A Faith Test – Abraham & Isaac
Gen. 22:1-14
Introduction
1. A faith that cannot be tested, cannot be trusted.
Write that down … don’t trust your faith until you have first allowed God to test it.
2. ILL.: watching a documentary the other night of a guy building an airplane. Once he completed his work, he had to test the plane to see if it would fly – how would you like to be the one who has to ride a plane that has never been flown or tested?
ILL.: reminds me of the woman who had to have surgery. She says to the doctor, “Doc, I’m nervous, this is my 1st surgery.” He replies, “I know how you feel, this is my 1st too.”
3. There are two types of tempting that we find in the Bible:
a. The devil tempts us to do wrong in order to cause us to stumble and fall.
b. The Lord tempts us to do right in order to stand firm in our faith.
Some don’t like using the word “tempt” and “God” in the same sentence.
Can quote James 1:13 which says, Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
This passage is speaking of negative – or sinful temptation – which God will never do.
However, the Bible is clear that God does tempt – or should I say test those who serve Him.
4. In the story of Abraham, we find 3 times that God tests him:
a. God calls Abraham to leave his people & his country and go out, without knowing where God was leading him.
b. God makes a covenant with Abraham that he will be the father of many, and then makes him wait 25 years to see the fulfillment of that promise.
c. God tells Abraham to sacrifice the very one – Isaac – with whom that convenant is to be fulfilled.
Again: A faith that cannot be tested, cannot be trusted.
Outline of our text
1. This is a great story.
Picture Abraham sitting around a campfire, having a conversation with God ...
“So, Abe, how’s it going?”
“Oh, great … couldn’t be happier.”
“How’s Isaac?”
“Oh, what a kid! I mean, a real chip off the ole block! He’s just like his old man … I love it! Nice now that the diaper stage is over …”
“It’s been an interesting journey, eh Abe?”
“Yeah. What a story. I mean we really laughed when you told us we were going to have a kid – me at 100, Sarah at 90.”
“I could see why it would be funny.”
“And then, we have to wait another 25 years before Isaac is born! Hmmm …”
“Made any plans for his future?”
“Oh, yeah! I mean, sure, I’m rich … but have you seen the cost of tuition these days? Man! I’ve already set up a fund for his education … putting a little aside each week. He’s pretty skilled with his hands … maybe he’ll be a doctor.”
“Can I make a suggestion?”
“Of course, God. I mean, after all, he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you … he is the promised boy, after all.”
“I want you to take him to Moriah and sacrifice him to me as a burnt offering.”
“Umm … could you repeat that, some birds were flying by, making noise, I know I didn’t hear you correctly”
“I want you to take him to Moriah and sacrifice him to me as a burnt offering.”
2. What would you have done?
God had never before asked for a human sacrifice.
Some of us would have begun to cast out satan!
“Get behind me devil! How dare you trick me! I thought I was talking to God, but it was you! I cast you down enemy!”
Some of us would have argued with God.
“But God, this is Isaac we’re talking about! How can You ask me to kill the one you going to use to fulfill the convenant you made with me?” “This doesn’t make sense here God …”
3. What did Abraham do?
V. 3a – “Early the next morning …”
No waiting, no arguing, Abraham heard from God, and obeyed – immediately.
How could he just get up and go?
Because Abraham’s faith was such that he knew God is in control – He knew God could be trusted even when things don’t make sense.
OUR FAITH IS ALWAYS REFINED THROUGH TESTING
1. It is far too easy to begin to worship the promises of God more than we worship God Himself.
Worshipping revival become a greater focus than worshipping the God of revival.
Focusing on manifestations becomes more important than focusing on the God behind the manifestations.
If your time and energy is consumed with thinking about the fulfillment of the promises of God in your life, or the ministry God has for you, or the worship style you use, or a particular doctrine or truth – instead of being consumed with God Himself – then you have lost your focus.
It’s the concept of loving the gift more than the Giver.
You only discover where your heart is when the promise is tested by God.
2. Rick Joyner makes the observation that “Between the place where we receive the promise of God and the Promised Land (which is the fulfillment of the promise), there is usually going to be a wilderness that is the exact opposite of what we have been promised.”
Moses leads the people out of Egypt. God promises them a land flowing with milk and honey.
Yet in the 1st place He led them to, there was not even any water!
Joseph has a dream that the sun, moon, and stars would bow to him – that his entire family would come to serve him
But before the dream can be fulfilled, he must 1st spend time as a slave!
