What If God Called You to the Mountain: The Watch Letter

What if you call the Lord and don't feel him near you? Will you still trust him?

What if he tells you to let go of everything that you think you have to hold? Will you trust him?

What if it costs your life?

What if you lose the very thing you love so dear?

...I know that faith is easy when everything is going well But can you still believe in God when your life's a living hell?

...And when all the things around you seem to quickly fade away There's just one thing I really want to know ....

Will you let go? Will you stand on God's word? Against all odds will you believe what God has said? What seems impossible ....Will you believe? Every promise that God made will you receive?

Will your answer be: Yes, I'll trust You Lord?

The above words were taken from the song "I'll Trust You Lord" by Donnie McClurkin.

And when I hear this song, I think of the message our Pastor Chief Apostle H.C. Gunn preached last Sunday. He taught about Abraham and his journey to sacrifice his chosen son, Isaac, in obedience to God. (Read it in Genesis 21 & 22.) He came from a perspective I have never heard before. Chief Apostle Gunn asked us: How do you think Abraham felt? Who checked on how Abraham felt when he not only had to lose his first son Ishmael because of his wife's dealings and bad choices but now had to give God back the promise that he gave him. It really sobers you and reminds you to consider what people are going through on the inside when they are the one’s out front leading and the ones who have to always put themselves on the back burner in order to take care of others and because they are committed to God.

I can imagine God asking Abraham the same questions that are listed above from the song. Hell was breaking loose in his household. Drama and chaos was everywhere: Sarah, in her emotions and lack of faith, begged her husband to have a child with her handmaiden instead of waiting for the Lord and then the handmaiden in turn mocked Sarah once she had Ishmael. So, Sarah retaliated when she finally got pregnant and birthed Issac and not only wanted Hagar out but Abraham's son Ishmael, and God told Abraham to let him go - in so many words.

God had made some very big promises to Abraham but the way everything was going, the promises probably seemed non-existent. Everything around him was falling apart and his time with his first son Ishmael was fading away from him. And when they had Issac, God called for a sacrifice and for Abraham to show God the depth of his love. God wanted to know if Abraham was willing to let go of the very thing God gave him to hold? (And that's a key right there: All things belong to God, sometimes we hold on too tight to people and places and items because we forget that it doesn't belong to us.)

Looking on the outside, the odds were stacked against Abraham. He was now facing losing two sons. After years of going without any child, he was about to find himself childless once again. At any moment, he would have to bring his son Isaac to the altar. God wanted to see if Abraham would believe the impossible. If Abraham would still believe him even with the difficulty he was facing.

Abraham's love stood up in that moment. Although we read in previous chapters that Abraham got weak in his faith and tried to manipulate things to go in his favor in the past (he lied about his wife to a king for protection and he agreed with his wife to have an un-promised son to try to fulfill God's promise on their own), in this moment Abraham stood with integrity and relentless faith. He loved God more than any promise, thing or person and was willing to give up his promised son who God had given him. But most of all, Abraham stood on God's word. He remembered that God promised him that his seed (his descendants) would be great and would be blessed. Abraham knew that in order to have decedents he would have to have a living and present son. So, there is a lesson here. Before we panic when God asks us for something or to do something, think of the promises he already made. I have found in a recent situation in my own life, that God will send his promise ahead of what he is asking you to do, give or let go of and your reassurance that it will be alright is in that promise. That's why we shouldn't let God's word fall by the wayside anymore, it reassures in the very moment where our faith may grow weak. Like Apostle Felicia Gunn says: GOD DOESN'T WASTE WORDS!

So, like Chief Apostle Gunn pointed out on Sunday, Abraham by faith saw his son alive and coming back down the mountain with him. In fact, he told his servants he would be back with his son from the mountain. Genesis 22:5: And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

I am so grateful that we have a pastor who is willing to look, pray and believe beyond the surface in order to bring us a fresh and revealed word from heaven. In fact, our pastor has had his own Abraham experiences and he is a living testimony to being obedient to God's word first and then standing on the word no matter who or what he would lose. Because he knows that whatever God asks from you, he will give it back in one way or another and its always more than we could ever imagine and ask. By sharing his testimony with us and explaining the story of Abraham and Issac to us through the revelation God gave him, our pastor is preparing us for our own "mountain of I trust you Lord experience." Some of us have already encountered this mountain. We have families in the body who have dealt with loss and pain that many could never understand, but yet they said "thank you, Lord" and " I love you Lord" and "I will journey on Lord."

One day or maybe even now, God will ask us the same questions in the song lyrics above and he will tell us what he asked of Abraham: Let it go ... trust me with it .... I know you waited your whole life for this, but I have something better, so I need you to put this one on the altar!

When Abraham prepared to place Issac on the altar not only did God provide a ram in the bush for Abraham, he provided a ram in the bush for the whole world. God could trust Abraham to use his seed to send Jesus through it. Abraham's decision to stand on the word opened the door for Jesus to come years later to save the whole world. So, Abraham's willingness to be without his son, activated God to give up his own son for us. Proof that this scripture rings true:

Luke 6:38: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

Like Chief Apostle Gunn always says, when you give to God, it doesn't always have to be a physical blessing God gives back to you. God will give you a spiritual blessing that will change your life and change the generations after you forever. Abraham gave up his sons and God gave back to him the son that would not only save his generations but the whole world - and that was what we should all call a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over blessing!

When God calls us to "the mountain of the I trust you Lord experience," what will be our response?

Genesis 22:2: And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Chief Apostle Gunn has taught us that a mountain can talk about a high place or going higher in God. What if what God is calling us to do today will take us to higher heights?

Read today's youth blog by Pastor Amaya titled "A Ram in the Bush" here, it is a blessing to see the one-accordness and her continually desire to live for God: https://www.thebodyofchristinc.com/news/the-ram-in-the-bush.

Listen to today's radio broadcast with Chief Apostle Gunn:

Plead My Cause: https://www.thebodyofchristinc.com/listen-in?wix-music-track-id=2356555098459359&wix-music-comp-id=comp-kjfzbgmx.

In the broadcast, Chief Apostle reads from Psalm 35 and on one portion he talks about trusting God to handle things for us and fight on our behalf and for him to plead and address our cause and our needs, just like he did for Abraham. He gives the example that if God calls you to move to Tampa out of the blue, would you be willing to give up the life you have now to go and please and serve God? God is preparing us for the call and He is always worth the sacrifice! In fact, obedience is better than sacrifice, says the Lord!