Genesis Series #45 April 28, 2002
Title: Abraham Earns An “A+”
Email: pastorsarver@yahoo.com
Website: www.newlifeinchrist.info
Welcome to New life in Christ. Today we continue with message #45 in our verse-by-verse study of the book of Genesis.
Read Genesis 22:1-19
There will be times in your Christian life when it will be very difficult to trust and obey God. There will be times in your life when the things that are happening will seem to make no sense. There will be times when the direction God is taking you seems to be the wrong way. There will be times when the things that God is telling you to do or to give up will be very costly and demanding. It will require great trust and commitment. It will be very difficult to trust and obey God during these times. It is during these times that we can look at the story from Genesis 22 and be reminded of what God expects of His people.
Summary Sentence: God Expects His People To Trust And Obey Him Even When Doing So Is Very Confusing And Costly.
This is what Abraham did faithfully and God was pleased with him and rewarded him accordingly. He serves as an example to all of us on how to respond to God in difficult and demanding times.
Read Verse 1
Everything was going very well for Abraham up to this point. He and Sarah finally had the son that God had promised them. They were settled down and at peace with their neighbors. (Genesis 21:32-34) For many years Abraham was simply enjoying God’s abundant blessings. Then out of nowhere comes the greatest challenge to Abraham’s walk with God that he had ever faced. Sometimes the most difficult and challenging test of our faith and commitment to God come after many years of following God faithfully. There never comes a time in our life when we have earned an exemption from faith challenges. At whatever point we are in our Christian walk, God still has the same expectations.
God Expects His People To Trust And Obey Him Even When Doing So Is Very Confusing And Costly.
The text in verse one says that, "God tested Abraham." A test is used to prove something. A driver’s license test proves your ability to safely operate a vehicle. History tests in school prove or disprove your knowledge of history. A screen test proves your ability to act. Every test is meant to prove something. What is this test of Abraham meant to prove? His test was meant to prove that he trusts God in every situation and that he is committed to God above all other things. This is made clear in verse 12 in which the Angel of the Lord says; "Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." His spiritual test had proved his trust and commitment.
Abraham, in essence, had earned an “A+” on his spiritual test. What will you receive on your spiritual test? Will you show that you are fully trusting and committed to God above all other things? I hope so! One thing is for sure; if you truly trust in God and are committed to Him it will show in how you respond to your spiritual test.
You will be tested, just like Abraham was, to see how complete your trust and commitment really are to obeying God. Is He really first in your life? Do you really believe that He will keep His promises even when it seems impossible? Your faith will be tested like God has always tested the faith and obedience of the people that belong to him. God tested Abraham, Gideon, Noah, The Centurion, Peter on the stormy seas, etc and he will certainly test your faith.
Abraham responds to God’s call with, "Here I am." This is the response of a servant, which indicates that Abraham recognized that he was there to serve God and not vice versa, which seems to be the popular conception of our relationship with God today.
Read Verse 2
God calls Abraham to surrender what is dearest to him - his beloved son. The test of faith and obedience can be very hard! Often times we think anything really difficult or demanding in our lives cannot be God. Abraham’s life certainly dispels or disproves that thought. He has been called to leave his family, wander in a strange land, send away his son Ishmael, and now to sacrifice his beloved and only son Isaac. Certainly God does require radical trust and obedience to Him.
Not only was what God asking of Abraham very costly but also it was also very confusing. It was confusing because Isaac is the very promise that God had given him and Isaac was the one through whom the covenant would be reckoned. It would make no sense for God to take away the very thing that He had promised Abraham. After all, how can Isaac be killed and still be these things? It just makes no sense and seems totally unreasonable but this is part of the walk of faith for Abraham and for us.
God will sometimes work in ways in our lives that are perplexing and He will lead us to give up what we want to hold on tightest too. We may be confused because when God gives a test He doesn’t always attach an explanation. No matter what God ask or how bewildering it is to us, He still expects us to follow Abraham’s example and be faithful.
God Expects His People To Trust And Obey Him Even When Doing So Is Very Confusing And Costly.
Before I move on to verse 3, I want to point out that this event foreshadows the sacrifice of Jesus on Mount Calvary.
Abraham represents God the Father, Who, out of love for mankind, gave His only Son as a sacrifice for sinners. Isaac is a type of Christ, Who submits to the will of His Father. Isaac bore the wood as our Lord bore His cross. It was three days from the time Abraham left to sacrifice his son until they returned together. After three days Abraham received his son back (Hebrews 11:19). After three days our Lord arose from the dead.
Even beyond all this, Isaac was “sacrificed” at the place where our Lord would give His life centuries later, on Mount Moriah outside Jerusalem.
