2024.06.16.Sermon Notes. FATHER’S DAY FAITH
William Akehurst, HSWC
BIG IDEA: Abraham has finally received GOD’s Promise of a son from whom many nations and descendants of Abraham would come. But today, we see GOD putting this Father to the ultimate test. Choose this son whom you love, or ME.
Scriptures: Genesis 21:1-7, Hebrews 11:8-12, Genesis 22:1-24, Hebrews 11:17-19, John 3:16
Today is Father’s Day. A celebration of those who have fathered us and mentored us. Men of Faith in our lives, who have shown us the love, and directed us to the HEAVENLY FATHER.
And while it is a happy day for some, it also is a day of sadness.
For those men who desire to be a father, and cannot.
For those who have lost their father or are estranged from their father.
For those fathers, who have lost a child, or become estranged from their children.
Today is a special day, no matter how we face it.
I’m thankful for a good earthly father, who is now with the LORD GOD, MY HEAVENLY FATHER.
I’m thankful for a HEAVENLY FATHER, who called me out to turn to HIM, and listen to HIM, as though I was listening to my dad.
This is a special day, as we can all look to OUR FATHER, WHO IS IN HEAVEN, WHO loves us, blesses us, and provides for our every need, all in HIS perfect plan and timing for our lives.
(Recap) Genesis 21:1-7 Isaac Is Born (Heb. 11:11)
1 And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Hebrews 11:8-12
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
BY FAITH ABRAHAM and SARAH believed the LORD and in HIS PROMISES
ISAAC, YOUR ONLY SON.
SON OF PROMISE
HOLY SPIRIT PROVISION
Genesis 22:1-24 Abraham’s Faith Confirmed (Heb. 11:17–19)
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 Then 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.”
ISAAC, YOUR ONLY SON.
WE KNOW THAT ABRAHAM FATHERED TWO SONS, ISHMAEL AND ISAAC, BUT IT WAS ISAAC THAT CAME FROM THE UNION OF THOSE PROMISED, ABRAHAM AND SARAH. THIS WAS THE UNION FROM WHICH THE BLESSING WOULD FLOW TO ALL NATIONS.
AND I WONDER AT WHAT ABRAHAM AND ISAAC WERE THINKING. FROM THE INSTANCE THAT GOD COMMANDED ABRAHAM TO TAKE HIS SON ISAAC AND OFFER HIM AS A BURNT OFFERING, WHAT RAN THROUGH ABRAHAM’S MIND?
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.
THREE DAYS TRAVEL, AND AGAIN, WHAT WAS ABRAHAM’S THOUGHTS?
5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
WE GET AN INKLING OF ABRAHAM’S THOUGHTS HERE. “WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU”.
WAS THIS WISHFUL THINKING, OR DID ABRAHAM KNOW?
DID HE REALIZE HE WAS BEING TESTED?
OR WAS THIS SOMETHING I DON’T THINK WE TRULY UNDERSTAND, “THE FEAR OF THE LORD”, TO COMPLETE WHAT GOD COMMANDED, KNOWING THAT GOD HAD A PURPOSE AND SOLUTION TO THIS PLAN.
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”
And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
ISAAC WAS ABOUT 13-15 YEARS OLD, HE HAD SEEN BURNT SACRIFICES ALL HIS LIFE. BUT WHERE IS THE LAMB?
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
ONCE AGAIN, WE SEE ABRAHAM’S RESOLVE. “GOD WILL PROVIDE”.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
WHAT WERE ABRAHAM’S THOUGHTS IN THIS MOMENT. WHAT WERE ISAAC’S?
PERHAPS ABRAHAM THOUGHT, IF ISAAC IS KILLED, GOD WILL RAISE HIM UP AGAIN.
BUT DID HE EVER HAVE ANY DOUBT? OR QUESTION?
AND YET ABRAHAM BOUND ISAAC. I CAN’T IMAGINE WHAT ISAAC WAS THINKING?
DAD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING???
IT DOESN’T SAY THAT ISAAC RESISTED HIS FATHER’S ACTIONS. IF IT HAD BEEN MY CHILD, THEY WOULD HAVE BECOME WIGGLE WORMS TRYING TO GET AWAY!
