>> Pastor Eric
00:00:00.200 Well, it certainly couldn't be Father's Day without some
00:00:03.820 jokes, right? So, no. My wife just groaned wherever she is.
00:00:06.460 She's feeding the baby, so I can do this.
00:00:07.840 But what do you call a priest who goes and becomes a lawyer?
00:00:13.520 A father-in-law.
00:00:15.620 Where's the drummer? Come on, Don. A priest who become—
00:00:18.580 If I got to explain, it's not very good. So now, we'll move on. Okay.
00:00:21.400 This isn't a joke. This is a real question.
00:00:23.600 How many of you have something that you love that you would not want to
00:00:27.600 lose? Raise your hand. How many of you have something you would never want to lose?
00:00:30.600 Most of you are sitting on it, or it's next to you. It's called a cell phone. No.
00:00:33.760 We all have something. This isn't a trick question.
00:00:37.180 If you're married, please raise your hand.
00:00:38.800 Okay, I'm going to give you the heads up. No, not yet.
00:00:41.880 When I ask the question.
00:00:43.860 How many of you would not want to lose your spouse?
00:00:46.060 If you're married, please raise your hand. Yes.
00:00:47.760 How many of you would never want to lose your children, right?
00:00:50.460 How many of you would never want to— You're like, "Some of my kids, maybe." But
00:00:53.220 how many of you would never want to lose your career or your finances or your
00:00:56.980 health, right? We've all these things that we wouldn't want to lose any of those
00:01:00.460 things. But now wonder and imagine this, what if God said He wants you to give
00:01:04.481 it over to Him?
00:01:07.340 We go, "Wait, well, wait. I thought this was mine. This is my spouse.
00:01:10.640 This is my kids. These are my things." And ultimately, God asks us to
00:01:14.660 hand things over to Him, not because He's trying to take something, not
00:01:18.540 because He's trying to destroy something, but because He wants to know where our
00:01:22.540 heart really is. Do we trust God, or do we trust
00:01:26.460 in the things, in the people that He's given us in our lives?
00:01:30.160 And this story today — we're going to talk about, in Genesis 22 — is a story about
00:01:34.220 Abraham and Isaac. Now, if you've been around church any length of time,
00:01:38.230 or maybe you've seen a kid's Bible stories or Sunday school lessons,
00:01:42.120 Abraham and Isaac is one of the most popular ones, and this little graphic here is
00:01:46.400 Abraham about to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
00:01:49.540 But the story goes so much beyond just a story
00:01:53.500 about sacrifice. It's so much more than a story
00:01:56.880 about Abraham and Isaac, but it's really a story about trust.
00:02:01.320 It's a story about, what I would say, radical obedience to God.
00:02:05.760 It's a story that really begs us all to answer the question, do we
00:02:09.640 really trust God, or do we trust in something else,
00:02:13.740 or in our stuff? But before we can really appreciate
00:02:17.660 the story, we have to understand the backstory.
00:02:19.730 So we're going to get to Genesis 22, but there's a backstory.
00:02:22.740 Just like Jason's testimony, it's amazing and cool to hear
00:02:26.340 that, but man, the more you know of his backstory, as I've had the privilege of
00:02:29.580 getting to know him and hearing some of his backstory, I
00:02:32.860 appreciate the story of his life being changed and transformed all the
00:02:36.780 more. So understanding the backstory is important for
00:02:40.280 us to value, appreciate, and see what God
00:02:43.890 does in the story of Abraham and Isaac. So we're going to start Genesis 15.
00:02:47.940 I'm going to kind of give some cliff notes for a few chapters, give a little
00:02:51.060 history.
00:02:52.320 Genesis 15 starts off where Abraham is actually
00:02:56.260 with God and he's talking to God. God has blessed Abraham with
00:03:00.250 a bunch of stuff. He's very wealthy. He has all this livestock.
00:03:03.840 He has tons of servants. He has all this stuff, and Abraham is actually lamenting
00:03:07.760 to God. He's like, "God, what's the point of it all?
00:03:10.280 You give me all this stuff, but I don't have a son.
