Look Up and See
Look Up and See
Sunday, January 7, 2024
Pastor Marcus
Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14
Don’t live life with your head down and your overwhelmed. God has prepared everything you need.
In “Look Up and See,” Pastor Marcus reminds through Abraham’s life and faith test that God has already made provision for every need. However, it’s our responsibility to be in the right “place” to discover what he has already prepared.
Sermon Summary
Use the following section to explore points from the sermon “Look Up and See”.
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God called Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering on one of the mountains. Abraham named the place Yahweh Yara, or Jehovah Jireh, which means the Lord will provide. From this, there sermon’s title “Look Up and See” is derived.
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Most of our planning, most of our resolving is to try to resolve pain out of our lives. Often following God can be confusing. Your plans mean absolutely nothing if God is not a part of it.
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The people of God were nomads. Your current location is not your final destination. God seeks a relationship, not a transaction with you. To truly connect with God, recognize that he is omnipresent. This understanding is one of the greatest privileges you can have in your life.
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If everything is taken away, would you still praise him? Can you grasp what David meant when he said, "I will bless the Lord at all times"? "All times" implies that my praise for God is unconditional.
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The place where God provides is also the place where he tests you. God doesn't test you in any place unrelated to His promise. You'll have what you need and something missing all at the same time. It's our responsibility to still believe that he will provide.
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Abraham is missing the exact location of the land of Moriah. God will give you clues when you step outside of your home and follow him. If you want to get to the place that I'm calling you to, you are going to have to take what you have and follow me.
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When you feel unprepared, rest assured that God has already made preparations for you. Wherever God leads you, seek Him. Provision refers to the act of fulfilling a need. Sometimes, the mistake is that we arrive at certain places, yet we forget to seek God.
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Sometimes, you limit your faith based on what you've seen God do in the past. However, the best is yet to come. The miracle that God is preparing for your life in 2024 is something about which you'll be able to testify, "It's never been done before."
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The Bible tells us that Abraham had to look up, as he could not find God by looking down. The lesson here is that some of us need to literally and mentally elevate our gaze. Everything that Abraham required was found when he looked upward.