What kind of God do you think of?

Do you think of this kind of God?  (Hopefully you are seeing a picture to the left right now…)

I’m convinced the vast majority of people do.

Exodus doesn’t really the picture any differently.

Exodus Chap 19 describes Moses’ encounter with God at Mt. Sinai, where God gives the 10 Commandments to the people, but the scene as described is pretty awe-inspiring.

God was on his mountain.  No one, except Moses, could even touch the mountain. 

¹²And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it.^(A) Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.

On top of that…there is a HUGE cloud, thunder probably like no one has ever heard before, lightning so bright it probably temporarily blinds you…an earthquake, smoke, FIRE….a trumpet being blown out of no where at ear-shattering volumes…

Wow.  OK then. God then proceeds to give the 10 Commandments…you know, those laws that our society is pretty much based upon.  The people are so terrified when God is done giving them the “rules” they say “Umm, Moses. From now on YOU talk to us – Don’t let God speak to us anymore, he is so scary we may just DIE if we hear that again.” (Ex 20:19 – Ruel Translation)

Is that the kind of God you think of?

It’s pretty hard to think of being intimate with a God that says if anyone or anything gets close to me I will kill them.

Well, I can understand, BUT realize this:  that Christ came to bring us to that very same God.  Actually that very same God loves you very much…but you have to realize that God isn’t like us – he is totally different than us.  He is the all powerful, Creator of the universe, He is 100% holy and pure, so much so that we humans in our 10-commandment-breaking sinfulness can’t approach such a being.  It’s not that he doesn’t love us – it’s that our sin is incompatible with a 100% pure God.   That’s a big problem, isn’t it?  Worse yet, God considers our sin to him (and there isn’t one of us alive that hasn’t sinned) OFFENSIVE.  God is also 100% just and fair and always has to punish sin…YIKES.   So, let’s take stock here:

1. God is 100% holy – no sin at all
2. We are ALL, every one of us, sinners
3. This sin is OFFENSIVE to God, as he is 100% holy
4. God is also 100% fair and just and will always treat sin with the punishment it deserves
5. We can do nothing to fix this ourselves.

This is a dilemma.  As CJ Mahaney refers to it in his book “Living the Cross Centered Life” – this is a Divine Dilemma and we are in need of a Divine Rescue. 

Enter Jesus Christ.

God, in his great love and mercy towards us, sends us Jesus Christ – who lived the only perfect, sinless life (remember those Commandments?), who was both fully God and fully human – to pay that punishment we deserved for our sin (see #4) and thus appease the Most Holy and Angry God (see image of Angry God type).  The sin was so big that God himself had to pay it – he is the only one who could.

This is the Gospel – and I love the RC Sproul quote:

The glory of the gospel is this: the one from whom we need to be saved is the one who has saved us

The work of Jesus on the cross is what saves us.  That is the only way that we can approach God almighty – by claiming the forgiveness that Jesus won for us on the cross.  Then we will not see the pointing finger, the anger – we will see the love of the one who created you to be with him.

^19(A) Therefore, brothers,^[a] since we have confidence to enter^(B) the holy places by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by^(C) the new and living way that he opened for us through^(D) the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ²¹and since we have^(E) a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts^(F) sprinkled clean^(G) from an evil conscience and our bodies^(H) washed with pure water. ^23(I) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for^(J) he who promised is faithful.

Putting the Bible pieces together…

You know…there are many precious truths that come to light when you read the Bible.

The WHOLE Bible.  Especially in time order – you know – CHRONOLOGICALLY – like I’m doing now, 2nd year in a row and I plan to do it for at least the next 27.2 years.

The biggest thing I see is Christ – everywhere.  As a quintessential “Christian kid” steeped in enough religion to inoculate me from catching the real thing with a complete lack of understanding of WHY I believed what I believed, most of the truths I’m seeing now by reading the whole Bible went sailing over my head in a cloud of Christianese.   I firmly believe this is what lead me to be so susceptible to being lead away.    Melanie and I both have vowed that this shall not happen with our kids.  We can’t make them believe, but as Matt Chandler said last week – we can lay enough kindling wood around them (these truths and solid doctrine) and pray our butts off that God comes and ignites the fire.

I’m convinced – if you read God’s word – ALL of it – he will ignite that fire.  He speaks thru His powerful Word.

