Sacrifice Of The Promised One

Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

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That's our gift to you. We want you to be able to have and hold and read the Word of God.

So Genesis chapter 22, and when you found that, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, he said, here I am.

He said, take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains on which I shall tell you.

So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac.

And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.

Then Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey.

I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son.

And he took in his hand the fire and the knife.

And so they went both of them together.

And Isaac said to his father, Abraham, my father.

And he said, here I am, my son.

He said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.

So they went both of them together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order

and bound Isaac, his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham.

And he said, here I am.

He said, do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him.

For now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns.

And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

So Abraham called the name of that place, the Lord will provide.

As it is said to this day, on the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.

And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said,

By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,

I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.

And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies.

And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice.

So Abraham returned to his young men and they arose and went together to Beersheba.

And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

Now after these things it was told to Abraham,

Behold, Milcah has also borne children to your brother Nahor,

Uz his firstborn, and Buzz his brother,

Chemuel the father of Aram,

Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaf, and Bethuel.

Bethuel fathered Rebekah.

These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

Moreover his concubine, whose name was Ruma,

bore Teba, Gaham, Tahash, and Makkah.

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Father, we pray now, again as we open up this text,

as we look to this great example of genuine faith on display.

Lord, would you give us faith in Christ this morning?

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Amen.

I got an email in my inbox several weeks ago.

from Ligonier Ministries,

and I opened it up to see what they called,

quote,

the State of Theology Survey 2025.

And in it,

they surveyed over 3,000 Americans

to see,

quote,

what do Americans believe

about God,

the Bible,

and salvation.

And I'll go ahead and tell you,

the results were not pretty.

They gave a statement,

and then you had to respond on a spectrum

from strongly disagree all the way to strongly agree.

And it was clear to me as I looked through these results from this poll

that our culture is incredibly confused about the Christian faith.

It's not just that they're opposed to it.

They don't really even understand what it is.

You can filter the results,

and even those who claimed to be Christians,

evangelical Christians,

the results were concerning.

I'll give you just a few examples.

Okay,

pop quiz for you.

Answer these in your mind.

Statement,

God counts a person as righteous

not because of one's works,

but only because of one's faith in Jesus Christ.

Strongly disagree.

Strongly agree.

We ought to know the answer to this one, right?

The correct answer is yes.

Strongly agree.

We are saved by grace through faith in Christ,

not by works.

And we've seen Abraham believed the Lord,

and it was counted to him as righteousness.

But sadly,

44% of Americans surveyed either disagreed strongly,

or they just weren't sure.

They were on the fence.

That's highly concerning.

Here's another statement.

God accepts the worship of all religions,

including Christianity,

Judaism,

and Islam.

That's a question of which faith is acceptable,

or does it even matter, right?

Well,

the correct answer,

of course,

would be strongly disagree.

Not any old faith will do.

God accepts worship that is according to his word,

worship in the name of Christ.

But surprisingly,

maybe surprisingly,

almost half of all evangelical Christians polled,

47%

affirm that statement to be true.

God accepts the worship of all religions.

That is concerning to me.

Here's one more statement.

Religious belief

is not about objective truth.

Okay?

Meaning,

it is subjective.

The reality of what you believe

doesn't really matter.

Your truth is your truth.

My truth is my truth.

Faith can be whatever I want it to be.

And of course,

the correct response to that statement

would be

strongly disagree.

Right?

No.

That is false.

We actually believe

that the things that we preach

and proclaim

and read about

in God's word,

we believe that the gospel

is true.

Amen?

And Paul says,

if it's not,

if Christ is not

risen from the grave,

our faith is futile.

And we're still

in our sins.

Well,

68% of Americans

and 47%

of evangelical Christians

got

the answer

wrong.

It's clear to me

when we talk about

faith,

church,

we need to clearly define

our terms.

We need to understand

and we need to make sure

everyone else understands

what is real,

genuine,

biblical faith.

Which is why I'm thankful

that we've spent

the past 11 weeks,

now this is week 12,

the past 11 weeks

walking alongside

Abraham,

the man of faith

as Paul calls him.

And we've seen,

yes,

of course,

Abraham has wavered,

he's ebbed,

and he's flowed,

he's been up,

he's been down,

he's not been perfect.