00:03:13.100 I don't have an heir to leave it all to, so I guess I'm going to have to give it
00:03:17.100 all to one of my servants." And God actually tells him, He says, "You
00:03:21.040 will have a son of your own who will be your
00:03:24.769 heir." This was so important, especially culturally at the time, that the
00:03:28.540 family bloodline would continue, that the inheritance would go to the
00:03:32.040 son, would go to a son, not even a daughter.
00:03:34.600 But in that number 75 is there because Abraham was 75 years
00:03:38.420 old. Get this, 75 years old, and God says, "You're going to
00:03:42.380 have a son." Now, I just had a kid, and I'm like, "I can't imagine having a
00:03:46.380 kid at 75 years old." Right? But God tells him this, "You're going to have a
00:03:50.240 son of your own." And his wife at the time, by the way, is 65 years old.
00:03:54.120 So imagine this, they're beyond childbearing years.
00:03:57.560 But then we see in Genesis 16, Ishmael is born to Hagar.
00:04:01.540 Now, how we got Ishmael is God gave Abraham a
00:04:05.320 promise. He said, "You're going to have a son.
00:04:07.100 He's going to be your heir." About 10 years go by and
00:04:10.829 nothing happens. Sarah, his wife, couldn't get pregnant, so Sarah,
00:04:14.880 his own wife, says, "Hey, why don't you go have relations with
00:04:18.740 one of my servants named Hagar?" And that's how Hagar gets pregnant and
00:04:22.780 Ishmael is born. Ishmael, born to Abraham at 86 years
00:04:26.740 old. So get it, 11 years after
00:04:29.280 was not the fulfillment of God's promise.
00:04:32.140 It was Abraham and Sarah taking things into their own hands and
00:04:36.040 saying, "God, I know you made this promise, but we're going to do it our way.
00:04:39.820 We're going to try to circumvent your timeline because it's taking too long."
00:04:43.820 And have you ever been there? We're impatiently waiting for God, and we
00:04:47.600 believe, "God, you gave me this purpose.
00:04:49.160 You gave me this direction to go take this job or to marry this person or do this
00:04:52.700 thing," and it seems like it's never going to happen.
00:04:55.900 And many times, we're just like Abraham and Sarah.
00:04:57.940 We take things into our own hands, and we see Ishmael
00:05:01.880 is born. Then in chapter 17, God
00:05:05.920 actually changes Abram's name to Abraham.
00:05:09.100 So most of us know him, Abraham and Sarah, but before Genesis 17,
00:05:13.180 for 99 years of his life, Abraham was actually
00:05:16.820 called Abram. God changes his name to Abraham, which
00:05:20.460 means father of many nations. He didn't change
00:05:24.400 his name. He didn't tell him he'd be the father of many nations until he
00:05:28.360 was 99 years old. So show of hands, how many of you are under
00:05:32.260 99 years old? Anybody under 99?
00:05:35.660 God could still do a mighty work in you.
00:05:37.860 This promise fulfilled didn't happen for most of his entire life,
00:05:41.880 but the greatest thing that Abraham got to be a part of was done
00:05:45.380 after he was 99 years old. So then we get to chapter
00:05:49.000 18. It says, "The Lord appears to Abraham" — and him, and
00:05:52.880 actually three guys and Abraham are outside the tent, they're talking, and he tells
00:05:56.800 Abraham, "I will return to you about this time next year, and your
00:06:00.780 wife, Sarah, will have a son." Now, I don't have it on the
00:06:04.696 screen, but the middle couple of verses that are missing there, Sarah laughs under
00:06:08.196 her breath. She's like, "Yeah, right. I can't get pregnant.
00:06:11.436 I'm 89 years old. There's no way I can..." She laughs under
00:06:15.396 her breath. And the angel says, "Why did Sarah laugh?" And Sarah was
00:06:19.396 afraid because she knew the Lord just read her mind, heard what
00:06:23.336 was going on, but she denies it saying, "I didn't laugh." But the
00:06:27.256 Lord said, "No, you did laugh." Now, I find this hilarious because I'm like,
00:06:31.536 this is like a dad talking to his children.
00:06:34.036 Like my kids, do your kids ever misbehave sometimes? Anybody's?
00:06:37.656 Okay, just mine.