One of the quick “little” truths I remembered again was in the story of the passover in Exodus 12:1-28.   How much foreshadowing of Christ is in that story?!

• the sacrificial lamb (Christ was referred to this many times)
• the lamb must be perfect and without blemish (2 Cor 5:21)
• God’s chosen people (Israel) were saved by the blood of the lamb, as we are still saved by Christ’s shed blood on the cross
• What are we saved from?  The wrath of God, as we are now

Romans 5:9 says -

⁹Since, therefore,^(A) we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from^(B) the wrath of God.

Not to mention, Christ was crucified during the Passover holiday. (John 19:14, 31)

Doesn’t reading God’s whole word make so much more sense when you can see how all the pieces of his redemptive plan fit together in Christ?

Are you digging in?

Calculated Efforts

I ran across this in “Christ-Centered Worship” by Bryan Chappell this morning…needless to say this will be making it’s way into a worship service very soon, but I wanted to share it with you for your meditation, I hope it convicts you as much as it did me:

You asked me for my hands, that you might use them for your purpose.  I gave them for a moment, then withdrew them, for the work was hard.
You asked for my mouth to speak out against injustice. I gave you a whisper that I might not be accursed.
You asked for my eyes to see the pain of poverty. I closed them, for I did not want to see.
You asked for my life that you might work through me. I gave a small part, that I might not get too involved.
Lord, forgive my calculated efforts to serve you – only when it is convenient for me to do so,
only in those places where it is safe to do so
and only with those who make it easy to do so.
Father, forgive me, renew me, send me out as a usable instrument,
that I might take seriously the meaning of your cross.

(a contemporary confession of sin from the Worship Sourcebook #35, p.98)

 

Preparing to worship?

I was recently challenged concerning the lyrics to a song we sing at church called “Come, Now Is The Time to Worship” – particularly the line “Come, now is the time to worship / Come, just as you are before your God”.   This person’s concern was that for salvation we certainly come just as we are and God purifies us through faith in Jesus.  BUT for worship – if we are coming to worship the holy, all-powerful God of the universe, we shouldn’t hastily rush into His presence without first preparing ourselves.  I thought that was a pretty good point.

So, it immediately came to mind this morning as I started Exodus in the chrono read and we are introduced to Moses.  In Chap 3 we find the famous calling of Moses by God himself by way of the burning bush.  (See? and you thought I’d never get to the picture…ye of little faith). What struck me was that God himself instructs Moses in how to be proper and respectful in his presence:

⁴When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see,^(A) God called to him^(B) out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵Then he said, “Do not come near;^(C) take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

In a sense, Moses was instructed that since he was in the presence of God himself he could not be there “just as he was” – he needed a physical action to display the understanding of what it mean to be in the presence of the most High God. 

When we come to worship – to gather together with the body on Sundays and worship the same God that appeared to Moses in the burning bush, why then would we not stop to pause and prepare our hearts properly?  Let’s face it, we are all running 900 miles an hour and sometimes we literally run into the pew (maybe a few minutes late) worship is already happening and we just join in, the lingering thoughts of the business of the morning, or what lies ahead in the afternoon still floating thru our head.

If you are a worship leader, I would strongly urge you to lead your people to prepare their hearts.  Pause before or during the set to just be silent for a few moments. Then lead with a song that focuses on our position before God, confession of our heart-wandering, and dependance on Christ.  As they direct their thoughts to God and quiet their hearts, ask God to search them (Ps 139:23-24)

 ²³Search me, O God, and know my heart!
   ^(AG) Try me and know my thoughts!^[c]
24And see if there be any grievous way in me,
   and^(AH) lead me in^(AI) the way everlasting!^[d]

For the “worshippers” – consider this before you come into worship – I would encourage you to be aware of the risk of running into the King’s presence without searching our hearts and providing proper perspective of who we are in light of a Holy God.

Like Moses – the place you are standing is holy ground – not because it’s a church, but hopefully because God is there thru the Holy Spirit.

A Change of Heart

Chronological Reading: Gen 43-45

The story of Joseph is pretty amazing.  He was basically hated by his brothers and left for dead in a hole, when brother Judah thought it was an even better idea to sell him as a slave to folks on their way to Egypt.  (Gen 37:26-27) The thing is that in Egypt, Joseph proves himself worthy and over time, becomes 2nd in command of the whole empire and thru his diligence, and God’s grace, wisely stores food for an impending famine – thus preserving both him and the whole empire of Egypt.

