Genesis 22v1-19 - Faith Strengthened

to Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

Amen.

So we're continuing in our studies,

our series through Genesis.

We've been looking at the life of Abraham.

We started in chapter 12.

And again, I just want to encourage you

that if you miss anything,

you can follow up on our website.

All the sermons are there.

And if you have any questions or anything else,

thank you very much.

Thank you.

About this morning or anything else,

well then, just come and talk to me afterwards.

Be delighted to chat with you more about it.

Well, let's hear God's word.

We're going to read up to verse 19.

Genesis 22.

Some time later, God tested Abraham.

He said to him,

Abraham, here I am, he replied.

Then God said,

take your son, your only son,

whom you love, Isaac,

and go to the region of Moriah.

Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering

on a mountain that I will show you.

Early the next morning,

Abraham got up, loaded his donkey.

He took with him two of his servants

and his son, Isaac.

When he had cut enough wood

for the burnt offering,

he set out for the place God told him about.

On the third day,

Abraham looked up

and saw the place in the distance.

He said to his servants,

stay here with the donkey

while I and the boy go over there.

We will worship

and then we'll come back to you.

Abraham took the wood

for the burnt offering

and placed it on his son, Isaac.

And he himself carried the fire

and the knife.

As the two of them went up together,

Isaac spoke up and said

to his father, Abraham,

Father,

yes, my son,

Abraham replied.

The fire and the wood are here,

Isaac said.

But where is the lamb

for the burnt offering?

Abraham answered,

God himself will provide the lamb

for the burnt offering.

And the two of them went on together.

When they reached the place

God had told them about,

Abraham built an altar there

and arranged the wood on it.

He bound his son Isaac,

laid him on the altar

on top of the wood.

Then he reached out his hand

and took the knife

to slay his son.

But the angel of the Lord

called out to him from heaven,

Abraham, Abraham.

Here I am, he replied.

Do not lay a hand on the boy,

he said.

Do not do anything to him.

Now I know that you fear God

because you have not withheld

from me your son,

your only son.

Abraham looked up

and there in the thicket

he saw a ram caught by its horns.

He went over and took the ram

and sacrificed it

as a burnt offering

instead of his son.

So Abraham called that place

the Lord will provide.

And to this day it is said,

on the mountain of the Lord

it will be provided.

The angel of the Lord

called to Abraham

from heaven a second time

and said,

I swear by myself,

declares the Lord,

that because you have done this

and have not withheld your son,

your only son,

I will surely bless you

and make your descendants

as numerous as the stars in the sky

and as the sand on the seashore.

Your descendants will take possession

of the cities of their enemies.

And through your offspring

all nations on earth

will be blessed

because you have obeyed me.

Then Abraham returned to the servants

and they set off together

for Beersheba.

And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Let's pray.

Father, we can read

familiar stories

or perhaps

a new story.

But we pray

that by your Spirit

we would not only

understand it

with our minds

but we pray

that its truth

and its message

would change our hearts

and it would lead

to a strengthening

of our faith

whereby we walk

by faith

trusting you

every step of the way

until

we are at home

in glory

with you.

So help us now

we pray

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Have you ever wondered

what God is doing

with your life?

everything can be going

just fine

when all of a sudden

you find yourself

in a crisis of faith.

Perhaps it's a visit

to a doctor

that reveals

well, something

you didn't want to hear.

Maybe it's a changed

circumstance

that leads

to financial pressure.

Struggles with life

that ends

in a season

of depression.

Maybe it's just

something you wouldn't

share with anybody

else

and only you know.

How can God

let these things

happen to me?

Why is he doing it?

Well, Abraham's life

was sailing along

quite smoothly

when all of a sudden

he was in a crisis

of faith.

But it isn't

without purpose.

Through it all

God is teaching him

and he is teaching us

that in all things

God provides

all that we need

so that our faith

is strengthened.

In all things

in every event

and circumstance

of our life

God will provide

all

that we need

so that our faith

is strengthened

and we will keep

walking with him

until we reach

our eternal destiny.

four things

we're going to look

at from this account

that will help us

to see that

this is

true.

