Genesis chapter 22, Abraham's faith and loyalty to God is tested. A way of introduction, in our last message we surveyed Abraham's life as recorded in Genesis 12 through 20, and we asked what are some of the lessons we may learn from his life. In today's message we conclude our focus on Abraham, In Genesis 22, we learn how God tested Abraham's faith and loyalty. Here are some questions as we come to this chapter, as we think about Abraham and what God asks him to do. They're questions that we should reflect on and ask ourselves. Do I believe that God is really good? Is God really good? Good. Do I believe that God is fully trustworthy? I think most of us would give automatically, absolutely, why, of course. But then when problems in life come, and we're knocked for a loop, so to speak, by the surprise, by the negativity of what happens to us, We then have to think, is God good? Did God allow this? Does a good God allow this kind of disappointment, problems, difficulty into the life of his children? Is God really trustworthy? Is he treating me right? Is God all wise? Does he never make a mistake or do we sometimes think God made a mistake this time? Is God really in control of all the events of my life? And then I qualified that question as I seek to follow him. Now, if I rebel against his word and if I take charge and start doing contrary to what I know God wants, if problems come, it's my own fault, not God's fault. Now, he permitted me to take charge and he also permitted me to reap the results of my wrong choices. We don't blame God for our stupidity. and the results that come. We don't blame God for that. We look in the mirror and say, you, looking back at me, made wrong choices and you now are reaping this and you don't like reaping it, you don't want to reap it, but that's the way life works. But typically, the average person won't look in the mirror and they'll feel bad at God. as if it's all God's fault. Yes, I did wrong and I did this, but God shouldn't have let the results happen. That's not the way it works, but I'm talking about for you and I who are sincerely daily seeking to please him, live the way he wants us to live, and then bad, bad things come into our life. Is he really in control of all the events of my life as I seek to follow him? I got in the back seat of a car. coming to this church to hold revival, and the pastor picked me up, and typically they don't bring their wives with them when they pick you up at the airport, but she had come. And I hadn't seen them for a long time. This was out in Kansas, and I got in the back seat, and we had, how you doing, and the common courtesy words. And I said, how's your family doing? Typical nice things to say, get caught up. She said, haven't you heard about our oldest daughter? And I said, no. What happened? Well, as you know, well, I didn't know, but she assumed I knew. She was preparing for the mission field to be a missionary nurse. She was in her final requirements of practice at the hospital. Her last practical thing in the hospital before she fully graduated is her RN and could go to the mission field to serve God, medical missionary. And she's driving to the hospital and a drunk comes on the other side, crosses the medium, smashes her car. He's not hurt at all, you know, that's a famous story of drunks walking away unscratched while they devastate other people. And she was physically harmed, taken to the hospital, and they don't know for sure at that time. She's telling me, mom's telling me, if she'll recuperate or not from that physical damage, or she'll have a liability. And she said to me, the famous question, you know, the famous question, why, why, why, Dr. Brown, why did God let that happen to our daughter? Well, we all want to make sense of life. And to us, that doesn't make sense. Why didn't God at least protect her, or have him miss her, or why did God let that happen? And I didn't give her a wisdom literature lecture. I just said, what a bummer, that's terrible. And that's all I said, but I thought to myself, how sad that we Christians don't understand what I have emphasized from time to time here in this church, that God's primary concern is not our health, wealth, well-being. His primary concern is how much we develop in Christ-like character qualities. You'd have to be omniscient, you'd have to be God himself to be able to answer why God let that happen. You and I don't know why, and God isn't obligated to tell us why, but we are obligated, if we're Christians, to trust him and to believe what he says. He is good, he's really good, even when he lets the drunk smash into us. He's fully trustworthy, even when we don't understand why. He's all wise, he never makes a mistake. And he really is in control. And I thought to myself, how sad that the pastor's wife wasn't focused on the big picture. What is God trying to do in each of our lives? to make us more like Jesus. And when something bad happens, our question and our thoughts and our prayer would be, Lord, let the words of my mouth not be whining, complaining, critical, bitter, but let