00:06:39.116 So Judah, my four-year-old, he'll hit my daughter, and I'll be, "Judah, you just hit your
00:06:43.016 sister." And he'll be like, "No, I didn't." I'm like, "Yes, you did.
00:06:45.296 You just hit her." And I'm like, this is how God must have been talking to Sarah
00:06:49.036 when he hears her laugh like, "Why'd you laugh?" "I didn't laugh." "Yes.
00:06:52.156 No, you did laugh." It's just funny to see how God is such a
00:06:55.856 father to his children. He speaks to us like a
00:06:59.576 father. And then we see a little fast-forward here, Genesis 21.
00:07:03.976 "The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah
00:07:07.776 exactly what he had promised.
00:07:11.516 About a year later,
00:07:13.356 they have a child. So she became pregnant and gave birth to a son for
00:07:17.076 Abraham in his old age. This happened at
00:07:20.776 just the time God said it would."
00:07:25.556 If God has spoken something to you, you feel like God's telling you something, let
00:07:29.216 me tell you, God's word never fails.
00:07:32.316 His timing is perfect. We get impatient.
00:07:36.496 We want to take things into our own hands, but God's word is perfect.
00:07:40.056 His timing is perfect. He keeps his promises
00:07:43.196 exactly as he says he would. So at 100
00:07:46.956 years old, Abraham has a child. Now, again, picture this.
00:07:50.716 Abraham, he's chasing around a little toddler. I can't imagine.
00:07:53.156 Maybe he walked with a limp. I don't know. But he's old.
00:07:55.516 And Sarah, 90 years old, birthing a child.
00:07:58.696 Women, you know you do not want to be having kids at 90 years old.
00:08:02.396 But they have this child where he could've been,
00:08:05.976 I think of 80-year-old people, what are they doing?
00:08:08.756 They're probably sitting around, playing games, maybe going to Cracker Barrel,
00:08:12.556 whatever. I love Cracker Barrel, by the way.
00:08:14.376 But they should not be chasing around a newborn.
00:08:16.916 But yet, this is the promise fulfilled that God had given
00:08:20.776 to Abraham and Sarah. And then in verse six, this is so important.
00:08:25.156 Sarah declares, "God has brought me laughter.
00:08:28.856 All who hear about this will laugh with me." She's like, "Who's
00:08:32.856 going to believe that I had a child at 90 years
00:08:36.817 old?" It's laughable because
00:08:40.216 God does things that are so miraculous.
00:08:42.636 God does things that we can't do on our own.
00:08:45.246 Nobody gets credit for this except for God.
00:08:48.616 It's laughable because it's like she laughs about the joy that she gets to have,
00:08:52.545 and she actually names her son Isaac because Isaac means he laughs.
00:08:57.076 That the laughing she had before when God said, "No, you are laughing," it's
00:09:01.096 like he's like, "I'm going to make sure you continue to laugh." The true laughter.
00:09:04.716 The laughter that comes from God's promises fulfilled.
00:09:08.536 Then we get to Genesis 22, and this is where the bulk of our text for today is
00:09:11.936 going to be. And it says, "Sometime later,
00:09:15.396 God tested Abraham's faith."
00:09:18.656 The scriptures actually tell us exactly why God
00:09:22.716 called Abraham to sacrifice his son.
00:09:24.896 People hear this story and they're like, "Why would God ask a man to kill his son?
00:09:28.596 That's horrible." But it tells us right here, it was to test
00:09:32.796 Abraham's faith. God never was expecting Abraham to
00:09:36.856 actually kill his son. Abraham didn't know that, but God was
00:09:40.576 testing Abraham's faith, and he calls him, says, "Abraham." "Yes,"
00:09:44.636 he replied. "Here I am." Now, this is very fascinating, I think
00:09:48.356 important to notice. When God spoke to Abraham, he
00:09:51.896 responded immediately. He said, "Yes, here I am."
00:09:55.936 Yes, here I am. God was not trying to
00:09:59.856 destroy Adam. He wasn't trying to take something from Adam, but he
00:10:03.836 was trying to reveal something in Adam. This test.
00:10:08.516 A test is something you take to show how much you have learned.