Here's the first one.

The test

faith

experiences.

The test

that faith

experiences.

We can be sure

that as we walk

the Christian life

we are going to

face some very

testing times.

In fact

they will come

suddenly

and surprisingly.

Look at verse 1.

Sometime later

God

tested

Abraham.

Now testing

is not the same

as tempting.

God isn't trying

to trip

Abraham up.

God is

building

Abraham up.

You see

these times

of testing

that we face

are not

random events

that we somehow

must battle

through alone.

They are

ordained

by God

for our good.

God isn't

in the business

of letting

accidents

happen.

There are no

accidents

with God.

Look what it says.

God

tested

Abraham.

Walking

through the

gym doors

I was confronted

with a

large sign

that said

no pain

no gain.

maybe you've

seen one of

them before.

Apparently

when you

exercise

the

micro

fibres

in your

muscles

begin to

stretch

and tear

and they

rip.

But after

the exercise

during a time

of healing

they recover

and as they

recover

the muscles

actually

build up

and they

get stronger.

You see

without the

testing

without the

pressure

on your

muscle

there is

no

strengthening

of your

muscle.

Well that's

what's going

on here

in this

account

that we're

reading

in Genesis

22.

God is

testing

Abraham

for the

purpose

of building

and

strengthening

Abraham.

So what is

it that

Abraham's

test

is all

about?

well it

all involves

or it

all revolves

around his

son.

Look at

verse 2.

God said

take your

son

your only

son whom

you love

Isaac

and go to

the region

of Moriah

sacrifice

him there

as a burnt

offering on

the mountain

that I will

show you.

Now that

must have

crushed

Abraham

my son

my only

son

my son

that I

love

Isaac

why would

God

command

such a

thing?

Well when

we consider

who Isaac

is we can

begin to

see things

a little

more clearly.

Isaac is

not just

Abraham

son.

Remember

what we've

been looking

at.

He is

the son

of the

promise.

God

had promised

to make

Abraham

into a

nation

that would

become

God's

very own

people

and he

promised

that through

that people

would come

a son

who would

bring salvation

to the

world.

So if

Abraham is

to sacrifice

his son

Isaac

that means

the promises

that God

has made

have gone.

They're

dead.

No more

blessings.

So what's

going on?

Why would

God tell

Abraham to

do such a

thing?

Everything

from chapter

12 all the

way up to

now that

30 years

have taken

place have

all been

about the

promise.

They've been

waiting for

years and

years Abraham

and Sarah

to have

a son and

eventually the

son, the

promises

arrived and

now God

comes along

and says

I'm going

to take

your son.

It's

puzzling.

It's

perplexing.

Why would

God bring

such

testing?

Well I

think the

big question

in all of

this is

God is

saying do

you trust

me?

Will you

have faith

in me?

You see

we go

through

testing times

don't we

each one

of us?

And that

doesn't mean

to say God

is going to

come along

and say to

us sacrifice

your child.

No scripture

tells us that

God is against

all human

sacrifice.

In fact

we'll see in

a little while

that God

actually has

no intention

of killing

Abraham's

son.

But yet

here the

principle

remains

will you

trust me

in testing

times?

Even though

you feel like

your life is

falling apart

will you

follow me?

Even though

you can't

see beyond

tomorrow

will you

have faith

in me?

do we

trust God

when we

don't

understand

what's

going on

or why

it's

happening

and why

I'm

feeling

the way

I am?

You see

times of

testing

will come

and sometimes

these times

will not

make any

sense to

us

whatsoever.

But in

our testing

will we

say

God is

all I

need

He is

enough

He is

sufficient

Will you

trust Him

in your

time of

testing?

So first

the test

that faith

experiences

Second

the

confidence

that faith

brings

the confidence

that faith

brings

Now it's

tempting for us

as we read

this story

to imagine

what Abraham

must have

been thinking

when God

said go

sacrifice your

son

what would

he have

thought?

Did he

have a

conversation

with Sarah

about it?