But,

Abraham shows us

what it looks like

to trust in the promises

of God.

And that's what faith is,

by the way.

Faith is,

real,

genuine faith,

is a wholehearted,

battle-tested,

fruit-bearing trust

and reliance

upon the Lord.

And in our passage

this morning,

we get to see

sort of a case study

of what that type of faith

looks like in action.

We see it played out

in Abraham's life

here in Genesis 22.

So,

let's take a look

at the passage

this morning

and what we'll see

is three lessons

in faith

this morning.

This will be our outline

if you're a note-taker,

help you follow along.

Three lessons

in faith

this morning

from Genesis 22.

First,

the first lesson

we see here

is that

genuine faith

will be tested.

genuine faith

will be tested.

Look there to verse 1.

And just,

let's remember

where we are

here in Genesis.

God has promised

Abraham offspring.

He's promised

this miraculous birth.

This promised son,

Isaac,

will come.

And we've waited,

we've waited,

we've waited,

we've waited.

And now,

finally,

some 25 years later,

He is here.

We saw last week.

We ended last time

on this absolute

high note.

Isaac,

the child of promise,

has finally come.

And you might think,

now,

finally,

after all of this,

after everything

that we've been through

to finally get to this point,

now we'll just get to relax.

Abraham can just enjoy life

and live happily ever after,

right?

That's not exactly

what happens,

is it?

Verse 1 says,

after these things,

God tested Abraham.

Take your son,

your only son,

Isaac,

whom you love,

the one that you've been waiting for

for 25 years now,

and take him

and go to the land of Moriah

and offer him there

as a burnt offering

on one of the mountains

of which I shall tell you.

Okay,

just,

just put yourself

in Abraham's shoes

here for a minute.

Can you imagine

the distress

that Abraham is feeling

at this moment?

the Lord

who has promised

to multiply

his offspring,

who has promised

to provide

this miraculous

spiritual birth,

now is telling him,

now Abraham,

it's time to go

and slaughter

this promised child.

Offer him up

as a burnt offering,

which,

as we see in Leviticus,

that means

you take a knife,

you slaughter him,

you lay him there

on the wood

of the altar,

you let the blood

spill out,

you light it all

on fire,

so that sacrifice,

your son,

is totally consumed

by the flame,

so that the smoke

lifts up

and goes up

to the Lord.

Now we see in the law

this was an act

of worship

to the Lord,

but never,

ever,

ever,

in all of the law

does God tell

his people

to offer up

their children

in sacrifice.

The pagans do that,

right?

This is totally,

it seems out of place

for the Lord

to say this.

You can imagine

Abraham's distress.

On one level,

there's this natural

paternal distress,

right?

Parents in the room,

take your son,

take your son,

your beloved son,

the son of your wife,

Sarah,

and kill him.

And parents,

just imagine it,

right?

How would you feel?

The most natural thing

in the world

is for a parent

who want to protect

their child

and to keep them

from harm.

Moms,

I know that you just,

sometimes you stay awake

at night,

laying down,

just worrying

about your kids.

Not because anything's wrong,

but just because

that's what moms do.

And there's nothing

wrong with that.

That is,

I think,

natural.

God's baked that

into your DNA

to want to protect

your children.

But there's also,

there's spiritual,

distress here as well.

Think about it like this.

Why does God call Isaac,

not once,

not twice,

I think it's three times

here in the passage,

why does he call Isaac

Abraham's only son?

Doesn't he have

another kid somewhere?

Didn't we hear

about Ishmael,

Abraham's son,

with Hagar?

It's not his only son,

is it?

Why,

what's so special

about Isaac?

Isaac is the only son

of promise.

Don't you remember?

Isaac is the spiritual

offspring of Abraham,

the one who will be

his heir,

the one God has promised

through whom

all the nations

of the earth

will be blessed.

Ultimately,

he's the one

through whom

the promised

snake crusher

will come,

the promised seed

of the woman

from Genesis 3.15.

The Messiah,

Jesus Christ,

will come through

the line of Isaac.

So on a spiritual level,

you might imagine,

Abraham might be wondering,

God,

what about your promises?

God's promise

of salvation

to the world

is at stake here

in the life of Isaac.