00:10:12.176 The test usually isn't to teach you something.
00:10:14.396 You should've learned all the lessons before you take the test.
00:10:17.676 So at this point, when God's testing Abraham, he's not so much trying to teach him
00:10:21.376 something. He's trying to reveal has he learned, has faith been
00:10:25.556 built inside of him to pass this test?
00:10:29.176 And I believe God tests us many times in the same way.
00:10:33.176 Testing is not just to teach us, but to reveal what's on the inside
00:10:37.336 or really what's missing on the inside of us.
00:10:40.836 So then we get to verse two. He says, "Take your son,
00:10:44.496 your only son. Yes, Isaac, whom you love so
00:10:48.636 much, and go to the land of Moriah."
00:10:52.736 He says, "Take your son, your only son." This is important language.
00:10:56.116 He goes, "Yes, Isaac, whom you love so much." That there's no mistake of who
00:11:00.016 he's talking about. He's like, "Take Isaac, whom you love so much." And this is the
00:11:03.736 very first mention in the Bible about love.
00:11:07.496 The first time love is mentioned in the Bible is in this story of a
00:11:11.076 father and his son, which I believe is so foundational to
00:11:15.096 understand our heavenly Father, as how he loves us
00:11:19.116 as his children.
00:11:21.056 He says, "Take your son and go to the land of Moriah."
00:11:24.836 This test of Abraham's was connected to something that he
00:11:28.836 loved the most.
00:11:31.076 What did Abraham love most?
00:11:33.216 Isaac. And it wasn't just his biological son.
00:11:37.156 Isaac represented the fulfillment of a promise that God
00:11:40.936 gave him, that he's going to be the father of many nations, that his descendants,
00:11:44.656 his seed would come forth from this son, Isaac.
00:11:47.905 All these promises, all this hope, all this expectation of a
00:11:51.916 future for generations, a legacy was in his son,
00:11:56.116 Isaac. That it wasn't just his son, but
00:11:59.796 so much more. 25 years he waited from
00:12:03.456 God's promise to having a son of his own.
00:12:07.276 See, sometimes the tests
00:12:10.048 reveal where our hearts really are.
00:12:12.708 Will you trust God with what you love the most?
00:12:17.928 Will you allow God to be trusted with your
00:12:21.788 finances? Will you allow God to be trusted with your
00:12:25.628 marriage, with your children, with your
00:12:29.328 career, with your
00:12:33.128 dreams and aspirations? Or do we try to hold onto them
00:12:35.548 ourselves? And all these things are good things.
00:12:38.788 Because I believe the greatest tests are rarely the bad things.
00:12:42.728 They're often the good things that threaten to become the main
00:12:44.488 thing.
00:12:47.068 In Luke 16, just a sidebar to the New Testament here.
00:12:51.508 In Luke 16 verse 10, it says, "Whoever can be trusted with very little,
00:12:54.188 can also be trusted with much,
00:12:57.768 and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be
00:13:00.328 dishonest with much."
00:13:04.568 That God's not going to bless us abundantly or give us much
00:13:07.808 unless we can be trusted with little.
00:13:11.568 I hear it from people often, they're like, "Well, I'll be generous, I'll do more,
00:13:15.308 I'll give more, I'll do all these things once I have more." And I believe
00:13:19.488 this verse completely contradicts that thought process that
00:13:23.308 you're not going to be given more unless you can be trusted with
00:13:27.268 little. If we're dishonest with little, God's certainly not going
00:13:31.208 to bless you with more. And I don't believe it's just talking about finances,
00:13:35.148 but in our lives, what are we trusting God with?
00:13:39.848 Is it little parts of our lives, or is it with our entire life?
00:13:44.008 So go back to verse two. He says, "Take your son, your only son.
00:13:47.868 Yes, Isaac, whom you love so much." This is the thing that Abraham
00:13:51.888 loved the most, and God was asking him this, He
00:13:55.748 commands him to do this. He says, "Go and sacrifice him as
00:14:00.128 a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you."