Well it

seems the

author doesn't

want us to

go there

because the

focus is

not on

what Abraham

was thinking

or any

conversations

he may or

may not

have had

but on

how Abraham

responds.

God said

sacrifice

your son

and

verse 3

early the

next morning

Abraham

got up

loaded his

donkey

he took

with him

two of

his servants

and his

son Isaac

and when

he had

cut enough

wood for

the burnt

offering

he set

out for

the place

God had

told him

about.

There it

is

go sacrifice

your son

there's no

fuss

it seems

all quite

simple

Abraham

goes about

the day

and prepares

everything that

needs to be

done

God

speaks

Abraham

obeys

obedience

you see that's

what faith

is

faith

is spelt

obedience

it's

listening to

God

who sees

all things

who knows

all things

who is

sovereign over

everything

and doing

what he

says

of course

there are

times we

would like a

little bit more

information

in our

life

if only

God would

show me

what is

going to

happen

into the

future

if only

I could

get a

better

picture

and know

what it's

going to

be like

well

then yes

I'll

step out

in faith

no

faith

is expressed

in the

little tiny

steps

of daily

obedience

we might

not know

everything

that God

is doing

but God

has

given us

his word

and so

we humbly

obey it

you see

faith

is not

a feeling

it's not

something about

well if it

feels good

to me

if it

seems right

for me

then I'll

do it

no

it is

obedience

in action

God

speaks

we listen

and we

obey

that's what

walking in

faith

is all

about

but still

the question

is there

how does

Abraham

act

with such

confident

faith

well

Abraham's

confidence

is not

in himself

his confidence

rests and

relies on

the God

who is

faithful

to his

promises

look

how he

responds

first

hear what

he says

to the

servants

let's pick

it up

in verse

four

on the

third

day

Abraham

looked up

and saw

the place

in the

distance

he said

to his

servants

you guys

stay here

with the

donkey

while I

and the

boy

go over

there

we will

worship

and then

we're

going to

come

back

to you

now

what a

statement

to make

sacrificing

your son

is going

to mean

a death

and yet

Abraham

declares

with confidence

did you see

it did you

pick it up

at the end

of verse

five

we will

worship

and then

what

we

will come

back

to you

how could

he say

such a

thing

second

listen to

what he

says to

his son

verse

six

Abraham

took the

wood for

the burnt

offering

placed it

on his

son Isaac

and he

himself

carried

the fire

and the

knife

but there's

something

missing

isn't

there

and Isaac

is onto

it like

a flash

as the

two of

them went

on together

Isaac

spoke up

and said

to his

father

Abraham

father

yes

my son

the

fire

and the

wood

are here

but where's

the lamb

for the

burnt

offering

Abraham

answered

God

himself

will

provide

the lamb

for the

burnt

offering

my son

and the

two of

them went

on

together

the

sacrifice

is

Isaac

and it

seems

Abraham

is ready

to go

with it

he's come

prepared

the wood

the fire

the knife

but yet

he can

still

say

with

confidence

God

himself

will

provide

the

lamb

now we

mustn't

think that

Abraham

is strutting

about

in pride

be like

me

everyone

just have

more

faith

no this

isn't

arrogance

this is

humble

confidence

in a

God

who is

faithful

to his

promise

you see

Abraham's

faith

is a

reasoned

faith

his

steps

of

obedience

are

founded

on the

strong

foundation

of what

God

had

already

said

the

author

of

Hebrews

gives

us

an

insight

into

how

Abraham

was

thinking

go

with

me

to

Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter

11

Hebrews

Hebrews 11:17

chapter

11

verse

17

and if

you've

got a

page

number

please

call it

out there

for me

1 2

1 0

1 2

1 0

Hebrews

Hebrews 11:17

chapter

11

verse

17

so as

we

read

this

text

it

helps

us

to

see

what

Abraham

was

thinking

how

he

was

processing

his

faith

verse

17

by

faith

Abraham

when

God

tested

him

offered

Isaac

as a

sacrifice

he

he

who

had

embraced

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

even

raise

the

dead

and

so

in

a

manner

of

speaking

he