David is anointed king. But spends the next few years hiding out in caves and running for his life! The very people who would serve him, 1st try and kill him!
The Church has been promised to rule and reign with Christ. But we’ve spent the past almost 2000 years being ruled by this world!
3. The first way you faith will be tested in this: Is your faith focused on the promises of God – and their fulfillment, or is your faith focused on God Himself – as the fulfiller of the promise.
If your faith is grounded in the promises – then you will fight any testing of that promise!
If Abraham’s faith was grounded in Isaac – the fulfillment of the promise – then he would have fought any suggestion to harm Isaac.
But if your faith is grounded in God – as Abraham’s was – then you will have confidence in His fulfilling the promise even when the promise is tested.
How do I know that Abraham’s faith was grounded in God? Heb. 11:17-19 tells us, It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, though God had promised him, "Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted." Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. (NLT)
Abraham knew that God had promised that Isaac would be the fulfillment of the covenant. Therefore, he knew that if Isaac died, God would raise him to life again. He had faith in God, and His ability to fulfill what He has promised to do!
OUR FAITH IS MEASURED BY OUR OBEDIENCE
1. Do you realize that your faith in God can only be as deep as you obey God?
You can’t be a man of great faith and disobey God!
Your faith is only as great as your level of obedience is!
2. That’s why Samuel said to Saul, “To obey is better than sacrifice.”
Our faith is not measured by how much we sacrifice for God … it’s measured by how much we obey God.
3. Far too many Christians think their faith is measured by what they say more than what they do:
• They talk about prayer but never pray.
• They say tithing is right but never tithe.
• They want to belong to the church but never attend.
• They say the Bible is God’s Word to man but never read it.
• They criticize others for things they do themselves.
• They stay away from church for trivial reasons and sing, "Oh, How I Love Jesus."
• They continue in sin all their lives but expect to go to heaven.
4. Folks, obedience is the best indicator of your faith. That’s what James was trying to get at in 2:17-23 – Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God.
5. Roland Leavell in his book, Evangelism: Christ’s Imperative Commission, states that of all the reported Church members:
• 20% never pray,
• 25% never read the Bible,
• 30% never attend Church services,
• 40% never give any money to the church,
• 50% never go to Sunday School,
• 60% never go to Church Sunday night,
• 70% never give to missions,
• 80% never go to prayer meeting,
• 90% never have family worship, and
• 95% never win a soul to Christ.
If accurate, then these statistics tells us that only 5% of people who claim to be Christian are actually obeying God!
6. No wonder the Church of Christ lacks the power & the faith to move mountains! You don’t move mountains when you are disobeying God’s commands! You only find the level of faith to live victoriously when you are in obedience to God.
OUR FAITH IS PROVEN THROUGH THE ‘BIGNESS’ OF OUR GOD
1. How big is your God? Some of you have heard the song by Robert Critchley, “Great Big God”
Brittany, Ryan & Austin talking one day about God.
“God is so big … He’s a giant.”
“the devil is so small … He’s a tiny bug.”
On and on they went comparing the ‘bigness’ of God to the ‘smallness’ of the devil.
2. I heard someone say recently that most Christians are in for a big surprise the day God finally shows us our enemy.
We will be shocked at how puny and pathetic satan is.
3. But I also believe many Christians will be equally surprised at the greatness of God.
Far too few Believers truly understand that God IS bigger than our every need. We ARE ABLE to do ALL things through Christ … why? Because He’s a great big God.
4. Abraham understood this about God. That’s why Abraham didn’t need to question God about this command.
Abraham’s faith told him that even though the equation didn’t make sense in the natural, God knows what He’s doing.
God made a covenant – but God ordered the sacrifice of that very covenant – yet Abraham still knew – God would keep the covenant, even when it didn’t make sense to him.
AND, WHAT DID GOD DO?
1. At the very last moment, once Abraham had concluded that Isaac was dead – God stepped in and provided the substitute sacrifice.
2. What did God do? Exactly what Abraham already knew – by faith – He would do. He kept His promise.
3. God didn’t want Isaac – He wanted Abraham! He wanted Abraham to take the convenant that God had made with him, and give it back to God.
Conclusion
1. Folks, there is a tremendous lesson for the Church to learn in this story of Abraham.
2. Where’s your faith? Is it in the things God has promised you? Or is it in God?
