Finding The Faith Of Our Heroes - Part 5: Abraham And Isaac Teach Us To Trust God Series

Finding the Faith of Our Heroes

Part 5: Abraham and Isaac Teach Us to Trust God

Hebrews 11:17-19; Genesis 22:1-14

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared September 22, 2023)

BACKGROUND:

*Today in Hebrews 11, we get back to our study of the Old Testament heroes of our faith. And faith in God is crucial for everyone, because Hebrews 11:6 tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please" God.

*This morning, our focus is on Abraham and his son, Isaac. This boy was the son that God had promised to his parents Abraham and Sarah. And in Hebrews 11:17, God's Word says that Isaac was Abraham's "only begotten son." That's because Isaac was the only son that the LORD ever promised to this couple, and because Isaac's birth was a miracle God gave to these parents who were decades too old to have children.

*Hebrews 11:17-19 says:

17. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

18. of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called,''

19. accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

*This incident set in place the whole future course of human history. It determined both the family and the nation of our Lord Jesus Christ. We find the story back in Genesis 22, so please turn back there to see the details, as we read Genesis 22:1-14.

MESSAGE:

*Who do you trust? Hopefully, we can trust our family and friends. Hopefully we can trust the people in our church family. Hopefully we can trust the pilot who flies our plane. But we can surely trust God! We can safely put our trust in our infinitely good God. And the story of Abraham and Isaac teaches us some very important things about trusting God.

1. FIRST: WE MUST KEEP TRUSTING GOD WHEN HE STRETCHES US.

*Church: The Lord is going to stretch us. He will test our faith. We see God's big test for Abraham in Genesis 22:1-2:

1. Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!'' And he said, "Here I am.''

2. And He said, "Take now 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 of which I shall tell you.''

*"God tested Abraham," and what a hard test it was. King Duncan explained that "at age 75, this wealthy man, had already left his thriving city, his extended family, and all of his earthly security, in order to follow God to an unknown, distant land. He was set apart from his people in order to form a new nation, a nation that would be specially chosen by God. The Lord promised to bless Abraham for his obedience, and Abraham was obedient in many things.

*But one promise God made seemed too good to be true: That Abraham and Sarah would have a child of their own. At their age it was such an incredible promise that when both of them heard it, they laughed. And in Genesis 17:17 Abraham wondered, 'Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?' That is why God told this elderly couple to name their new-born baby 'Isaac'. It means 'laughter,' or 'He laughs,' or 'God made me laugh.'

*Imagine Abraham and Sarah's joy at the birth of their young son. They had waited so many years and endured so much disappointment. Abraham had already given his own life to the Lord, so this godly man circumcised his newborn son and dedicated him to the Lord. Now Abraham was ready to kick back, relax, and begin reaping all those blessings God had promised him. But then some years later in Genesis 22:1, 'God tested Abraham.'" (1)

*God tested Abraham with a command so shocking that we are repulsed when the reality sinks in. Listen to the Lord's command again in vs. 2: "Take now 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 of which I shall tell you.''

*If any man ordered us to do that, we would call 911, grab a gun, or fight like a tiger! We would do anything we possibly could to keep that from happening. But it wasn't a man who commanded Abraham to kill his son. It was Almighty God. God tested Abraham, and sometimes God is going to test us too. Why does the Lord do that? Why does He stretch us to the limit sometimes?