Abraham: Father Of The Faithful

SUPER MEN - Abraham: Father of the Faithful (Father’s Day)

June 16, 2019

Genesis 22:1-18 (p. 14)

Introduction:

For almost 2 years my son was in Bagdad, Iraq. He was part of the 1st Cav…His job, a Gunner in a Bradley Fighting vehicle, or Humvee. He made 3,886 trips into the streets and homes of Bagdad…he had his vehicle blown out from under him twice.

The casualty rate for Tyler’s job was about 33%. In each vehicle is a driver, a navigator and a gunner. The gunner is always exposed…always being shot at…always shooting back.

There was a part of me, a big part, that knew Tyler might not come home…that any day the phone could ring and it would be “the US Government regretting to inform us…”

My daughter was a senior in High School during this time and anyone who has had a senior in High School knows what kind of phone calls are going to come…recruiting calls from every service branch. Here’s something I will tell you that you might not know. All these recruiting calls come through the caller ID as “US Government.” Every single time the phone rang and I looked at that identification on the ID my heart dropped…dreading the news…fearing the pain.

Those 18 months where I could not spare my son, not protect him, were extremely difficult. They were months of faith. They were times to trust my Savior.

I was in Killeen, TX when Tyler stepped off that white bus, and even as I remember the circumstances with you now I can barely contain the emotion of having a son…I’d experienced the fear of losing…walking safely into my arms.

Some of you have felt the same emotions. Some of you have experienced a child’s death, or a child that is spiritually dead. You’ve wondered how much faith it would take to trust and endure…and you weren’t sure you could endure it.

Why do I view Abraham as one of the Super Men of God’s Word? Because he is called by God…The Father of the Faithful. He is asked by God to trust Him even when the most precious thing in his life is at risk…his son…Abraham is called, “God’s friend.”

I often read scripture and wonder how I would have responded in a situation…I think it’s a challenging way to read scripture…and when I read Genesis 22 here’s the question I ask myself…

I. AM I WILLING TO WALK UP THAT MOUNTAIN?

I’ve discovered something as I get older…I fear God. I don’t just revere God because of his absolute perfection and holiness.

I FEAR HIM.

Listen, I know He loves me…loves me beyond my ability to understand love…I know Romans 8 tells me “He did not spare giving His only Son for me because of his great love…and that “Nothing is able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

But I also know what God’s plan is for me…It’s recorded in Romans 8:29. His plan is “to shape me into the image of His only Son.”

Where does that sharpening take place? Where does faith shine like polished silver? In the fire…when it’s tested.

Its’ when we are asked to walk up the mountain carrying the wood for the sacrifice and the fire…and it’s when God is asking us to trust Him with what we love most.

How often does God ask us to do this? Honestly? Not very often…even our tithe is just 10% when we all know, or should, that “every good gift we have comes from the Father above.” (James 1:17)

But there will be times that the God who causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28), asks us to trust Him to do this when it seems impossible.

Abraham had learned to trust God’s provision over a lifetime of tests…some he passed, some he failed…all he learned from!

Abraham left the Ur of the Chaldeans to go where God would lead him…left his homeland and relatives. All in, pretty close. Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife to protect himself and his stuff. He failed miserably. Abraham & Sarah were promised a child, but because it took too long they tried through Hagar, Sarah’s maid. Giant Fail!!!

So as an old man, maybe 115-120, when God said: “Take your son, your only son Isaac to the mountain region of Moriah and (v. 2) sacrifice him here,” Abraham has a lifetime of passes and failures to filter this request through. And what comes out of that filter? God has always been faithful. God has always honored His promises. God has never lied to me. He has never broken the covenant.

It took him 3 days to get to the place of sacrifice. I wonder what the conversation was like, did Abraham sleep? I don’t know, but when they arrived at the mountain he told the servants to stay put while “I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” (v. 5) We, that two letter word says a lot.