BUT THERE IT IS, ABRAHAM BINDS ISAAC AND LAYS HIM ON THE ALTER, ON THE WOOD.
LOOKING THJROUGH NEW TESTAMENT GLASSES, WE CAN SEE THE SYMBOLIC NATURE OF THIS ACT. THE FATHER, TAKING HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, AND PUTTING HIM ON THE WOOD, THE CROSS, AS THE FINAL SACRIFICE FOR OUR SIN.
FAITH IN ACTION REQUIRED!
10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
OBEDIENT UP AND TO THE VERY END, ABRAHAM FOLLOWED GOD’S COMMAND, READY TO SLAY HIS OWN SON.
GOD TOOK ABRAHAM UP TO THE VERY EDGE, THE VERY LAST MINUTE, AND OBSERVED AS ABRAHAM OBEYED HIM COMPLETELY.
AND THEN…
11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
RELIEF, GRATITUDE, PHEW…FOR BOTH FATHER AND SON.
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”
GOD WILL PROVIDE. JUST AS HE PROVIDED FOR ABRAHAM, GOD WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU.
AND THEN, THE BLESSING.
15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
The Family of Nahor
20 Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.
FAITH, TESTING, PROMISES, AND OFFERING UP HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON.
Hebrews 11:17-1917 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 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
JUST AS ABRAHAM WAS CALLED TO OFFER UP HIS “ONLY BEGOTTEN SON”, AS GOD DECLARED OF ISAAC, I THINK OF THE LORD GOD, LOOKING DOWN AT ABRAHAM, WATCHING HIS HEART TO SEE THE HURT AND PAIN THAT ABRAHAM FACED WITHIN. AND THE RELIEF WHEN A RAM, A SUBSTITUTE WAS PROVIDED IN PLACE OF ISAAC.
AND YET, GOD TOOK THIS SAME ACTION UPON HIMSELF, BY GIVING HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, JESUS, TO GO TO THE CROSS, BUT THIS TIME, NO SUBSTITUTE WAS PROVIDED. GOD FINISHED IT, JESUS FINISHED IT, BY THE WORK OF THE CROSS, TO BECOME OUR SUBSTITUTE IN DEATH, SO THAT WE MIGHT RECEIVE THE PROMISE AND BLESSING OF ETERNAL LIFE, THROUGH HIM.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
SOME TAKEAWAYS.
MOUNT MORIAH HAS IMPORTANT SIGNIFICANCE TO THIS ACCOUNT OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC.
IT IS WHERE GOD SENT A FATHER TO GIVE HIS SON AS A SACRIFICE.
CENTURIES LATER, MOUNT MORIAH BECAME THE LOCATION OF SOLOMON’S TEMPLE, WHERE GOD WAS INVITED TO DWELL AMONG MEN.
AND FINALLY, IT WAS IN THAT SAME AREA, THAT GOD SENT HIS SON, JESUS, TO DIE ON A CROSS FOR OUR SINS, AT GOLGOTHA…ALL IN THE VICINITY OF MOUNT MORIAH.
WHY ARE THESE EVENTS IMPORTANT TO US TODAY.
YOU SEE, GOD HAS A DIVINE SET-UP. FOR EACH OF US.
GOD WILL TEST YOU.
This account of Abraham and Isaac at Mount Moriah demonstrated and pointed to JESUS and GOD’S PLAN of SALVATION for all mankind. However, it also reveals how GOD tests HIS Children.
GOD’S TIMING IS PERFECT.
Just as Abraham was about to plunge the knife into his son Isaac, GOD provided a ram for the sacrifice instead. God’s timing is perfect. The ram happened to be caught in a thicket nearby just when the substitute sacrifice was needed to save the life of Abraham’s son, Isaac.
God caused the ram to appear and immediately be caught in the thicket. GOD knew Abraham wouldn’t take the life of his own beloved son. But Abraham didn’t know. Abraham was following through with incredible obedience and faith and a “FEAR OF THE LORD”, willing to do whatever GOD asked of him.
Our testing is the same. GOD is all-knowing and has a plan for you to get through the testing that HE has placed you into.