the words of my mouth that come out be Christ-like, be kind. Now that takes a miracle of God's grace, doesn't it? Lord, help me as a result of this to be more like Jesus and how can I more clearly reflect Christ in my life in the midst of this terrible, terrible. pain, problem, and difficulty, and setback to all my plans. That's the right focus questions that God wants us to have, not why me, why this, why now. Man, this is terrible, and do the negative route. That takes no grace, no brains, no God. God wants us to trust him, and this is difficult when things are going wrong in our life. I'm not telling you it's easy. But this is why we need to remember answers to prayer. We need to remember what God has done for us in the past, what God has done for others, and trust that God will bring us through this also. With that in mind, Abraham's test, it's a terrible test from my perspective. Of course, making the message, I've been thinking about this, about how I would respond, and God helped me to see some truths in preparation of this message that I hope you'll see with me. Genesis 22, one through two, after these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, here I am. Now, I wanna stop right here and tell you that this is not Abraham having an impression. He woke up one morning, he just had this impression that God wants him to do, verse two. Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. I want to remind you that God unmistakably made it clear to Abraham that he is talking to him. I've had impressions, you've had impressions. You thought, I've thought, God wants me to do this, he doesn't want me to do that. And God does work through impressions and he leads us and he checks us, I'm not knocking that. But I'm talking to you about something that totally did not make sense, something that was contrary from a human perspective. God had promised Abraham Your firstborn son, Ishmael, through Sarah's handmaid, Ishmael, you wanted Ishmael to be the inheritor through whom I would perform my promises to you, and I told you no. Ishmael is not going to be the line through whom my promises to you and to the whole world will come. I'm gonna give you a son through your wife, Sarah. Oh, he told him that at age 86 after Ishmael had been born and Abraham and Sarah and Hagar had manipulated to help God fulfill his promises, help God out. And they were not according to his purpose and plan at all. And God doesn't fulfill that word to him about I'm gonna give you a son through Sarah. until Abraham is 100 years old. He's gonna have to wait another 14 years, and he doesn't know that he has to wait 14 years. He just knows that the biological clock is ticking, and Sarah went through menopause, and Sarah ceased ovulation, and Sarah ceased to be able to physically bear a child, and he, At age 100, no longer was able to procreate. Scripture tells us that. But God did a miracle. And Sarah conceived. And Isaac, laughter. Isaac means laughter. What happiness and laughter and joy Isaac brought to Sarah and to Abraham. Whoa, what a miracle child. Time has gone on. Abraham has totally loved and enjoyed watching Isaac grow up. And Isaac is now old enough to carry all the wood for the fire, so he's not a little kid. Isaac is probably a teenager, at least, And God says to him, God, now this is important, God made it unmistakably clear. That's important. So if God said to you, unmistakably, do this, do that, and it doesn't make any sense to you, how well do you know God? Abraham had no Bible, remember. Abraham had trusted this God that appeared to him in Ur of Chaldees back in his homeland. It had such an impact upon him that he told his dad. His dad agreed that we'll pack everything up. God says go to the land of Canaan. What's there and why? God didn't say, he just said go. But he appeared and this is, so they did it. Man, that's tremendous, isn't it? That's tremendous. He stopped being a polytheistic worshiper of the moon God, Abraham, and he becomes now a worshiper of the true and living God. And he comes to Haran and there Terah gets sick and dies and God says to Abraham again, okay, now come on to the land of Canaan. and off he goes. I'd give him an A, wouldn't you give him an A for obedience? He still doesn't know the where, where in the land, he doesn't know the why. He says, I'm going to make of you a great nation, I'm gonna give you this land, what part of it, where, what, how much land? Doesn't tell him yet. And Abraham is worshiping God, and then God gives him all these promises. And finally, Isaac, his son, and here God has said to him, take your son, your only son. Now, you have to understand the Hebrew idiom. Isaac isn't his only son, but this is how you express the son, that special son, the son of promise. Ishmael was his first son, Isaac is his second son, your only son, that special son whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and kill him. offering to me as a sacrifice. People look at that and say, how can God ask somebody to kill their son? Well, that question comes out of a lack of understanding of what