DO NOT LOVE YOUR CHILDREN MORE THAN GOD

PROCLAMATION

“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.’ ”??Genesis 22:2 (KJV)

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EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.?Sometime later, after Abraham had sent Hagar and Ishmael away, when Isaac was a young man, God tested Abraham. (Genesis 22:1-2)??God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering.??Abraham was obedient and early the next morning set out to the place that God had told him. (Genesis 22:3-8)?But The Angel of The Lord stopped him before he killed his son, and showed him a ram which was caught in the bush that he could use for the burnt offering. (Genesis 22:9-13)??Abraham passed the test and The Lord God promised to bless him because he was obedient. (Genesis 22:14-18)

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APPLICATION

Children are a blessing from God. (Psalm 127:3)??Unfortunately, today too many parents value and love their children more than they love their mates, and more than they value and love The Lord God.?Our children can cause us to miss church and take us out to brunch on Sunday morning, but we can’t get them to change their activities to attend church on Sunday mornings.?The Lord God said that He was a jealous God, and no one should put anyone or anything above Him. (Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7)?We are to love The Lord God with all our heart, soul, and strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, and Luke 10:27)?Nothing is to come before God in our lives.??Yes, we are to love, provide for, train, teach, and protect our children, but we are not supposed to place them above God.?We are to put God first in our lives, and then everything else will fall into place. (Matthew 6:33)