Meanwhile, back home – Josephs’ brothers are quickly running out of food and they need to go to the only place where there is food – Egypt.  So after 20 years of separation, Joseph is now face to face with the very brothers that sold him down the river, but they don’t know it’s him…yet.

To make a long, wonderful story short – Joseph provides food for them, and says that if/when they come back they need to bring their youngest brother too (Benjamin) or else don’t bother coming at all.  Their father (Jacob/Israel) is really uncomfortable with this idea, but he allows him to go on the condition that Judah will be his pledge of safety (Gen 43:8).  OK, so they are off.  David gives them more food, takes care of them, (still not revealing who he is) and in a crazy plot to keep Benjamin with him plants his silver cup in Benjamin’s bag – thus leveraging this apparent “theft” to keep Benjamin with him. Except that can’t happen – remember Judah promised their father that Benjamin would return safely.

In an amazing heart change from the one who sold his other brother to Egypt in the first place, Judah says to David that he will stay in Benjamin’s place. (Gen 43:33-34). 

Joseph is so touched by this change of heart that he reveals his identify, and then brings his whole family to Egypt – thus saving them from the famine and continuing the family line.

There is a lot of stuff pointing to Christ here – so let’s pick it out: (thank you ESV Study Bible!)

• Judah offers himself as a substitute, prefiguring the substitution of Christ (the offspring of Judah)
• Joseph thru Joseph includes not only rescue from famine, but a change of heart in the brothers – compared to their earlier envy and violence towards Joseph.
• The change prefigures the change of heart that Christ works thru the Spirit
• Reconciliation (of the brothers with Joseph) prefigures God’s reconciliation and forgiveness in Christ

I also couldn’t help myself to think of the awesome sovereignty of God at work in this – he preserves the line of Christ thru these amazing events – which included being sovereign over evil that was done to Joseph.  If we skip ahead to Chap 50:19-20:

¹⁹But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for^(A) am I in the place of God? ²⁰As for you, you meant evil against me, but^(B) God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people^[a] should be kept alive, as they are today.

A comforting thought in a world where thousands of people have just perished in an earthquake.  God is truly sovereign over everything, including evil and epic disasters. We don’t know what he is doing, or why sometimes – and we really should resist the temptation to try and figure that out – that’s his job – but the Bible is clear that God is always in control and working his sovereign will for the good of those that love him (Rom 8:28). That doesn’t always mean for this life here on Earth – God’s ways are above our ways and working good his eternal glory.   We see in this story how Joseph experienced that first hand and how wonderful promises of reconciliation with God thru Jesus Christ are prefigured and modeled here.

Balanced & Blended = Familarity?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a handful of members come up to me and ask me if we were still going for “balance” and “blend” in our worship services.

It’s with some befuddlement that I have responded in each occasion that “Yes” – as a matter of fact I have gone to great lengths to make sure of that…but in “balance and blend” I was understanding that to mean a balance of style – you know…hymn and more “contemporary” praise songs. Fast and slow songs.

…but it quickly became apparent that there was another variable in the mix that I didn’t understand….

Familiarity.

Meaning, “balance and blend” to some folks includes familiarity – songs they know by heart.  (Or just about…)

So, for example yesterday we did 6 songs – 2 of them were from the hymnal and 1 was a “modern” hymn – but I was approached because they weren’t “familiar” and thus the service wasn’t “balanced and blended”?

Anyone else see “familiarity” in the mix of definition of “Balance” and “Blend?”

1 Cor 15 – YG

Message from GPBC YG – 1/21/10

Text: 1 Cor 15

Have you ever focused on something and then lost that focus?  It happens to us all the time, like right now I’m trying to write this and I’m distracted by about 10 other things from worship rehearsal to worship at YG to lighting to dust on my desk.  All the while I’m supposed to be writing about 1 Cor 15 – which contains perhaps my most favorite verse in all the Bible.

In 1 Cor 15, Paul is writing to the Corinthian church and bringing their focus back to the most important fact in all of Christianity – the work of Jesus Christ.

Let’s read 1 Cor 1-4.

