Faith and Obedience
By: Rev. Joel T. Sumagaysay
Gen. 22:1-19
Introduction:
The BIBLE STORY teaches us how Abraham displayed great faith and obedience to the Lord during one of the most difficult tests of his life.
Read Gen 22:1-8
The story is actually quite shocking. Here God asks for a human sacrifice. Abraham has waited over 25 years for a son and has finally God has fulfilled his promise.
Abraham has much to be thankful for – God has provided him with a Son, an heir, a promised one.
Now we get to 22:2 and God says to Abraham “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
sacrifice was a common thing in the period of the patriarchs and even into the kings. I think what was hardest for him to accept was the fact that this was his only Son, the son he had waited for 25 years. And this is the son he loved. The precious one.
Illustration:
A well-to-do businessman stood on the dock watching as final preparations were made for a ship to sail. As he stood there, he was joined by a man whose clothing revealed his poverty. Finally the man spoke up. “You seem pleased about watching this ship sail,” he said. “Yes,” replied the merchant. “I have seen many ships leave this harbor, but this one gives me more satisfaction than any other I can remember. You see, on this ship I am sending $10,000 worth of equipment for a mission hospital in China. I just had to come down and see that it got off safely.”
“Then we have something in common,” said the stranger, “for I, too, have a gift on that ship.” “And what is that gift?” asked the merchant who was somewhat antagonistic.
“My only daughter is on that ship. She’s going to China as a missionary.” “Then my gift is nothing compared with yours,” came the merchant’s humble reply.
Like this merchant, Abraham was a man of great wealth. His faith was so strong that he would readily have given any or all of his wealth to God. However, Abraham’s material wealth was nothing compared with the gift God asked of him — his son Isaac. Yet Abraham passed even this test of faith and obedience in noble fashion.
Gen. 22: 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.”
Illustration:
A man by the name of Heratio Spaffard was an American businessman, and he was scheduled to travel by boat with his wife and four children to Ireland. At the last minute, a big business deal kept him from going, so he sent them on and told them he would follow shortly.
Halfway to its destination, in the middle of the ocean, the boat his family was on sank, killing all aboard.
When Mr. Spaffard received word of the accident, he immediately chartered another boat and went directly to the place the other boat had sunk. As he leaned against the railing, staring at the spot he lost his wife and children, with as much grief as a man can bear, words began to come into his mind. With tears flooding his eyes and sobs making it impossible to talk, he went to his cabin and began to put those words down on paper.
Those words are found in the hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” Now, Mr. Spaffard was not happy that he lost his family, but knowing they were all Christians gave him peace in his heart, and made his soul feel peace. History shows from that point on, Mr. Spaffard included the Lord in every aspect of his life, more than he had ever done before.
l. Abraham’s Faith Was Tested 1-2
Gen. 22:
1 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.”
Today we look at the extraordinary story of Abraham’s obedience. Was it blind obedience or an awesome act of faith? As we look we will see that there is a pattern that Christians can learn from. In our Christian walk there are often tests to which we respond and then there are rewards.
Abraham’s test. (Verses 1-2)
When God spoke to Abraham, he knew who was speaking to him. The same God who called Him out of Haran. The same God who had blessed him with material wealth.
The same God who had given him the son of promise.
He recognized God’s voice because he walked with God in faith. Abraham’s response? Not like Adam and Eve in the garden. Genesis 3:8-9, "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ’Where are you’?" The one through whom sin entered the world tried to hide from God. Abraham walked in faith and was available to the Lord.
"Here I am." He didn’t wonder what God wanted. He just responded in faith. It didn’t matter what God wanted, Abraham was ready to do it. But God asks the unthinkable. "Take now your son, your only son Isaac and offer him as a burnt offering." Why did God call Isaac Abraham’s only son? He had another son, Ishmael. Why did He ask Abraham to offer Ishmael?
Isaac was the son of promise. The one through whom Abraham’s descendants would be multiplied.
Hebrews 11:17-(NIV)
17 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.
Why not replaced by another; his darling, only child". You can see how precious Isaac was to his father and God knew it too. Now this doesn’t make any sense does it?
Gen. 21:12 "But God said to Abraham, ’Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called’." There is a logical train of thought that would take place. The promise was through Isaac and Isaac had no children. So if I kill Isaac, I kill the promise. Right? Was Abraham exhibiting blind obedience? No. When we see blind obedience in action people act without even considering the consequences. But that is not what Abraham did. He weighed it out and then decided to obey. Why? Hebrews 11:17-19, "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, In Isaac your seed shall be called, concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead" Was Abraham’s love for others (his family) greater than his love for God? God doesn’t test people to see if we have faith in His promises. He wants to know if we have faith in the One who makes the promises.