00:14:03.568 Now, a burnt offering was something that was to be killed and
00:14:07.468 completely consumed with fire, completely surrendered
00:14:11.268 and submitted to God. The burnt offering was, there was nothing
00:14:15.228 left of use from a burnt offering, and God's telling him to take
00:14:19.107 his most valued possession, the thing he loves the most, and
00:14:23.788 take it and surrender and submit it to God.
00:14:27.108 And this next verse always amazes me, this verse three.
00:14:31.048 It says, "The next day, early in the morning, the next morning Abraham got up
00:14:32.328 early,
00:14:35.928 saddled his donkey, took two of his servants with him, along with Isaac,"
00:14:39.888 his son Isaac. "He chopped wood for the fire, and he set out
00:14:43.908 for a place God had told him about." Now, if God told me to go
00:14:47.768 do something, and I think if we're all really honest, when God gives us
00:14:51.788 something hard to do or uncomfortable, like go on a community outreach on a
00:14:55.708 Saturday, spend some time trying to love people outside the walls,
00:14:59.888 we often will negotiate. We're like, "I don't know, I could
00:15:02.828 cut the grass that day." I'm like, "You can cut the grass and still go out and
00:15:04.728 witness to people. You can still love people.
00:15:09.168 You can go serve people." Or we negotiate, many times, if we're really honest,
00:15:13.108 we negotiate with God, we delay with God, or we argue
00:15:16.428 with God. I've done it, too. Let me be honest.
00:15:18.708 Like, "God, are you sure?
00:15:20.528 Maybe I misheard you."
00:15:24.248 But this verse where Abraham, he hears this command from God to go
00:15:28.368 sacrifice his son, and he immediately obeys the next morning.
00:15:31.888 Early. If there's ever a day to sleep in, it would be this day.
00:15:35.588 But Abraham gets up early, and they take off for the land
00:15:37.928 of Moriah.
00:15:42.328 No arguing, no negotiating, just simple trust
00:15:46.208 and obedience. See, faith is obeying God even
00:15:50.608 when you don't have all the answers.
00:15:54.848 Faith is not, "God, tell me all the steps. Give me the whole big picture.
00:15:58.668 Give me steps five, six, and seven, and then I'll start going." It
00:16:02.408 doesn't work that way. Faith is, God says, "Go," and we start
00:16:03.588 moving.
00:16:07.428 Then He says, "Okay, now turn, now do this, now do that." That's walking by
00:16:11.388 faith, not walking by sight. If we could see the whole
00:16:14.668 picture, if we could see everything that was going to happen and take place, and we
00:16:18.948 had all the answers, that's really not faith.
00:16:22.808 Biblical faith is simply saying, "I trust the one giving the
00:16:26.927 instructions. I trust God's character, therefore, I can
00:16:29.588 trust His commands."
00:16:33.568 I believe there are some of you in this room who are waiting to take your next step
00:16:35.548 because you're waiting for clarity.
00:16:39.568 You're waiting for all the next steps and the whole plan to be laid out.
00:16:44.748 But clarity often comes after obedience.
00:16:49.268 Take that first step, and if you're wondering what God's next step is for you,
00:16:52.288 it could be the last thing He told you to do that you've been putting off for
00:16:56.128 weeks, months, or maybe years. Because God won't give you
00:16:59.428 step three, four, and five until you take that first step.
00:17:03.328 Maybe that first step is to sign up to be on part of the community outreach.
00:17:06.328 Maybe that next step is to forgive somebody.
00:17:10.288 Maybe the next step is to take a step of generosity, of giving, of
00:17:14.469 serving, of really sharing your faith with somebody else.
00:17:17.189 Don't wait until every question is answered.
00:17:20.748 Simply take the next step God has for you.
00:17:24.229 So what is God asking you to do? What's He asking you to give?
00:17:27.328 What's He asking you to trust Him with?
00:17:28.788 In verse four,
00:17:31.988 it says, "On the third day of their journey." Now,
00:17:35.308 sometimes we read the Bible, and we just skim over details, but this was a
00:17:37.108 three-day journey. So catch this.
00:17:41.328 Abraham, Isaac, two servants, Mom's not there.
00:17:45.188 So they're on a three-day road trip with no snacks. That's what I hear. Right?
00:17:49.468 So Abraham and his son, they're on this three-day journey.
00:17:51.358 Imagine what Isaac might've been saying.