 ¹Now I would remind you, brothers,^[a] of the gospel^(A) I preached to you, which you received,^(B) in which you stand, ²and by which^(C) you are being saved, if you^(D) hold fast to the word I preached to you—^(E) unless you believed in vain.

 ³For^(F) I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died^(G) for our sins^(H) in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised^(I) on the third day^(J) in accordance with the Scriptures

We see plainly that Paul is reminding them – this means they have heard this before, but apparently they became distracted and lost their focus. 

He’s reminding them of that which can save them, but don’t blow by a very important 2 letter word here – “IF”.  – ‘by which you are being saved, IF you hold fast to the word I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.”

What is that about? I thought I was covered? I got the Jesus card. I prayed the prayer in Sunday School with Miss Shirley, then with my mom, then in VBS, then again in JYG and at least 2 out of the last 3 times at Snow Camp.  Aren’t I saved? Covered? 

I don’t know…are you?  Exactly what do you believe?  Exactly where is your assurance of salvation?

Paul tells us -

                “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.”

There is so much good stuff in here I might giggle. First and foremost Paul tells us what is most important.  I LOVE that.  He tells us that the work of Jesus Christ, the Gospel, his sacrificial death and resurrection is the MOST important thing to focus on in the church.  In other words you must be gospel centered, Christ glorifying, cross focused people. You miss that?  You are concentrating on the wrong things…and oh yeah…you may not even be saved!

Where is your focus?  What do you consider of first importance?  Is it the Gospel?

This is something the evangelical church is still struggling with today.  We have really lost our focus and put it on other things, secondary things – things other than the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ.  That’s not good.  People aren’t saved by other things, people aren’t kept out of hell by other things.  They are kept out of hell by the death and resurrection of Jesus.  If you know me this much you will know that it is my goal to live a cross centered life.  You will know it’s my goal to be a cross centered worship leader and sing songs that glorify the Lord Jesus and focus on the gospel – there is a TON of garbage out there that isn’t concentrating on the cross, most of it is on “Christian Radio” (oops, did I just say that out loud?).  It’s not totally their fault, Christian record companies are all owned by the major secular labels who really could care less about the cross, they really ultimately care about revenue – $$. Does that mean it’s all bad? Of course not, but it means you need to have a Gospel-filter in which to assess all things thru.  Just because it’s labeled “Christian” doesn’t mean it necessarily is…be discerning.

Let’s pick that verse apart some more – “In accordance with the scriptures.” What does that mean?  It means that there were major prophecies involved here – from hundreds of years before that foretold the coming of a Messiah who would save people from their sins.  Jesus fulfilled every one of them. Paul wants to emphasize this so much he says it TWICE.

Look also at the detail that Paul goes into the work of Christ – he breaks it out in specific and simple terms ‘he died for our sins, he was buried, and that he was raised.” Like really dead then really alive — so much so that he appeared to over 500 people who saw him with their own eyes = eyewitnesses.  Many of whom are still alive?  Like – “Hey Fred, did you see Jesus after he rose from the dead?” YUP Sure did.

I’ll ask my kids “What did Jesus do?” and they will instantly respond “Died on the cross for our sins.”  Good, but according to Paul that leaves out a very important part – ‘he was buried and he was RAISED on the third day according to the scriptures.”  Guys Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to him – check out Matt 12:40.

The resurrection.  Easter. Folks, Paul spends the rest of his chapter here talking about the resurrection and how without it – there  is no church, no Christianity, no anything – in fact we are all still dead in our sins and then what do we have to live for? Zip.

Evidently there were some folks going around the church saying that there is no resurrection of the dead.  Check it out read 15:12-19

Look at v. 19 – If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Look farther into the chapter at v32b “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.”

Guys if there is no resurrection of Jesus if there is no resurrection of us in the 2nd coming with Jesus (and we’ll get to that more in a minute), then Paul is saying what else is there?  Just this life? That’s all there is?  Well we may as well party our brains out, b/c our hope is only in the here and now.  That’s a bunch of bologna.  This life is fleeting.  Look at 9/11, look at the tsunami, look at Haiti, look at cancer, look at little kids who get murdered raped abused.  This life is our hope?  No way.  I look at Creation and I know, I know there is more to this life.  Someone designed all this, our lives, our bodies, our kids being born and he doesn’t live here…there is something more than this life – let’s bring it back to focus -

Where is your focus?  On this life?  Or what comes next?

