Passing the Test of Faith
Text: Gen. 22:1-18
Introduction
1. Illustration: A small boy came home from school and went straight to his room to pray. His mother had never seen her son do this, so she listened outside his door. She heard him praying softly and then saying, "Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo", loudly. She went into his room and asked what he was doing. He responded that he had taken a geography test that very day and was worried about one of his answers. He was praying to God asking the Lord to please make Tokyo the capital of France!
2. We all face various tests everyday, but the most important one is the test of faith (notice I didn't say that it is the only one that matters, so that no teenagers come back and say, "Pastor Mark said the faith test is the only one I need to pass!")
3. In order to pass the test of faith we need to...
a. Trust God Implicitly
b. Trust God's Provision (and if we do...)
c. Trust will be rewarded exponentially
4. Read Gen. 22:1-18
Proposition: In order to pass the test of faith we have to trust God completely.
Transition: In order to pass the test of faith we need to...
I. Trust God Implicitly (1-5).
A. Go And Sacrifice Him
1. There are lots of test in life.
a. Tests in school.
b. Driving tests
c. Patience tests
d. And the worst of all...the State Insurance License test!
2. The most important is the test of faith. We can see this illustrated for us in the life of Abraham. Our text begins with by telling us, "Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” 2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
a. It was a test for Abraham to leave his homeland, live among the Canaanites, separate from Lot, wait 25 years for the birth of Isaac, but nothing compared to this test of his faith.
b. The word translated "only" mean only in the sense of unique, one-of-a-kind, and special. Isaac was the child of the promise and represented all of Abraham's hopes and dreams (Horton, 185).
c. Abraham had no idea that this was a test. If he had known it would have diminished the validity of the test.
d. From Abraham's perspective God's request was totally incomprehensible.
e. Not only was God asking him to sacrifice a child, but he was asking him to sacrifice the child of the promise, the miracle child.
f. The long awaited child. What makes this such a staggering test is that is was totally contrary to God's character and would completely destroy everything that God was doing (Ross, 396).
g. Notice what God says to Abraham. He says, "Take your son, your only son-yes, Isaac, whom you love so much..."
h. He makes it clear to Abraham that he know exactly what he is asking. He is asking him to give up everything.
i. Not just his son, but the son through whom all of God's promises hinge (Ross, 397).
3. Now Abraham shows us what it really means to trust God. It says, "The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about."
a. We need to pay special attention to how Abraham responds.
b. The text does not say one word about how Abraham feels, only about what he does.
c. He doesn't argue with or question God he simply obeys without delay (Ross, 398).
d. Abraham did not consult with anyone about this. He simply obeyed God, trusting in him (Horton, 185).
e. Faith is not about intellect, emotion, or rationale. Faith is about action!
4. Abraham further demonstrates his faith by what he says, “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”
a. In this verse Abraham makes an incredibly powerful statement of faith.
b. He tells his servants that both he and Isaac would go ahead of them, worship the Lord, and they both would return.
c. Abraham knew that his task was to take Isaac there and kill him. However, he says that they would both return.
d. He believed God so much that he knew in his heart that some how, some way God would work it out.
B. Complete Trust
1. Illustration: Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams that He will not stand by us." — Oswald Chambers
2. Faith means you trust God in everything.
a. Proverbs 3:5 (NLT)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
b. It means you trust God when things are good and when they are bad.
c. It means you trust God when you have plenty and when you have lack.
d. It means you trust God when you understand and when you don't have a clue.
e. It means you trust God for everything, everywhere, and in every circumstance.
3. To trust in anything other than God is idolatry.
a. Leviticus 19:4 (NLT)
“Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God."
b. If you trust in your ability it is an idol.
c. If you trust in your wealth it is an idol.
d. If possessions they are an idol.
e. If you trust in your job it is an idol.
f. If you trust in anything other than the Lord it is an idol.
Transition: What are you trusting in?
II. Trust God's Provision (6-14).
A. God Will Provide
1. Abraham and Isaac make preparations to head toward the mountain, and they take with them everything they will need to make a sacrifice to the Lord...except one!
2. It was then that Isaac turns to his father and says, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together."
a. Abraham answers his son's question based on his faith in Yahweh's ability to provide and on his character.
b. God had never failed him before and he knew that he would not fail him now.
c. His statement is both simple and profound, "God would provide..."
d. It was not only simple and profound, but it was also emphatic, "God WILL provide!"
3. Abraham then demonstrates what real faith is all about. It says, "When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood."
a. Notice that Abraham's faith in God's provision doesn't detour him from obeying God command.
b. In spite believing God's provision he still goes through with what he was asked to do. He ties Isaac up and puts him on the altar.
c. Then he picks up a knife and gets ready to kill his son.
d. He must have explained God's command to Isaac; Isaac must have submitted with faith in God and confidence in his father.
e. A 20 year old man certainly could have resisted an 120 year old father if he wanted to (Horton, 187).
f. It was not only Abraham's faith being tested, but Isaac's as well.