Abraham’s Faith Was Tested. Isaac was the most precious thing in Abraham’s life. No test could have been more severe than this.
Why test him?
Because it’s easy to SAY believe in something… it’s a much different thing to actually prove it. Like anything of any value... true faith will always be tested
ILLUS: One man once wrote: All sorts of things are tested to prove that they are genuine.
When you go to a bank and give a $20 bill to the cashier, she holds it to a special light. Why would she do that? Because she is testing it to make sure it is genuine.
During the time when the Philippines was not using a special light to determine the genuineness of the dollar bills. The bank tellers would just hold the dollars close to the light and then examine the pictures that were printed on the dollar bills.
I was so curious what the teller was doing and I asked him how to know that the dollar is genuine by just looking at it. He told me that if the hair of the picture of a man on the dollar is not combed properly the dollar is fake.
Joke: I wonder how many fake Christians we have in our churches if we judge them with their hairs. Some especially young people look like their hairs are not cut and combed for many years.
We expect EVERYTHING that has value to be tested.
The faith that is not tested is the faith that can not be trusted.
ll. Abraham’s Response 3-8
A. He obeyed God promptly.
He got up early in the morning.
Sometimes when God is commanding us to do something we are hesitant.
Sometimes we oversleep until we forgot our errand.
Abraham doesn’t waste any time. What God calls him to do is of prime importance. He didn’t say, “Give me a few years or weeks, he obeyed right away.
B. He responded wholeheartedly. V4
It shows that the place of sacrifice was very far from home.
3 days journey was strenuous for an old man.
He had reason not to go.
He had plenty of time to change his mind.
Challenge: Put yourself in Abraham’s situation. How do we show our obedience in the face of difficult situation?
1.Lots of work to do.
2.No fare
What was going on Abraham’s mind since God had promised he would be the father
Of many nations through Isaac?
Do you think that Abraham thought that God is breaking His promise?
The conflict was resolved in his mind.
Hebrews 11:17-19 (NIV)
17 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.
God tested Abraham not to trip him and watch him fall but to deepen his capacity to obey God and thus develop his character. Just as the fire refines precious metals, God refines us through difficult circumstances.
Again the faith that is not tested is the faith that can not be trusted.
Faith is being fully persuaded that whatever God has promised, He is able to perform.
Faith is not walking by sight, by emotion, by circumstances, but walking in the promises of God, trusting in the One who promised. That’s what Abraham did and he was justified by his faith.
lll. Abraham’s Reward
Gen.22:
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[a] 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
III. Abraham’s reward. Look at the timing of the event. Death for Isaac was imminent. They traveled for three days and then on the third day God showed Abraham the place of sacrifice. It was also on the third day that Isaac was delivered from death.
Verse 11, "But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven". The Angel of the Lord is Jesus Christ Himself calling to Abraham. "Do not lay your hand on the lad".
Verse 12, "now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." Abraham called this place, "The Lord Will Provide" "Jehovah-jireh" Moses, the writer of Genesis, says, "as it is said to this day, ’In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided." Prophetic utterance, for this is the same mountain where some 1800 years later Jesus would die on a cross as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
Verse 18, "in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." Abraham’s obedience was not for his benefit alone. The reward that came was for the benefit of all mankind. Through Abraham the covenant of promise was begun. His selfless act, even when it all seemed wrong, did two things. It provided for his own salvation by his faith. It opened the doors for the lineage of the messiah who would come and provide salvation for all who believe.
Many have questioned the story we heard today. How could a God who loves us ask someone to kill their son? Understand this, it was a one-time event. Later on in the Bible God condemns Human sacrifice. But God requires our obedience. Does He ask us to go along blindly having no clue where or why we are going? No, He has given us His written word as a standard to judge by. Does that mean we have to understand why we go through times of testing and trial? No. We just need to know by faith that when we are tested we have the power source needed to come out of testing as better people. One of the ways we exemplify obedience is to be obedient even when the pressure to do otherwise becomes great.
Illustration:
John Kenneth Galbraith, in his autobiography, A Life in Our Times, illustrates the devotion of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family’s housekeeper:
It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House.
"Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson."
"He is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb him."
"Well, wake him up. I want to talk to him."
"No, Mr. President. I work for him, not for you.?
When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure. He said, "tell that woman I want her here in the White House.”
Conclusion:
That is the type of obedience that God wants His people to exhibit. Not because we fear the consequences; not because we expect rewards, but simply because we love the God who gives us great and eternal promises.
Today God may call you by name to do something unheard of. Heed God’s voice and say, "Here I am, Lord.” Faith is validated by our obedience.
I don’t claim originality on what is sent to the internet. I used lots of resources to finish this sermon. Some of my resources came from Sermon Central. If you want a power point on this sermon just email me at- ficcjoel@yahoo.com
