God’s Timeline – Part 29
Abraham’s
Test
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
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SERMON INTRODUCTION (2021 A.D. = 5781 Jewish
Calendar Year)
o Adam, Eve, and the Fall
-
Cain and Abel
o Evil Fills the World
-
Noah Did All God
Commanded Him
o The Flood 2400 – 2300 B.C.)
o God’s Covenant with Noah
-
Noah’s Sons and Ham’s Sin
-
Nations of Noah’s Sons
-
Tower of Babel
-
God calls Abram (2090
B.C.)
o Abram and Lot part ways
o Rescue of Lot
-
The Lord’s Covenant with
Abram for Isaac
o Hagar and Ishmael Born (2101 B.C.) Abram 86
years old
o Sarai and Isaac (2088 B.C.) Abraham 99 years
old
-
The Three Visitors
-
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
-
Birth of Isaac (Hagar and
Ishmael sent away)
-
The Lord tests Abraham
SCRIPTURE READING
Genesis 22:1-18
“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him,
“Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
2 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 I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and 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 had told him
about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go
over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
6 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 on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham,
“Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the
lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for
the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son
Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his
hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called
out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “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.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a 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. 14 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.”
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a
second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because
you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 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, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth
will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.””
ILLUSTRATION: Understanding the difference between “test” and
“temptation”
James 1:2-5 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and
sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the
testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance
finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
TEMPTATION
James 1:13-17 “When tempted, no one should say, “God
is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil
desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every
good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the
heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Temptation is not from God, though it is allowed by
God. Temptation is not sinning, for we know Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and
did not sin.
Hebrews 2:18 “Because he himself suffered when he
was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
The REASON God allows evil to tempt is various. Sometimes
He allows it to grow a person, sometimes He allows it because it is a consequence
of decisions to turn from God or because we chose to allow sin in our lives.
Testing is different. When God tests us, it is not because He doesn’t know
what we will do, for He knows ALL. God is Omniscient and knows all things.
Psalm 139:4
“Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.”
Psalm 147:5
“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; his understanding is infinite”
Job 11:11
“For he knows those who are worthless, and he sees iniquity without
investigating”
So, if testing is not so God can know, we need to
understand it is so WE can know.
James tells us, Testing produces perseverance. We
obtain through tests. We grow, become closer to what God created us to be,
rather than what this fallen world has made us.
TESTING
James 1:12 “Blessed is the one who perseveres
under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown
of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
I.
THE COMMAND
a. How the Kingdom operates
i.
We
have spoken before about the law of obedience
1. God commands
2. Those who obey are
considered “righteous” which unlocks promises
3. God fulfills His promises,
and the blessings and benefits are available
ii.
In
the garden of Eden
1. Command: Do not eat of the
tree
2. Obedience: those who didn’t
were “righteous” having heard, believed, and obeyed the Word of the Lord
3. Blessing: Righteous lived in
a perfect garden and would never grow old or die
iii.
Punishment
for “unrighteous”, or “disobedience” is also a part of this law
1. Disobedient/unrighteousness
in the garden resulted in Banishment from the blessed Garden, loss of all the
protection and benefits of Eden, as well as a death sentence imposed which
would prevent everlasting life.
b. What the Lord expected
then, and now
i.
God
does not change, what He expected in the Garden, He expects today
ii.
Faith
in His word, belief, and obedience
iii.
We
have the Word of God, if we place our faith in it, believe, and obey it, we too
will unlock the blessings, benefits, and promises of God’s Word.
iv.
If
we do not…then the unrighteous/disobedient will suffer the loss of the greatest
benefit of all time!
v.
The
Lord Jesus Christ’s substitutional death to pay the debt we ALL owe to God for
our disobedience to His commands.
vi.
Why
pay a debt that has already been paid?
c. The command that was given
to Abraham
i.
We
see here at the beginning of the chapter a command is given to Abraham by God.
ii.
Genesis 22:1-1 God calls to Abraham
iii.
God
says, “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 I will show
you.”
iv.
It
is at this point Abraham must decide
1. Disobey and be unfaithful
2. Have faith, trust the Lord
and Obey being righteous
II.
OBEDIENCE
a. Immediate obedience
i.
We
see Abraham immediately sets out the following morning with his son Isaac and
two servants as soon as he prepared everything for the sacrifice.
ii.
This
is where we begin to see, once more, the Word of God foreshadowing what was to
come with Jesus and the Cross.
b. The imitation of Christ and
the Cross
i.
Abraham,
the father, cut
enough wood for the sacrifice of
his son
1. Our Father in heaven also
prepared for the sacrifice of His son
ii.
Servants
followed Abraham and Isaac to the place, but were made to stay behind as
Abraham and Isaac climbed the mountain alone.
1. The disciples only traveled
so far, our Lord went to the Cross with God the Father
iii.
Once
to the mountain, Abraham placed the wood for the sacrifice upon his sons back
to carry up the mountain
1. The cross was placed upon
Jesus’ back to be carried to His sacrifice as well
iv.
Abraham
carried the FIRE and the KNIFE
1. This is foreshadowing the
Judgment and action of the sacrifice was in the hands of our Father in heaven
upon His Son Jesus.
v.
Isaac
called out to Abraham, “Where is the Lamb?” Abraham answered, “GOD HIMSELF will
provide the lamb.”
1. It was God Himself, the Lord
Jesus, who provided Himself as the Lamb.
c. Obeying in faith
i.
Abraham
raised his hand to slay his son and the Lord stopped him saying, “LIT: for I have known
that you fear God and would not without your only son.”
1. God didn’t test Abraham so
God could find out…
2. Remember: Psalm 139:4 “Even before a word is on
my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.”
3. God tested Abraham for
Abraham’s own good, so that he would be made mature and complete for the task
ahead!
4. James 1:3-4 “you know that the testing
of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that
you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
5. It was purely for Abraham,
as well as have a writ account and foreshadowing of Christ and the Cross
III.
THE BLESSINGS
a. Because you have done this
i.
So,
God gave the command, Abraham obeyed and was now righteous, so God reveals the
benefits, blessings, and promises Abraham will now have.
ii.
God
makes it clear in verse 16,
“BECAUSE you have done this and have not withheld your only son…” so there cannot be any
question as to why the promises are being fulfilled. It is because of Faith and
Obedience to the Word of God!
b. These are the blessings you
unlocked
i.
I
will surely bless you
ii.
And
make your descendants numerous as stars in the sky and sand on the seashore
iii.
Your
descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies
iv.
And
through your offspring (Isaac’s line) all nations on earth (every person ever
to exist) will be blessed (salvation will be available to all)
v.
BECAUSE
you have obeyed me
c. This is a foreshadowing of
things to come for humankind
i.
This
LAW of God calling us to obedience is unchanged
CONCLUSION –
Hebrews 11:17-19 “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He
who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18
even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will
be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in
a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.”
Another foreshadowing of
Christ, the substitutional sacrifice, and the resurrection!
We must have Faith and
Trust in the Word of God, and OBEY it.
1 Samuel 15:22 “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in
obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice”
Proverbs 21:3 “To
do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”
Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love me you will obey all that I
command.”
Does the Lord want
obedience to His Word?
1 John 2:4
“Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and
the truth is not in him,”
This is “why” the
everlasting cry of the prophet and evangelist is REPENT!
Meaning “to turn away”,
but from what? DISOBEDIENCE to the Word of God!
REPENT, have faith and
trust in the Word of the Lord, and OBEY it, so that you may be righteous
before the eyes of the Lord on Judgment Day!
Next week we will see the Lord test Abraham
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