It seems

as if God

is turning his back

on his whole plan

of redemption.

And to Abraham's eyes,

it seems like

the serpent

is going to win.

sin and death

will triumph

if this promised

child dies.

God's promise

dies with him.

How can this be?

You can imagine

the distress

that Abraham

might be feeling.

But as we read this,

Moses clues us in

here to something

important that Abraham

doesn't even know.

Right there in verse 1,

he tells us

all of this

is a test

of Abraham's faith.

God

tested

Abraham.

I wonder

if you have

a category

for that

in your mind.

As you think

about the Lord,

here's a statement,

okay,

strongly disagree,

agree,

strongly agree,

neutral,

here's a statement

for you.

God

will test

the faith

of his people.

Do you agree

or disagree?

If we look

at the scriptures,

an honest answer

would be

strongly agree.

God often

throughout the scriptures,

he tests the faith

and tests

the obedience

of his people.

You might think

of the wilderness

wanderings

in the book

of Exodus,

Exodus chapter 16.

Exodus 16 · chapter mention

God tells Moses,

I'm going

to rain

down bread

from heaven

for you.

The people

shall go out

and gather

a day's portion

every day.

Why?

That I may

test them,

he says,

whether they

will walk

in my law

or not.

Judges chapter 2,

Judges 2 · chapter mention

you go there,

God says he's left

some of the nations

there in the land,

he didn't drive

them out,

in order to test

Israel by them,

he says,

whether they will

walk in the way

of the Lord

as their fathers

did or not.

Strongly agree.

God often

tests the faith

of his people.

And you know,

here's where we

come up against

a common

cultural

misunderstanding

about faith.

Some would

tell you

that faith

is just a

means to

better your

life.

Right?

Have you heard

teaching like this

before?

That faith

really is just

kind of a way

to twist

God's arm

and get him

in your corner.

If you have

enough faith,

then hard things

shouldn't come

into your life.

Right?

If you have

faith,

God ought to

just bless you,

bless you,

bless you.

He wouldn't

do anything

bad to you.

Right?

Some would

even tell you

that if you

just have

enough faith,

you'll be

healthy,

you'll be

wealthy,

you'll be

happy,

you'll be

healed of

sickness,

you'll be

blessed

financially.

Friend,

I hope you

realize by now

that is an

absolute

lie.

God will

never tempt

you.

That's

Satan's job.

But God

will certainly

test you.

God will

never bring a

trial into

your life to

destroy you.

That's Satan's

job.

But God

will certainly

use all

sorts of

trials in

order to

refine you

and to

prove your

faith.

If you say

you have

faith in

Christ and

friend,

you better

prepare.

You can

expect that

faith sometime

or another

to be

tested.

God may

take away

what is

precious to

you in

order to

test you.

God may

put you in

a hard

situation where

you just

can't see the

end of it.

You don't know

a way out.

You're not

sure when

this is going

to end,

how it's

going to

turn out,

in order

to see,

do you

still love

me?

Do you

still cling

to me?

Do you

still obey

me even

without your

health?

Even without

your job

security?

Even without

the approval

of your

family and

your friends?

Even without

your riches?

Even without

your sense of

control over

how things are

going to turn

out in

your life?

God may

remove these

things from

you in

order to

test you.

So Peter

tells us,

do not be

surprised at

the fiery

trial when

it comes

upon you

to test

you,

as though

something

strange were

happening to

you.

But rejoice

insofar as

you share in

Christ's

sufferings,

that you

also may

rejoice and

be glad when

his glory

is revealed.

God will

test your

faith.

The question

is, what

will he

find?

Will he

find a

faith that's

genuine,

that's strengthened

by resistance

training, or

will he find

fair-weather

faith that

only trusts

the Lord

when things

are going

well?

So we

see first

Abraham's

faith is

tested.

Second,

second lesson

here on

faith,

genuine

faith will

be manifested.

Genuine

faith will

be manifested.

There's another

cultural

misunderstanding

about faith,

and here's

what it

is.

Some

would tell

you that

faith is

entirely

private.

This is

a personal

thing.

Don't mess

with my

faith.

That's my

faith.

You can't

call into

question my

faith.

My faith

is invisible.

You can't

see it,

right?

