselves to be:
    Bound in our Hands:- Accept the ‘constraints’ our Father places on our engagements, activities, and even our battles. We must accept the ‘constraints’ of God as pertaining to certain aspects of our lives because we trust and love our Father and demonstrate this trust by accepting His constraints in any aspect of our lives?
    Bound in our Feet: – Just as Isaac, if our reasonable service must be acceptable to the Lord, we will not resist God’s constraints as pertaining to our ‘movements’ and ‘ambitions’. We must be prepared to accept any limitations and boundaries which He places upon our feet. Remember they no longer serve us but His purpose first.
    Cover our Eyes:- For us to pass the litmus test of preparedness to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, then we must also permit the Lord to place a restriction on our visions and appetites which may be feeding any selfish ambitions, lusts, and covetousness. It doesn’t mean we cannot have visions, but our motives cannot take a carnal bent but rather a kingdom minded one.
  • Mathew 14:22 “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away”
  • Luke 12;50 “But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!”
  • Do you recognise any areas of constraint by the spirit in your life in which you are fully compliant even to the point of foolishness?
  • Isaac had the physical strength to cast of the restraints of His father. But i firmly believe that he laid down even to the point of death because he had caught the vision of Israel in the promised land from Abraham. Interesting that proverbs 29:18a says this
    “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; “

IV. ‘Perishability’ | If I Perish, I perish…but i go!

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

Genesis 22:10
  • When it came to the final point of the cross in the garden of gethsemane, Jesus demonstrated the ultimate struggle but yet utterly surrendered Himself to the father’s will saying in luke 22:42 “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
  • If Isaac was discerning enough to ask Abraham in Gen 22:7 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?, He was discerning enough to know that it meant certain death even as Abraham laid him out on the altar and raised his knife…yet he didn’t come down from the altar any less than Jesus came down from the cross when we was being goaded!
  • Many believers want to live these days and enjoy life to the fullest. Yet the greatest state of mind we must posses is the willingness to die for our LORD should He require it of us!
  • The ultimate expression of preparedness to be a living sacrifice is nothing short of the willingness to die for His cause if this is what the Lord requires of us. Paul”s declaration in Acts 21:13 “for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus“. Or Esther’s restored conviction in Esther 4:16c “and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish” are perfect standard points for the mark of the high calling of Christ Jesus in our lives.

In Summary

It’s not only Abraham’s actions in Gen 22 that are worthy of emulation, but certainly those of Isaac’s as well.

Isaac’s complete walk in obedience reflects Christ’s perfect sacrifice of self that The Father’s perfect will may be realised and His kingdom established.

Both Jesus and Isaac completely surrendered themselves NOT TO F.A.T.E but in FAITH!

Having obtained the heavenly vision and allowing themselves to share in the burden, they were prepared and did offer themselves up as the ultimate sacrifice as required of them by the Lord.

So ask yourself this morning, or better yet ask the Holy Spirit within you.
“Holy Spirit, how well do i comply with the set standard for offering myself as a living sacrifice to God? Have i fully offered myself or is my offering merely partial?

May the grace to hit the mark of the high calling upon our lives be released into our hearts in Jesus name.

p.s Pls share this message with others if it has blessed you today.
Have a Holy Spirit led week.