And because HIS timing is perfect, when we realize it, we learn to trust HIM more and more.
GOD’S PLAN IS BEST.
While the account of Abraham and Isaac were pointing to certain death for Isaac, GOD used that to teach us that HIS Plan is best.
Death doesn’t seem like a good plan. Taking a child to offer as a sacrifice doesn’t appear to be anything good, truthfully, it’s barbaric. And when GOD created this world, HE never intended for mankind to deal with death. But due to disobedience on man’s part, death entered into this world.
And yet, that’s what it took for you and me. Death.
GOD sees things differently than we do. Death was part of HIS Perfect Plan of Salvation for us.
The Death and Resurrection of GOD’s One and Only Beloved Son, is how HE made a way for us to be restored to HIM again, as it was intended from the very beginning.
JESUS lived a perfect life. None of us are perfect, none of us are without sin.
JESUS was the fulfillment of the perfect Sacrifice required by GOD that Abraham demonstrated with his son Isaac.
And Mount Moriah, the very place where our text leads us to this event, is the same place where this final act of GOD, the sacrifice of HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN would take place years later. JESUS the perfect lamb, the Lamb of GOD that takes away the sins of the world, would FINISH GOD’s Plan for all who will believe.
GOD has a plan for you. HIS timing is perfect, and you and I will be tested as HIS CHILDREN.
The question is, will you submit to HIM?
Will you submit your heart, mind, soul, to be obedient to the Calling of HIS SPIRIT in your life.
Will you turn from your way, and acknowledge HIS WAY, as THE WAY to the promised blessing of Eternal Life in HIM?
Give your heart to the LORD, believe in the finished work of JESUS on the Cross for your sins. And HE will seal you with HIS Presence, and guide you by HIS SPIRIT.
It’s up to you.
And now you know.
FATHER, we come to YOU with praise in our heart, for the Faith of our Fathers. For the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And for those who have led us, fathered us to know who YOU are. We thank YOU for giving YOUR SON, JESUS, to pay the debt we owe, and become the substitute for us, for our required death, so that we can receive HIS Righteousness, and forgiveness, and be set free from sin and death, to receive the Promised Blessings of being restored to YOU, as YOU desire us to be, and to have the promise of Eternal Life in YOUR PRESENCE. Thank YOU LORD GOD for saving me, for sealing me with YOUR SPIRIT, and for the accomplished work of the Cross, in JESUS Name, Amen.
ADDED MONDAY 6/17/2024
Yesterday was Father’s Day. And we got together with family to celebrate Father’s day and a nephew’s birthday late in the evening. While at the birthday gathering, while eating dinner, my youngest son stood up calmly, and put his hands to his throat. Someone called out, “are you choking?”. He remained calm and quiet and nodded his head and was able to exhaust some air. “He’s not choking, or he wouldn’t be able to breath” another remarked. When I realized what was actually happening, I jumped up and gave him 2 hiemlich hugs from behind, and the food popped into his mouth and his breathing was restored. He said that he couldn’t inhale, but only exhale, and when he realized he was actually choking, he stood up and gave us the signal with his hands at his throat. It was all over so fast, and everything was back to normal at the party very quickly.
Later that night, as I was getting ready for bed, my son texted me, “Thanks for saving my life today, happy Father’s day, I love you Dad.”
That’s when it finally hit me of what happened that day. Things could have gone a lot differently…BUT GOD.
Thank YOU LORD for YOUR GREAT LOVE, MERCY and GRACE, for Saving MY LIFE and the life of my son today. I love YOU LORD!
Call it a test, I don’t know. But I said in my message verbally that I couldn’t imagine losing one of my children, and knowing others who had, Father’s day can be a happy day for some, and a sad day for others.
It was at that moment that I realized how GOD had intervened, and showed me and my son, HIS GREAT Love, Mercy, and Grace in a way that I can only give HIM praise and thanksgiving.
Thank YOU LORD for saving my son from death, and restoring him to life. Thank YOU LORD for saving my soul, and making me whole. I owe my life to YOU LORD GOD. Thank YOU for a good end to our day. I love YOU LORD, In JESUS Name, and I am grateful. Amen.