And in

one sense,

yes, that's

correct.

I cannot

see your

faith.

Only God

can see into

your heart

and know

and see

your faith,

but what

the Bible

tells us

is that

that

invisible

faith,

if it is

genuine,

will always

in time

bear visible

external fruit

in your life.

Invisible

faith will

work itself

out in

your life.

It will be

manifested.

manifested.

And we

see that

here in

three key

ways with

Abraham.

Look there

with me

starting in

verse 3.

The first

way that we

see his

faith manifested

here is

in obedience.

We cannot

see Abraham's

faith, but

what can we

see?

We see his

quick,

prompt,

obedient response

to the word

of the Lord.

You know,

we spent some

time thinking

about his

distress,

imagining his

distress, but

really, that's

all we can do.

We can just

imagine it because

the scripture

doesn't let

us know any

of what he's

thinking or

feeling.

It just

simply moves

right to his

response of

obedience,

doesn't it?

God says,

sacrifice your

son.

What does he

do?

Verse 3.

Abraham gets

up early in

the morning.

No delay.

No putting

it off.

He saddles his

donkey.

He takes two

of his young

men.

He takes his

son.

He cuts the

wood.

He goes to

the place of

which God

had told him.

On the third

day, Abraham

looks up.

He sees the

mountain.

He's had three

days.

Now opportunity

to turn back,

but he's not

turning back.

His faith is

manifested outwards

in obedience.

I'll just say it

another way.

Flip it around.

Obedience is the

necessary fruit

of genuine

faith.

James says it

like this in

James chapter 2.

James 2 · chapter mention

Faith without

works is what?

It's dead.

He goes on to say

it's useless.

What's it worth

if it doesn't

work itself out?

What is faith

if you can't see

it in your life?

It's dead.

It's useless.

And then he goes

on.

He says something

kind of confusing

in James chapter 2.

James 2 · chapter mention

I wonder if you've

ever noticed this.

James chapter 2.

James 2 · chapter mention

He talks about

this story.

He says,

Was not Abraham

our father

justified by

works?

When he offered

up his son Isaac

on the altar?

Now, our ears

ought to perk up

a little bit

when we hear that,

right?

What did he just

say?

Was not Abraham

our father

justified by

works?

Hold on just a minute.

Justified by works?

Now this is

Reformation Doctrine

101,

isn't it?

We are saved

by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Christ alone,

according to the

scriptures alone,

to the glory of God

alone,

and maybe the

reformers never

read James.

No, they read

James.

James isn't

telling us that

Abraham was

declared righteous

on the basis

of his works.

We know he

believed and that

was counted to him

as righteousness,

right?

What he's saying

is that that

faith was now

confirmed and

demonstrated and

seen and manifested

externally in

works of

obedience.

To quote a

reformer,

we are saved by

faith alone,

but the faith that

saves is never

alone.

In other words,

it is always

accompanied by

the fruit of good

works.

Martin Luther

says,

we do not become

righteous by doing

righteous deeds,

but having been

made righteous,

we do righteous

deeds.

The order is

important here.

Do you see it?

His faith is

manifested in

obedience.

We see a second

way.

Faith is

manifested here

starting in

verse 5.

Faith is

manifested in

confidence.

Look there to

verse 5.

Abraham,

he's about to

head up the

mountain.

He talks to

his young men

and look what he

says to them.

He says,

stay here with

the donkey.

I and the

boy will go

over there and

worship and

come again to

you.

Did you catch

that?

Anything seem

off to you about

that?

I and the

boy will go

worship.

We will go,

we'll go up,

we'll worship,

and we will

return.

What in the

world is he

talking about?

Is he not

about to

slaughter this

child?

He's ready

to go,

he's got the

wood,

he's going to

the spot,

he's got the

fire,

he's got the

knife.

How in the

world can

Abraham say,

we're going to

go, we're

going to come

back?

This is the

confidence of

genuine faith.

Again, what did

we read this

morning from

Hebrews 11?

Hebrews 11

helps us here

again, doesn't

it?

Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:17–19

verses 17

through 19.

It says,

by faith,

Abraham when

he was tested

offered up

Isaac,

and he who

had received

the promises

was in the

act of offering

up his only

son, of whom

it was said,

through Isaac

shall your

offspring be

named.