did

receive

Isaac

back

from

the

dead

you

see

Abraham

went

forward

in

obedience

armed

with

the

promises

of

God

Abraham

knew

God

to

be

faithful

and

he

knew

God

was

not

going

to

break

his

promise

it

depended

on

the

son

of

Abraham

so

he

reasoned

he

calculated

he

thought

about

it

and

he

stepped

out

in

faith

and

he

said

even

if

my

son

is

to

be

sacrificed

even

though

my

son

will

be

killed

God

could

raise

him

from

the

dead

you

see

things

had

already

happened

in

Abraham's

life

for him

to

think

like

this

his

wife

Sarah

was

old

and

barren

she

had

a

dead

womb

but

yet

God

put

life

into

that

dead

womb

and

brought

forth

life

and

if

he

could

do

that

in

that

incident

well

it's

not

too

big

of a

jump

to

calculate

that

maybe

God

could

bring

someone

to

life

and

armed

with

that

promise

he

stepped

out

in

faith

and

what

about

you

and

me

because

don't

we

have

a

God

who

died

through

his

son

Jesus

and

who

was

raised

from

the

dead

and

if

he

can

say

to

you

I

have

power

over

death

itself

will

you

not

trust

him

look

we're

not

Abraham

I get

that

but

we are

like

Abraham

in

that

we

are

to

live

and

walk

by

faith

faith

that

is

rooted

and

founded

on

the

shore

and

certain

promises

of

God

we

don't

need

to

know

every

detail

of

our

life

we

don't

need

to

work

out

our

future

or

to

try

and

have

everything

in

our

control

we

are

to

simply

listen

to

God's

word

to

read

it

and

obey

it

our

confidence

is not

in our

faith

but in

the

faithfulness

of an

almighty

God

who

has

power

over

death

and

who

never

fails

so

the

confidence

that

faith

gives

third

there's

the

provision

that

faith

receives

the

test

let's

go back

to

Genesis

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

chapter

22

the

test

is not

over

in fact

the test

is only

just

beginning

the

altar

is

prepared

the

wood

is

arranged

Isaac

is

bound

the

knife

is

raised

what

God

commanded

Abraham

to do

is

actually

taking

place

do you

think

Isaac

struggled

was there

a fight

between

his

father

and

the

son

what

did

Abraham

say

to

eventually

convince

his

son

or

did

he

just

overpower

him

what

was

going

on

but

once

again

the

focus

is

on

what

we

don't

know

but

on

what

God

did

God

provides

verse

10

then

he

reached

out

his

hand

took

the

knife

to

slay

his

son

but

the

angel

of

the

Lord

called

out

to

him

from

heaven

Abraham

Abraham

here

I

am

do

not

lay

a

hand

on

the

boy

do

not

do

anything

to

him

now

I

know

that

you

fear

God

because

you

have

not

withheld

from

me

your

son

your

only

son

that's

it

Abraham

round

of applause

everybody

you've

passed

the test

congratulations

let's

crack

open

the

champagne

you've

done

it

in

fact

in

honour

of

your

great

faith

Abraham

let's

call

this

mountain

Abraham

the

great

no

verse

14

Abraham

called

that

place

the

Lord

will

provide

and

to

this

day

it is

said

on

the

mountain

of

the

Lord

it

will

be

provided

you

see

Isaac

may

have

been

spared

but

only

because

God

provided

that's

what we

read in

verse 13

isn't

it

Abraham

looked up

and there

in the

thicket

he saw

a ram

caught

by its

horns

he went

over

and took

the ram

and

sacrificed

it as

a burnt

offering

instead

of

his

son

just

as

Abraham

believed

God

would

provide

the

lamb

now

don't

worry

about

rams

and

lambs

don't

get

caught

up

about

wondering

well

he

said

a

lamb

now

it's

a

ram

no

the

point

is

God

provided

it's

not

about

Abraham's

demonstration

of

faith

but

God's

provision

in

our

need

this

is

the

kind

of

God

that

we

have

that

in

our

testing

times

God

will

provide

for

all

of

our

needs

and

concerns

he

will

not

forget

you

and

he

won't

fail

you

but

this

story

is

much

more

than

just

a

ram

for

Abraham

this

is

a

story

that

teaches

us

that

we

are

in

need

of

a

substitute

Christmas

パ

that people like you and I are also in need of a substitute

and God is going to provide that for us.