00:17:54.928 It doesn't say how old he is, but he's a young boy. He's maybe a young man.
00:17:58.188 He probably would've been like, "Hey, Dad, are we there yet?
00:18:00.608 Hey, Dad, do you have anything to eat?
00:18:03.968 Hey, Dad, do you know where we're going?" Right?
00:18:07.748 How many times did Isaac ask Abraham like a
00:18:11.348 child would on a road trip? I think Abraham's greatest test might've been
00:18:14.188 surviving the three-day road trip with his son.
00:18:18.068 Not just saying. But the real test comes, he says, "Abraham looked up,
00:18:22.284 he saw the place in the distance." "Stay here with the donkey,"
00:18:25.944 Abraham told the servants. "The boy and I will travel a little further.
00:18:30.204 We will worship there, and then we will come back."
00:18:32.564 Notice Abraham's words.
00:18:35.444 He says, "We will worship there,
00:18:39.604 and then we will come right back." Now, my natural
00:18:43.344 view of reading this, sometimes I thought, I used to think, well, he probably just
00:18:45.784 wanted to tell the servants so they didn't get worried.
00:18:49.564 The reality is the culture at the time, sadly, was a culture of human sacrifice.
00:18:53.424 So child sacrifice wasn't out of the norm in that culture of
00:18:57.804 that time. But that wasn't the reason why he said "we."
00:19:00.484 I thought maybe he's going to just bring back the remains, and that's what he was
00:19:02.904 saying as "we," or maybe he just didn't want to worry them.
00:19:06.864 But the Bible actually tells us why Abraham said
00:19:09.784 "we." In the New Testament, if we fast-forward to Hebrews
00:19:13.884 11:19, the Bible tells us that
00:19:17.764 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God
00:19:20.224 was able to bring him back to life again.
00:19:24.084 And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back
00:19:28.144 from the dead. I love when the Old Testament and the New
00:19:31.144 Testament come together and just comes alive.
00:19:33.764 The Bible is not this archaic textbook.
00:19:37.744 It's a living, breathing word of God that speaks to us, and the more you
00:19:41.444 study it, the more you read it, the more exciting it gets.
00:19:45.124 You don't need Netflix and TV if you just read the book of Genesis.
00:19:49.124 There is so much drama and excitement and battles and
00:19:52.504 deaths and family drama. You can get it all in the Bible.
00:19:56.184 Just read Genesis. But Hebrews talks about what Abraham was
00:19:59.564 thinking. It supports and tells us what was going on.
00:20:03.424 He reasoned that God would raise Isaac back to life if he
00:20:07.684 died. So Abraham knew two things. God made a promise,
00:20:11.464 and God keeps His promise. He didn't know how, he didn't know exactly how the
00:20:15.364 details were going to go, but he trusted God would make a
00:20:19.184 way. We get to verse six, Abraham and Isaac, they get to the
00:20:23.184 mountain, and Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac's
00:20:26.604 shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
00:20:30.443 As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said,
00:20:33.564 "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
00:20:37.264 "We have the fire and the wood." The boy said, "But where is the
00:20:40.484 sheep for the burnt offering?" Logical question.
00:20:43.204 They're walking, they're marching.
00:20:47.264 Some people don't realize that Abraham is actually one of the smartest guys
00:20:50.064 in the Bible because he knew a lot.
00:20:51.824 That's right.
00:20:54.084 If you don't know the Bible much, you might not get that one.
00:20:58.084 But Abraham forgot the sheep. His son is like, the kids are the
00:21:02.584 ones who are going to call us out all the time.
00:21:06.184 They're like, "Dad, you forgot the sheep." My son was just doing that to me
00:21:09.304 yesterday. "Dad, you did this wrong." But he goes, "Where's the sheep?"
00:21:10.504 Logical question. He had seen this pattern before.
00:21:13.344 We're going to do a burnt offering.
00:21:14.904 We need wood, we need fire, we need a knife, and we need a sheep.
00:21:18.844 We're missing one of those things.
00:21:22.784 And he asks a very logical question, "Where is the sheep?"