Don’t miss Paul’s little sharp piece of advice in there in v33 - “Do not be deceived – bad company corrupts good morals.  Wake up from your drunken stupor and as is right, do not go on sinning” – Maybe this is a good little wake up call to someone in here tonight – who are you hanging around with?  what are you doing?  Dude, this life isn’t all there is and you never know when it’s going to end – don’t be screwing around with bad people and sin – stop. Focus. Before it’s too late.  Remember from v2 there is a condition to all this – you don’t just have to know it, you have to “hold fast to the word” – the gospel, the work of Christ.

Where is your focus? You can’t hold fast to Christ when you are double fisted with beers.

Now they were probably talking actually about the 2nd coming when the Bible says the dead who knew Christ they will rise.  When we die, scripture is clear that our souls go right to be with God (2 Cor 5:8; Phi 1:21, 23), but our bodies will remain here until the Lord comes back again, then our bodies will be resurrected and we will be given perfect bodies – sorry that probably doesn’t exactly mean that we will all be hotties, but there will be no sickness, no Cancer, no bleeding, no pain, no death.

Of course this talk of raising our bodies from the dead is strange and somewhat creepy for us, right?  Probably to them too – look at 35-37.  They were wondering about it, as Paul is quoting their questions, right?  “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”  Paul says these bodies we have now are not what we’ll be in forever – it will be like wheat or grain. Look at John 12:24.  Our bodies are like a kernel of wheat, which is planted deep in the ground, the seed falls away and decays but out of that comes life. How is this possible? Jesus died himself and gave his body so that I can have this eternal life. 

Where is your focus?  Are you focusing too much on this earthly body?  It’s tough at high school age I remember it well, I was a pretty skinny dude and goofy – I was pretty self conscious.  Of course, in high school if you start to feel too good about yourself there is always someone or something to bring you right crashing down to earth.  Cutting comments, gossip.  Our own mutated views of how we look.  Is that dictating how we feel about ourselves? If we have a good day and we look good and nobody said anything are things then “good”?  Your focus is in the wrong place.  Please don’t base your happiness on this life, base it on the rock solid truths of Jesus Christ, and his Word.

Finally, last part – I know lot of good stuff in here. 

Let’s read 50-58.

We will be changed, Christ will return.  If you are a believer of Christ and you are holding fast to his word – his Gospel you will be changed, in the twinkling of an eye. Your body will be raised with Christ to an imperishable body.  There will be no more death. There will be life eternal with God.

If you not believe, if you are not holding fast, if you are playing the game here at church – look at v56.  “The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law.”

If you are not trusting in the work of Jesus Christ for payment of your sins and reconciliation with God – your sins are still on you.  Remember v 17 – you are still in your sins. If you are still in your sins when Jesus comes back you are in the worst position you could ever possibly be in.  The Bible says the wages of sin is death.  If you are still in your sins you cannot be with a Holy God in heaven, you cannot have a new imperishable body.  You are looking at an eternity apart from God.

God doesn’t want that to happen.  He really doesn’t.  Look at v57 – God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Why do we have this church? This youth group?  It’s to share the good news that the work has already been done to bring you to God. The Bible says that Christ died once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous so that he might bring us to God. 

Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.

 That’s the news of first importance – how to be reconciled with God. 

If you want to talk more about this, the gym game can wait, and I’m sure any leader here would love to talk to you about how to be reconciled with God and how to make sure that you are not in your sins.  That is our focus.

Let’s pray.

just got HootSuite, takin’ a little tes

just got HootSuite, takin’ a little test drive.

the old double cross

Chrono read: Gen 25-28

So, Jacob.

For 25:26 my ESV study note says this:

The name “Jacob” (cf. esv footnote) not only resembles the Hebrew term for “heel” (‘aqeb) but also has the connotation of “deceiver.” To grasp someone by the heel was apparently a figure of speech meaning “to deceive.” The motif of deception appears in a number of episodes associated with Jacob.

So, Jacob was a bit of a schemer, a weasel.

And boy does he live up to his name. If you haven’t ever read Genesis 27 – the account of him putting on his brother Esau’s clothes (so that he’d smell like him), putting on goat fur (“my brother Esau was a hairy man”…), so that he can trick his blind, dying father into giving him all the blessings that are due his hairy brother — you really SHOULD.