You see, if we are to know God's blessings of salvation,

then we've got to live a faithful and obedient life.

The problem is, so often we are unfaithful.

We are disobedient.

We don't deserve the promises of blessing that God has.

In fact, we deserve to die.

We deserve to be cut off from God forever.

But God in his faithful love provides a substitute for us.

You see, the account of Abraham and Isaac point us, don't they,

forward to another father and his son

who go together to another mountain.

As Abraham lifted up the knife to slay his son,

Abraham hears that voice from heaven that says,

Stop!

Don't lay a hand on the boy.

Look, I've provided a substitute to take its place.

Yet as Jesus hangs on the cross,

the Father's judgment falls,

and there is no voice from heaven saying,

Stop!

There's another substitute.

Why?

Because Jesus Christ is our substitute.

He is the one who stands in for us.

He is the one who is slain for us.

Jesus is the one who takes the judgment we deserve.

He dies our death

so that you and I might live.

On the mount of crucifixion,

God the Father sends his son,

his one and only son,

the son whom he loves,

Jesus,

to die in our place

so that we might be able to receive

the blessing of salvation

and the redemption of our lives.

You see, in our times of testing,

we so often fail and fall.

But God in his goodness

has provided the perfect substitute that we need.

In a moment, we're going to remember back

to the death of Jesus for us.

And as we take and share in communion together,

we look back, don't we,

to the mount of crucifixion

and we remember there

that on the mountain,

the Lord provided for us.

It's not a celebration of our great faith,

but the provision of God's great substitute.

So the provision that faith receives.

And then to wrap up,

the blessings that faith guarantees.

God may have provided

a substitute for Isaac,

but that's not the end of the account.

God isn't done yet.

He has more to give.

There are more blessings to come.

God confirms

and guarantees his promise, doesn't he?

Look at verse 17.

Speaking to Abraham,

I will surely bless you

and make your descendants

as numerous as the stars in the sky

and as the sand on the seashore.

God is promising

that a nation will come from him,

a nation that will become

God's special people.

And they will take possession

of the cities of their enemies.

They will live in the promised land

where there will be peace and rest.

Verse 18,

And through your offspring,

all nations on earth

will be blessed.

That through that family line

would come the ultimate son

who would bring salvation

and redemption.

Just as God had said to Abraham

when he first called him,

so God remains faithful

to his promise.

The blessings flow

like a mighty river,

a fountain washing over.

But why did the blessings come?

Well, look at the end of verse 16.

Because you have done this

and have not withheld your son,

your only son,

I will surely bless you.

In other words,

end of verse 18,

the blessings come because

you have obeyed me.

Faith obeys.

Faith takes God as his word

and it does what God says.

You see,

obedience does matter.

Grace leads to obedience.

The evidence,

the sign that we have received

God's grace

is an obedient life.

It is through obedient faith

that we experience

the blessings of God.

Now as we reflect

on these blessings,

it reminds us

that God continues

to bless his people.

That God graciously

provides us

with all things.

You see,

like Abraham,

as we walk by faith,

we can be sure

that God is for us.

He's never going

to let us down.

He will bless us

not just with salvation,

but he will bless us

with all that we need

for all things

in our life.

The Apostle Paul

reminds us of that.

Remember this verse

in Romans 8, 32,

speaking of God,

He who did not

spare his own Son,

but gave him up

for us all,

how will he not also

along with him

graciously give us

all things?

He will graciously

give us

all things.

If God did not

withhold his Son,

his only Son,

whom he loves,

Jesus,

then he is not

going to withhold

anything that is

right and best

for you.

God in his love

provided the greatest

gift possible,