00:21:27.164 Abraham responds, "God will provide a sheep for the burnt
00:21:30.864 offering, my son," Abraham answered, and they both walked on together.
00:21:33.624 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham
00:21:37.644 built an altar and arranged the wood on it.
00:21:41.764 Then he tied his son, Isaac, laid him on the altar on top of
00:21:45.524 the wood, and Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son
00:21:48.524 as a sacrifice. This is the climax of this story where Abraham
00:21:52.504 finally gets to this place like, okay, God made this promise.
00:21:56.364 God fulfilled this promise. God told me to take my son to this place, to
00:22:00.184 put him on an altar, and now it gets to that point where he's really got to
00:22:02.064 put his money where his mouth is, and he's about to kill his
00:22:05.904 own son,
00:22:09.684 and something happens. It says at that very moment, an angel
00:22:13.244 appeared and said, "Abraham, Abraham." An angel of the
00:22:17.064 Lord called to him from heaven.
00:22:19.824 Now, if you don't remember, the last two times we read where God spoke to
00:22:23.784 Abraham, he immediately responded.
00:22:27.744 Remember, he said, "Abraham?" He said, "Yes, here I am." He says, "Abraham, get up
00:22:31.644 and go for a three-day journey." And immediately the next morning, early,
00:22:35.244 he obeyed. That this practice, this pattern of Abraham's
00:22:39.244 life, that when he heard God, he immediately obeyed.
00:22:42.744 I believe in this moment, as he's about to stab his own
00:22:44.704 child, that God calls down to stop him.
00:22:48.244 What if he didn't have that pattern?
00:22:52.294 What if he didn't have the practice of immediately and quickly hearing
00:22:53.644 God and obeying God? What if it was just a second too late and go,
00:22:57.364 "Yes, Lord?"
00:23:01.164 Well, now his son is dead. Instead, he had this practice.
00:23:04.544 He had a pattern of his life that he would hear the voice of God, he'd
00:23:08.524 hear the angel of the Lord, and immediately respond.
00:23:12.644 Where it's, "Abraham, Abraham." "Yes, here I am," as
00:23:17.044 he's looking for the Lord. And the Lord said, the angel said, "Don't lay a hand
00:23:20.244 on the boy. Don't harm him in any way.
00:23:24.204 For now I know that you truly fear God.
00:23:27.944 You have not withheld from me even your son, your only
00:23:31.584 son." Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its
00:23:35.224 horns in a thicket. Catch this little detail.
00:23:39.564 There's a male sheep caught with its head in a
00:23:43.704 thicket of thorns. Other translations say a thorn bush.
00:23:47.464 A crown, a head, a sheep, thorns.
00:23:50.564 That's going to be the sacrifice in place of his
00:23:53.324 son. Sound like anybody else in the Bible?
00:23:58.084 A sheep that was wearing a crown of thorns.
00:24:02.104 That's the replacement, the substitute sacrifice for us.
00:24:04.604 Abraham named the place Yahweh Yireh, which means the Lord
00:24:07.824 will provide.
00:24:11.484 You notice God didn't provide the ram months ago.
00:24:15.444 He provided the ram at the exact moment that he needed.
00:24:16.764 He provided, he gave the provision after Abraham
00:24:20.674 obeyed.
00:24:24.964 Instead, we often will say, "God, if you provide, then I'll take the
00:24:29.096 step. God, if you give me enough stuff or money or resources or connections,
00:24:33.016 then I'll take the step." Rather than taking a step of faith
00:24:37.116 a step of obedience and letting God provide in the
00:24:41.236 moment. Is it scary? Absolutely. But it's a thrilling,
00:24:45.236 exciting kind of way to live your life that I tell you every Christian
00:24:47.116 I want to live that way. To live by faith is exciting.
00:24:50.636 It's way more thrilling than Kennywood.
00:24:52.536 It's way more thrilling than anything else you can do in this life, is to walk by
00:24:55.296 faith, to live the
00:24:59.236 true Christian life is a life of excitement.
00:25:02.516 It's a life of, "God, you got to show up because this is not going to work
00:25:08.016 out if you don't." And when God shows up, it's amazing.
00:25:11.996 It's life-changing for each and every one of us.