4. Have you ever heard the phrase "in the nick of time?" We in the nick of time, "the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” 12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”
a. At the moment he was about to kill Isaac, the text says, "the Angel of the Lord," stopped him. Remember who "the Angel of the Lord" is? It was Jesus himself!
b. The phrase, "now I know," here is powerful.
c. Normally it was the expression of joy of someone who had experienced the effects of God's action on their behalf.
d. But here the joy is transferred to God who is filled with joy seeing Abraham pass the test of faith (Ross, 399-400).
e. Now God knew that Abraham would hold nothing back from him, that he did truly fear God.
f. To fear the Lord means to reverence him as sovereign, trust him implicitly, and obey him without protest.
g. The sacrifice that pleases God is a heart broken of self-will, surrendered to God and offering its best to God (NLT Study Bible).
5. Then, just as Abraham had believed would happen, he "...looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
a. Yahweh-Yireh... means "the Lord will provide."
b. That Abraham used the holy name in this act shows that the patriarchs knew the name Yahweh, but not its full meaning.
c. Later Israelites understood this passage as a lesson about their own worship in Jerusalem.
d. Abraham's sacrifice took place on the mountain of the Lord, later the location of the Temple in Jerusalem.
e. Three times a year, the people of Israel brought their best to God as a sacrifice, trusting that he would continue to provide for their needs (NLT Study Bible).
B. God's Supply
1. Illustration: A young woman brought her fiancé home to meet her parents for thanksgiving dinner. After dinner, her mother told her father to find out about the young man. The father invited the fiancé to his study for a talk. "So what are your plans?" the father asked the young man. "I am a biblical scholar," he replied. "A Biblical scholar. Hmmm," the father said. "Admirable, but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in?" "I will study," the young man replied, "and God will provide for us." "And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, such as she deserves?" asked the father. "I will concentrate on my studies," the young man replied, "God will provide for us." "And children?" asked the father. "How will you support children?" "Don’t worry, sir, God will provide," replied the fiancé. The conversation proceeded like this, and each time the father questioned, the young idealist insisted that God would provide. Later, the mother asked, "How did it go, Honey?" The father answered, "He has no job and no plans, and he thinks I’m God!"
2. Faith means trusting God to meet all your needs.
a. Philippians 4:19 (NLT)
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
b. It means trusting God to meet your physical needs.
c. It means trusting God to meet your spiritual needs.
d. It means trusting God to meet your financial needs.
e. It means trusting God to meet your emotional needs.
f. I know that my God will meet all your needs!
3. Faith means trusting God's provision even when we can't see it.
a. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
b. It means trusting God when you don't know where it's coming from.
c. It means trusting God when you don't know when it will happen.
d. It means trusting God when you don't know how it can happen.
e. It means trusting God even when it makes absolutely no sense.
f. It means trusting that God will make a way where there is no way!
Transition: Who are you trusting in?
III. Trust Is Rewarded Exponentially (15-19).
A. Because You Have Obeyed Me
1. One thing is true about faith; it will be rewarded.
a. It may not be immediate.
b. It may not be the way we expect.
c. But it will be an exponential blessing from God.
2. The reaction of Abraham's faith was obedience. This can be seen in the Lord's response to Abraham; "Then the angel of the LORD called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you..."
a. The Angel of the Lord declares to Abraham that because he had not withheld his only son he would swear by his own name that the all the promises he made would be kept.
b. He promised to bless Abraham and his descendants abundantly.
c. He not only promises to prosper them but also to give them victories. They conquer and possess their enemy’s cities.
d. He would do all of this because he had obeyed the Lord's command (Horton, 189).
3. The result of Abraham's obedience is exponential blessing, The Lord tells him, "I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.
18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”
a. Abraham received abundant blessings because he obeyed God.
b. God promised to give Abraham's descendants the ability to conquer their enemies.
c. In addition, God promised Abraham children and grandchildren who would in turn bless the whole earth.
d. People's lives would be changed as a result of knowing of the faith of Abraham and his descendants.
e. We often think of blessings as gifts that we will enjoy. But when God blesses us, his blessings may also overflow to others—today and into eternity (Life Application Study Bible).
B. Faith's Reward
1. Illustration: C. S. LEWIS - Weight of Glory: If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he can not imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
2. God rewards those who obey him.
a. Psalms 58:11 (NLT)
Then at last everyone will say, “There truly is a reward for those who live for God; surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.”
b. God will reward us for living by His Word.
c. God will reward us for living by faith.
d. God will reward us for trusting Him in all things.
e. You may not see it today; you may not see it tomorrow; but the rewards of faith will come!
3. God will reward those who walk in faith.
a. Jeremiah 17:10 (NLT)
But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”
b. He will reward us for believing when others doubt.
c. He will reward us for moving when He tells us to move.
d. He will reward us for trusting when we cannot see.
e. He will reward us for following His commands.
Transition: Are you doing what it takes to receive a reward?
Conclusion
1. We all face various tests everyday, but the most important one is the test of faith.
2. In order to pass the test of faith we need to...
a. Trust God Implicitly
b. Trust God's Provision (and if we do...)
c. Trust will be rewarded exponentially
3. Are you passing the test of faith?