What I didn’t put together the last time I read this account is that Jacob gets double crossed. In chap 29 he is with his uncle Laban and wants to marry one of his daughters, Rachel. They even strike a deal where Jacob will work for Laban for 7 years to pay the ‘bride price’ for Rachel.  However, old Laban totally fools Jacob and when the 7 years are up, the night of the wedding in the dark he slips in Rachel’s sister Leah to the bedroom on their wedding night! YIKES!  Jacob then stays there another 7 years to re-earn Rachel…while married to Leah and having 4 kids.

Besides this kinda sounding like a bad TV reality show or an episode of Jerry Springer…Jacob has gotten a taste of his own medicine.

One might even smugly say “Good. He got what he deserved.”

But what about me?

I have to thank God that he has not treated me as my sins deserve.  If he treated me as I have treated him for years, even daily sometimes now – remember our BEST works are as filthy rags to Him – it would be an awful scene for me.

One of the miracles of the cross is the miracle of grace – that he took my sin, paid for it with his life, and gave me his purity in return- AND allows me to live every day and grow and fall and struggle and mature – all without really treating me as my sins deserved.

Modeling Obedience and Worship

OK folks, we are well into Genesis – today was Genesis 22-24.  So much good stuff in here!  I almost didn’t know what to write about, but I’m going to write about the part that hit me the hardest.   The part about Abraham’s servant and how he went to secure a wife for Issac – Genesis 24.

Surprised?  I was…that’s kind of  a weird thing to be hit so hard by.  It was a little embarrassing, I had a tear in my eye when I was done reading it.  Good thing I was by myself in the man cave.

Abraham’s servant was in charge of everything he had, and we know from the Bible that he had a LOT.  The Lord has blessed Abraham with a lot of possessions, servants, even camels.  From what I understand camels were a sign of true wealth in that day, as they were not that prevalent.

OK, so Abraham is  a bit of a nomad at this point, and it is very important to him that his son, Isaac, marry a wife from his homeland – not where he is now.  He trusts his faithful and unnamed servant to go and do this for him.  The faithful unnamed servant goes and does exactly as Abraham has instructed him, obeys him to the T.   The plan goes off perfectly.  Hannibal from the A Team would be very very proud.

I think what struck me is the enormity of this task – he cannot mess this up – this is HUGE.  His master is asking him to find a suitable wife for his son, the heir.  He has to go on a journey, bring all the camels, all the stuff, the gifts he will bring, everything and he has to represent Abraham well and find the right girl.

Why does he succeed?  I think 2 things hit me -

1-He knows his role and gives honor to God. He knows that he is trusted with everything Abraham has and is determined to honor him. But above that he is determined to honor God.   The secret sign for the right girl is whether or not she will give the camels a drink when the servant asks her for water. Yes – it’s slightly comical, but it really does reveal a lot about someone’s character, right? I took it as a sign of a heart oriented towards others,  in true humility and servanthood… but when Rebekah does offer to water the camels as well – what does the servant do?  He worships God.

²²When the camels had finished drinking^…26(AV) The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD ²⁷and said, “Blessed be the LORD,^(AW) the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken^(AX) his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD^(AY) has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”

2-He has seen obedience modeled by Abraham - remember Abraham is the guy whom the Lord said “GO” and didn’t even tell him where to go and Abraham obeyed.  Remember – Abraham is the fellow whom God instructed to sacrifice his son, Isaac. His HEIR. The one he waited YEARS for and prayed for and God provided for him and Sarah when they were well beyond normal child-bearing years- Abraham was ready to do that too.  He must have just oozed obedience to GOD to his entire household. He must have also oozed worship for God (see #1)

Do I?

Do I model Godly obedience and worship?

Perhaps that’s what got me.  Do I model obedience to God in everything that I do, the small stuff and the HUGE stuff?  Will my children obey God without a second thought maybe because of my leadership and modeling of obedience?

Do I worship at home each and every day? or just when I’m on stage?

Will my kids think worship = music or worship = life?

Men, we are called to be the leaders, the spiritual leaders of our homes. Part of that is modeling the gospel to our families.  Modeling forgiveness, grace, love, sacrifice, modeling worship, faithfulness to God, and God’s plan no matter what.

Modeling obedience and worship…like Abraham did for his faithful unnamed servant.