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Read Verses 3,4
I want you to notice that Abraham did not debate or argue with God, but rather he obeyed. His faith, like ours, was demonstrated by prompt obedience. He got up "early the next morning" and he did all he could as soon as he could to obey God. He did not wait until he had more time to think about it.
Many times we fail or spiritual test because we spend our time delaying instead of obeying. We say that will obey "after I do this or after I get this straight …” Delay almost always turns to disobedience. Genuine faith and commitment to God is demonstrated by prompt obedience. Why do we delay? Unbelief! We do not delay because it is prudent but because it is easier. It is easier to wait for all the answers in order to limit our risk and it is easier to delay while we are hoping that God will modify or negate His command to us.
If God is calling you to do something today, then do it today. It may be witnessing to someone, tithing, beginning a ministry for which you feel unprepared and ill equipped, testifying in church, going to the altar during prayer time, getting baptized, etc. Do not say to yourself, “I will wait for a better time.”
Illustration: Many years ago, during a time of prayer, I felt very strongly that God was instructing me to get rid of my television and computer from my home. I watch my television (Good Programming) a lot and I used my computer a great deal, so to me, at that stage in my Christian walk, this was giving up a lot. What would I do at night without a television? How what I research my sermons without the internet? How would Amy (my wife) respond to this? There were many questions on my mind yet despite these questions I knew that I had to obey so I made the commitment right then to do so and got rid of these items as soon as possible. I knew from experience that if I delayed I would never obey God. I would have failed that spiritual test.
Don’t fail your spiritual test! Promptly and completely obey God’s word. You need to make a full commitment now because you will have opportunity to change your mind about obeying God just like Abraham had three days journey to turn around. The things God ask of you may seem perplexing and unreasonable, but God still expects you to respond in complete faith.
God Expects His People To Trust And Obey Him Even When Doing So Is Very Confusing And Costly.
Read Verses 4-6
Genuine faith and commitment to God is also demonstrated by persistent obedience. Abraham traveled three days and three nights thinking of what was coming up. God could have chosen a place closer to Abraham or God could have called off the sacrifice sooner but He did not do so because genuine faith and commitment to God is demonstrated by persistent obedience. Obeying for a short time does not necessarily mean you have faith or true and complete commitment to God. Abraham did not stop short of going to the mountain. He went the entire way in obeying God, even to the point and actually raising the knife to kill Isaac. His faith was demonstrated by his persistent trust and obedience. Is yours? Do you follow through on obeying God? Do you keep doing what God has told you?
How could Abraham have continued in such commitment? Abraham knew that God had promised that Isaac would be his heir and Abraham believed that God would fulfill these promises despite the bewildering command to sacrifice Isaac. We know that Abraham expected this because he said to his servants, "We will worship and we will come back to you." He was fully convinced that Isaac would return with him. His words demonstrated his faith.
Genuine faith and commitment to God is also demonstrated by our words. If we believe God then our words will certainly reflect that belief. Our words do not bring anything to pass but they do demonstrate what is in our hearts - whether faith or unbelief. How could Abraham have expected both him and Isaac to come back from the mountain? Abraham believed God’s promise about Isaac being his heir and therefore he expected that if necessary God would raise Isaac from the dead. (Hebrews 11:19) After all if God could cause an elderly couple like Abraham and Sarah to have a child then He could certainly bring a child from the dead.
You may feel that God is leading you in a direction that means forfeiting God’s promises to you but you can be sure, that no matter what, God will fulfill His promises.
Read Verses 7-14
Here we see that Abraham’s faith and commitment to God were serious. He did not back out at the last minute but bound his son to the wood and raised the knife to kill him. God never intended for Isaac to die so He provided a substitute instead. He did the same for us in providing His own Son, Jesus Christ, to take our place. As Abraham said to Isaac, "God himself will provide the lamb." And as it says prophetically in verse 14, "The Lord will provide... On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."
Read Verses 15-19
The last thing I want you to see is that Abraham’s faith, which was demonstrated by a prompt and persistent obedience, was rewarded. This act of faith brought God’s final confirmation of the blessings to come. As verse 18 makes clear there is a connection between these blessings and obedience. Abraham had passed his test with flying colors. He had earned an "A+" on his spiritual test and was blessed as a result. The same is true for you and me today. As it says in 1 Peter 1:7 “When our faith is proved genuine it will result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus is revealed.” Our faith and commitment to God will be rewarded! But we must trust God even when it is bewildering and demanding. As believers, God has certain expectations of you and me.
God Expects His People To Trust And Obey Him Even When Doing So Is Very Confusing And Costly.
Closing Prayer