He considered

that God

was able

even to

raise him

from the

dead,

from which

figuratively

speaking, he

did receive

him back.

Abraham knows

two things

here, doesn't

he?

For one,

he knows

God has

promised that

Isaac will

be the

heir.

God has

promised that

through Isaac

shall your

offspring be

named.

God's promised

that.

He's staked

everything on

this.

God's promised

blessing to

the world

through Isaac.

God's promised

ultimately again

the Messiah

through Isaac.

He knows

God's promise

and he knows

now God's

command.

Sacrifice

Isaac.

He doesn't

know how those

two things work

together.

How could

he?

How can

he reconcile

these things

in his mind?

He can't.

He does

not know

how this

is going

to turn

out.

But he

is confident

that no matter

what happens

up there on

that hill,

God will

not turn

his back

on his

promises.

He figures

that even

if I have

to go

through with

this,

if necessary,

God is able

even to raise

this child

from the

dead.

God will

not turn

his back

on his

promises.

Church,

this is

faith.

And we

see that

confidence

again in

his conversation

with Isaac.

I mean,

you talk

about an

awkward

moment,

right?

The parents

have an

awkward

conversation

with their

kids.

Verse 6

says,

Abraham

takes the

wood,

he puts

it on

Isaac,

he takes

the fire,

he takes

the knife,

and now

Isaac is

starting to

notice

something's

a little

off here,

something's

missing.

He's looking

around like,

dad,

we got

everything

we need

except one

thing,

and where's

the lamb?

How does

Abraham respond

to his son?

What does

he say?

He looks

at his son

not knowing

how far

he's going

to have to

go with

this,

still not

knowing

exactly how

this is

going to

turn out,

but in

confidence,

in the

confidence

of faith,

he says,

God will

provide for

himself a

lamb,

for the

burnt

offering

my son,

God will

provide.

I see

his faith

is manifested

in obedience,

it's manifested

in confidence,

and now a

third wave

here,

we see

faith is

manifested

in

willingness,

in willingness,

you could

say,

in readiness.

Look there

to verse

nine.

And they

make their

way up the

mountain,

Abraham builds

the altar,

he lays

the wood

in place,

he sets

everything up,

he takes

his son,

he lays

his son

there on

the altar

on top

of the

wood,

he reaches

out his

hand,

he takes

the knife

ready to

slaughter

his son,

and at the

last moment

the angel

of the Lord

calls to

him from

heaven and

says,

Abraham,

Abraham,

and he

says,

here I

am,

do not

lay your

hand on

the boy

or do

anything to

him,

for now I

know that

you fear

God,

seeing that

you have

not withheld

your son,

your only

son,

from me.

Of course,

God is

omniscient,

he already

knew,

he knows

everything,

but now he

sees Abraham's

faith manifested

Abraham's

faith

manifested

in obedience

and in

confidence

and in

willingness

now to

sacrifice

even that

which is

most precious

to him.

Christian,

do you

have faith

like this?

Are you

genuinely

willing to

do anything

the Lord

commands you

to do?

Let me

ask it

another way.

Is there

anything in

your life

that you

would not

be willing

to offer

up to

the Lord?

Is there

any part

of your

life that

you just

want the

Lord to

kind of

stay out

of?

Do not

touch this,

please.

God,

I love

you,

but please

don't mess

with my

Sunday

mornings.

That's the

only me

time I

get.

That's

football,

that's

fishing,

that's

time off

work.

I'll catch

up on a

sermon later

on a

podcast,

YouTube,

whatever it

is.

Just don't

touch my

weekends,

God.

God,

I love

you,

but please

don't touch

my money.

Don't ask

me to give

it away.

Don't touch

my treasures.

God,

I love

you,

but please

don't mess

with my

plans for

my life.

Don't mess

with my

job.

Don't mess

with my

retirement.

Don't mess

with my

plans.

Don't mess

with my

future.

Friend,

do you

realize that

when you

put your

faith in

Christ and

follow him,

that means

everything is

on the

table.

All the

chips are

in.

And when

you trust

Christ by

faith,

when you

put your

faith in

Christ,

you bring

everything to

him,

you lay it

all at his

feet,

and you

say,

this is

yours,

it's not

mine.