God's doing. I hope we can see that today. Remember who Isaac is to Abraham. I've explained that. He's the special son God graciously gave to Abraham and Sarah in the old age. Abraham's 100 when Isaac is born. Sarah's 10 years younger than Abraham. Can you imagine having a child at 90? Even in their day, that was unheard of. Abraham had no idea what God was doing when God tells Abraham to do this, but he had learned something about God. And this is important, and I'm trying to tell you that Abraham's been growing in his experience, relationship, and understanding of God. We know what is happening. Abraham has no idea what's happening. Well, what's happening? Here's the key. Through Abraham's actions with his son Isaac, God's going to prefigure his own sacrificial giving of his beloved son, Jesus. Abraham, unbeknown to him, is going to have the I'm gonna say privilege, but it certainly didn't feel like a privilege at the moment. He's gonna have the privilege, God's gonna record, have this recorded by Moses, so that down through the centuries, Abraham and his relationship to Isaac in this event is going to prefigure what God the Father is going to do in reference to his own beloved son. So let's see what Abraham does. Notice the similarities between Isaac and Jesus. Isaac's birth was prophesied in advance. Remember back in Genesis 18, verses 9 and 10? A, God came. and talked with Abraham at his tent, and any physical appearance of God in the Old Testament is not the Father. No one has ever seen the Father at any time. Scripture makes that clear. It's always the pre-incarnation form of Jesus Christ. It's a Christophany. Christ Jesus is appearing. before he was named Jesus, the Son of God's appearing to Abraham. And he says, where's Sarah, your wife? She's in the tent, the Lord said. I will surely, the Lord, this is Yahweh, that's the personal name of Almighty God. I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah, your wife, shall have a son. Sarah was eavesdropping, listening at the tent door behind him, and it struck her funny. She laughed. It struck Abraham funny. I don't know if it struck me funny. I would have been dumbfounded at that statement, knowing the physical reality of her body and my body, But God, what God says He will do, what God says He will, there's nothing too hard for God. We have a song, we say, standing on the promises of God, my Savior. Well, I'm not talking about looking through the Bible and picking the promise you want. I'm talking about, in this case, God came to Abraham and said, you're gonna have a son. And it happened. It happened exactly like God said. Now that's important. His faith grew through that incident. Jesus' birth was prophesied in advance. Gabriel said to Mary, you'll conceive in your womb, bear a son, you'll call his name Jesus. Isaac's birth was a miracle. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? God asked Abraham that. At the appointed time, I will return to you about this time next year. Sarah will have a son. Jesus' birth also was a miracle. Luke 1.34, Mary said to the angel, how can I have a child since I'm a virgin? I've never known a man. Well, the answer is it will be miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit. God is all powerful. There's nothing hard for him. Isaac was his father's beloved son. Take your son, your only son, whom you love. Jesus was his father's beloved son. Remember what Jesus heard the Father say at the baptism? Matthew 3.17, a voice from heaven, this is my beloved Son with whom I'm well pleased. God loved his Son. Abraham loved his son. Isaac was to be sacrificed at a specific place. Go to the land of Moriah, offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I shall tell you. Jesus was to be sacrificed at the very same place, Mount Moriah. Years later, David, Through what? Happenchance? Luck? No way. God providentially led David, King David, to buy the threshing floor of Arunach. And this was the same place that history tells us that Abraham had built his altar to sacrifice his son. We call it Mount Calvary. This is Mount Moriah, the same place. Abraham's prompt obedience. So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, 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, so it was three days journey away, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. I remember in University of Cincinnati taking modern conversational Hebrew, we were talking about this event in Hebrew and the teacher was saying, what do you think Abraham said to his wife when she asked, where are you guys going? What are you up so early? Where are you going? We have no record of what he said to her, if he said anything to her. My sneaking feeling that I have no proof of was he made sure he got up plenty early before Sarah woke up. Why should she have to bear the trauma that he's bearing? I think he was a wise old man at this time and shielded her from this. I think that's what I'd have done. And I wouldn't have told her. So, verse five, Abraham said to his young men, now get a hold of what he says to them. Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go over there, pointing up the mountain, and worship. And this translation doesn't stress the we, but it is a clear plural. And we will come again to you. That's powerful. We will come again. He didn't say, and I will come again. We will come again. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, laid it on Isaac, his son. So Isaac's carrying the bundle of wood. He took in his hand the fire, coals, no doubt in a clay container, hot coals, and the knife. a terrible knife, and they went both of them together. What was in Abraham's mind? And I can about guarantee this is what was in Abraham's mind, because Hebrews chapter 11, verses 17 through 19 says, by faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. By what? By faith. Faith believes what God says, obeys what he requires, trusts in and rests on what he promises. And he said, through Isaac shall your descendants come. And Abraham's got it in his mind that God is totally trustworthy, he's the miracle working God, and if necessary, I'll kill Isaac if that's what God wants, and then I'll expect God to raise him up from the dead. Because he said, through Isaac will come my descendants, and therefore, whether I understand what's going on, I'm gonna trust him. So by faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promise was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, through Isaac, shall your offspring be named. Verse 19, here's what the Holy Spirit, through the writer to Hebrews, reveals about what was going on in Abraham's mind. He considered, he believed, Abraham believed, that God was able to even raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. In Abraham's mind, Isaac was as good as dead, Although God didn't let Isaac kill him, in Abraham's mind and decision, the act was completed, it just needed the follow-through. God allowed Isaac not to die. How did Abraham arrive at the conclusion that if God had him actually sacrifice Isaac, God would raise Isaac up from the dead? And this is, I think, the key to the whole message here. And it comes back to the question, what do you know about God? Is God really fully trustworthy? Is he good? Does he never make a mistake? It was the necessary conclusion of faith based upon what God had already taught Abraham. And this is why To remember what God has done for you in the past is so crucial for you to have that information and assurance so in your present decisions, you make the right choices. What was it that Abraham had already learned? Let's listen to Romans chapter four, verses 16 through 25. Paul tells us about the event that really helped Abraham understand faith. So the promise is received by faith, it is given as a free gift, and we are all certain to receive it whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham's. We'll receive the promise if we have faith like Abraham's. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. That is what the scriptures mean when God told him, I've made you the father of many nations. This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life, and he creates new things out of nothing, and he's not talking about his son's sacrifice now. He's talking about God is going to bring his dead body that dead in the sense his physical body ceased to be able to procreate, to have the necessary procedure to have a son conceived. His body had stopped functioning that way. Sarah's body had stopped functioning that way. Their body in that respect of having children was dead, it ceased operating in that sphere. Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept on hoping, believing he would become the father of many nations, for God had said to him, that's how many descendants you will have. And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead in the procreation aspect of life. And so was Sarah's womb. It was impossible. Physically, biologically, but not for God. Nothing's impossible. Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. Now, don't push this back before this event. Abraham wavered in faith when he went down to Egypt and lied to Pharaoh. Abraham wavered at other times, but Abraham's growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, he had no Bible. He had no Abraham for him to read about. He had no record of miracles that God had done before, like we do. And yet Abraham is not wavering in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger. And in this he brought glory to God. All right, he finally came to the place where he believed God will do the miracle, even though he doesn't know how. He was fully convinced that God's able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham's faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn't just for Abraham's benefit, It was recorded, written down in Scripture, for our benefit too, assuring us that God will also account us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He, Jesus, was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. Abraham fully trusted God, and that miracle of procreation, that God rejuvenated his