By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. – Hebrews 11:17-19
Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.“ – John 5:19-21
As we spoke about the principles of sacrifice last week, we saw how God uses sacrificial tests as paths to elevate us. These principles from Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac represent an important baseline because his example is one of the most severe tests of obedience recorded in scripture.
We often miss the full measure of God’s promotion because of our nature to avoid or resist “sacrifice”. We often fight against sacrifice because we tend to feel inadequate in our capacity or we fail to see the benefits in such surrendering. But as we look back to an early February message on the “Father’s capacity” and connect that idea to “sacrifice”, we begin to see a powerful chemistry, a working of the Spirit’s power that can greatly expand our influence and witness to and through our families, fellowships, companies, and economies.
In John 5, Christ has sets for us the ultimate example of tapping into the “Father’s capacity”. His example shows us that feeling inadequate is a good start, for “the Son can do nothing by Himself”. Jesus further exhorts us that in order to enter into the “Father’s capacity”, we must see “what the Father is doing”, to follow His agenda by understanding His heart, intent, and priorities – which often times run against our agenda. Unlike most people, Abraham embraced his sacrificial call with the “Father’s capacity” as he “reasoned that God could raise the dead”. When Abraham understood that God’s priority to build a great nation starts first with a “good seed” of obedience, he entered into the “Father’s capacity”. This capacity allowed Abraham to overcome the contradiction of God’s sacrificial request, knowing that when he fulfills God’s priority for a “good seed”, God will then raise the dead to fulfill His promise. We, too, can enter into that realm of sacrificial blessings by following the Father and coming under His capacity.
Market Place Prayer
May the Lord open the eyes of the 10,500 soldiers to His Agenda and His capacity, to understand the Father’s heart, intent, and priorities. May the Lord sustain these market place leaders as many are undergoing tests of sacrifice to expand their capacities, to elevate their influence and witness to and through their families, fellowships, companies, and economies.