You take

this,

you do

what you

want with

it,

everything

that belongs

to me

belongs to

you first

and finally

and ultimately.

If you give

it to me,

it's yours,

you use it

as you see

fit.

The

parents,

do you

realize that

includes even

your children?

Abraham here

is willing to

offer up his

only son,

the son whom

he loves.

You see how

that's repeated

over and

over?

Your only

son.

Why?

Because he

knows ultimately

this child

belongs to

God.

Parents,

do you

realize that

your children

ultimately don't

belong to you,

they belong to

the Lord?

We have

these dreams

that we tell

our kids all

the time.

I'm preaching

to me right

now.

We tell our

kids all the

time,

you're going

to grow

up and

be best

friends,

we're all

going to

still get

along and

you're going

to buy

the house

right next

door and

we're all

going to

live on

this compound

and see

each other

all the

time.

If the

Lord does

that,

praise God.

There's

nothing wrong

with that.

Are we

equally okay

if the

plan of

God is

that your

child goes

to be a

missionary

in a

dangerous

place,

to risk

their life

daily to

spread the

gospel?

South Sudan,

are you

okay with

God not

following your

plans?

Christian,

do you

realize that

everything in

your life

is His,

it is

offered up

to Him?

Paul says

in Romans

that you

yourself are

to be offered

up to Him

as a living

sacrifice.

This is

your spiritual

act of

worship,

He says.

Your time,

your money,

your job,

your family,

your home,

your heart,

your everything

is His.

We gotta

stop hedging

our bets.

And you know,

anything that

you're not

willing to

offer up to

Him,

you know what

the Bible

says that

is?

It's an

idol.

How easy

would it have

been for

Abraham to

make an

idol out of

His precious

Son?

You know,

anywhere that

your heart

says,

I am not

willing to

obey the

word of

the Lord,

you can be

sure that

there's an

idol there

competing with

God for

your heart's

devotion.

What might

that be for

you?

What are

you not

willing to

offer up to

the Lord for

His use?

Jesus tells us

in Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10.

Whoever

loves father

or mother

more than

me is not

worthy of

me.

Whoever

loves son

or daughter

more than

me is not

worthy of

me.

Whoever

does not

take his

cross and

follow me

is not

worthy of

me.

Are you

willing?

So we see

faith will be

tested.

Second, it

will be

manifested.

But third,

third and

finally, we

see here

genuine

faith in

Christ.

Genuine

faith in

all the

promises of

God.

Third, will

be vindicated.

One more

common

misconception

about faith

from those

who don't

know the

Lord.

They think

ultimately

faith is

pointless.

At the end

of the day,

none of it

matters.

You believe

in something

if you want,

if it makes

you happy

in this

life, that's

fine.

But ultimately,

what's the

point?

It's not

really tied

up to

anything

real.

It's just

kind of

fairy tales

and make

believe.

So you

believe what

you want,

but it

doesn't

matter.

But we

know that

in the

end, praise

God, in

the end, our

faith in

the Lord will

be vindicated.

Look there

to verse

13.

Abraham has

demonstrated

faith in

the Lord,

and now it

says Abraham

lifts up

his eyes

and behold,

behind him

is a ram

caught in

a thicket

by his

horns.

Abraham goes

and takes

the ram,

he offers

the ram

up as a

burnt offering

instead of

his son,

so Abraham

calls the

name of

that place

the Lord

will provide.

It became

sort of a

proverb in

that day,

on the

mount of

the Lord

shall be

provided.

his faith

in God

and his

confidence in

his promises

was vindicated

in this

moment.

He was

right to

trust in

the promises

of the

Lord.

His

obedience and

his willingness,

even his

sacrifice, all

of it, all

of it was

worth it.

Now I

don't know,

we're not

told what

those two

men down at

the bottom

of the hill

thought about

Abraham,

right?

We don't

know how

much they

knew about

his plan,

but I

could imagine

that if they

knew what

he had

planned,

they would

think he

was absolutely

crazy to

say, hey,

we're going

up, I'm

going to

slaughter him

and we'll

be back.

Right?

They would

write him

off as

insane.

No way,

you're going

to go offer

your son as

a burnt

offering,

you're just

trusting the

Lord to