body, Sarah's womb, Isaac was born, that just solidified his faith. Listen to Abraham's wisdom in answering the question Isaac asks him, Genesis 22, seven and eight. They're walking up the mountain. Isaac said to his father, Abraham, my father? And he said, here I am, my son. Isaac said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham had a lot of wisdom. in saying what he said, God will provide himself, the lamb, for a burnt offering, my son. Well, that didn't tell him what a sacrifice lamb was, did it? It just said, son, God's gonna provide it for himself. Isaac trusted his dad, loved his dad, knew his dad loved him, would only do the best for him, and up they keep walking. Isaac's trust in his father, Genesis 22, nine through 10, when they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there, laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac, his son. What's going on in Isaac's mind? He's faster, younger than his dad. He could have easily dodged and outrun him and refused to let his dad bind him. But no, Isaac has complete trust in Abraham and maybe Isaac also had complete trust in the God of Abraham. And so Isaac lets his dad bind him, and lay him on the altar on top of the wood, and you can just see Isaac's eyes on his dad, watching everything his dad does, and you can just see Abraham in agony of heart and mind, knowing that he's going to do what God told him to do, no matter how painful, how much it costs him, but God has promised through Isaac, my descendants would be. Verse 10, Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife to slaughter his son. God's just in time command. Genesis 22, 11, 12, the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham, twice, that's urgency. Abraham says, here I am. Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. Whoa, was that ever good news. For now, listen to what God says, now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. How much do you trust God? Here's the test. It was an extreme test. Abraham passed it with flying colors. God's substitute sacrifice? Genesis 22, 13, and 14, Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram. probably with tears running down his cheeks thanking God that God would supply. Offered up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, The Lord Will Provide. A statement of what he had believed all along and he was now making it a personal A perpetual testimony that God does provide. As it is said to this day, on the mount of the Lord shall it be provided. Conclusion. That day on Mount Moriah, God showed Abraham and all future generations a picture of what he himself would provide for all of humanity. God would provide his own son, his own Beloved Son, as a substitute sacrifice, so that he could rightly and justly forgive our sins. Galatians 3a and the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith. Now look at this statement, preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham. saying, and you shall all the nations be blessed. And that particular promise was referring to, ultimately, Paul tells us, to when Jesus, God's Son, came to be our Savior. And notice this word gospel. When you study the book of Acts to find out what was the content of the gospel that the apostles preached. There were two essential components that were always part of the gospel message. Jesus died for our sins and he rose again for our justification, his death and his resurrection. And we have in the life of Abraham a picture of God providing His own Son, Isaac didn't have to die, Jesus did. Jesus died. He took the punishment that you and I deserve. He took our place. Why did God give His only beloved Son? Why did Jesus willingly die as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world? It's because He loves humans, He loves us, and He wants to save us, and He wants to come into a right relationship with us. He provides sufficient sacrifice for everyone, but it only is effective for those who put their faith in Christ. Thank God for the gift of His only Son, amen? And thank God for a man like Abraham, who before there was a Bible, had learned who our God really is. Totally trustworthy. Will never do bad things to us. Always is seeking our good. The trouble is you and I don't always know what good is from God's point of view. He does. Let's trust him and let's grow in faith. Let's never doubt him, amen? Let's remember he never will fail us. John 8, 56, your father Abraham, rejoice to see my day. God gave him special insight and allowed him to see down through the centuries. Later, God was going to reenact that scene with his own son, but there wouldn't be a ram in the bushes for God and for Jesus. Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad. We've been talking this morning about Genesis 22, 1 through 14. Abraham's faith and loyalty to God is tested, and he came through with flying colors. May God help each of us. when our faith is tested, to not have our faith fail. To really know that our God is totally trustworthy. And we ought to obey him no matter what the cost. Amen? Let us pray.