00:25:14.286 The faith of Abraham is timeless because the God of
00:25:18.736 Abraham is timeless.
00:25:22.296 The same God who provided then is providing now.
00:25:25.836 He's providing for us. He heals. The same God song that we were singing this
00:25:29.796 morning, that He heals, He saves, He redeems, He
00:25:33.456 restores, He provides. The same God as yesterday is the
00:25:37.056 same God today and the same God forever.
00:25:39.966 But this story is so much bigger than just Abraham and Isaac.
00:25:43.336 It's so much more than just God's provision.
00:25:45.316 This story really points us to Jesus.
00:25:49.196 Notice these parallels,
00:25:51.136 that Isaac is the son, the only son
00:25:55.036 whom he loved.
00:25:56.856 Jesus is the Son, the only Son whom God
00:26:00.616 loved.
00:26:04.536 All these are types and shadows. The story of Abraham and Isaac points
00:26:08.436 forward to when Jesus comes. That Isaac was carrying the wood up the
00:26:12.096 mountain. Jesus carried the wooden cross up a mount called
00:26:15.416 Calvary. Isaac's life was spared, where
00:26:18.056 Jesus' life was sacrificed.
00:26:23.196 Isaac had a ram as a replacement for his life.
00:26:25.416 Jesus became our sacrifice so that we didn't have to.
00:26:29.336 There's a story
00:26:33.036 about a king that I believe presents the gospel so clearly,
00:26:36.436 so well for us to really understand.
00:26:40.296 As much as Abraham and Isaac point to Jesus, there's a story about a
00:26:44.216 king of a large kingdom, and he was actually known as the most
00:26:48.156 loving and just king in all the land.
00:26:49.596 This king had a treasury, and somebody was stealing gold from
00:26:53.866 his treasury.
00:26:58.216 So they tell the king, "Hey, somebody's stealing," so he orders a decree.
00:27:00.256 "Whoever's caught, this thief is going to get 10 lashes from the whip."
00:27:04.256 But the thefts continued,
00:27:08.136 and they went on and on. So he finally decreed, "Okay, whoever gets caught is going
00:27:10.376 to receive 20 lashes from the whip."
00:27:14.136 But the thefts continued.
00:27:18.036 So finally, the king, he orders that whoever is caught, this
00:27:21.976 thief who is stealing from the treasury, is going to receive 40
00:27:27.536 He says, "Whoever it is, we're going to pull them out in front of everybody and
00:27:30.476 publicly execute them."
00:27:33.076 Well, of course, they set a trap and they end up catching the thief, and they bring
00:27:37.005 the thief out with a cover over their head, and they put the person down
00:27:40.976 on the floor in front of the whole kingdom and before the king.
00:27:44.436 And as they pull the cover off of their head, it's none other than the king's
00:27:48.396 daughter.
00:27:50.856 Well, now the people started talking.
00:27:52.776 Well, the king, he's so loving, he couldn't execute his own daughter.
00:27:56.576 But he's also so just, so how can he pardon her from this crime?
00:28:01.476 So the king orders the executioner to give her the 40
00:28:05.316 lashes.
00:28:08.936 And they actually bring out something
00:28:12.336 known as an executioner's table. Would've been probably wooden, something like
00:28:15.436 this. And they kneel his daughter down.
00:28:20.396 They shackle her hands so she can't move.
00:28:24.216 Executioner grabs the whip. He looks at the king and the king says,
00:28:29.436 "Proceed." As the executioner pulls the whip up, he yells, "Stop!"
00:28:31.356 The executioner stops.
00:28:36.336 The king, who's sitting on his throne, he stands up. He removes his robe.
00:28:39.816 He walks down and he covers his daughter,
00:28:42.196 baring his own back.
00:28:46.156 He looks back to the executioner and says, "Go ahead,
00:28:47.736 hit her."
00:28:51.716 The executioner says, "But King, I can't hit her without hitting you." And
00:28:53.476 the king says, "I know.
00:28:55.476 Proceed."
00:28:59.416 And the executioner, as he raises the whip, he gives the first lash, and
00:29:03.276 then lash after lash after lash for 40 lashes,
00:29:08.656 ultimately ending the king's life.
00:29:11.176 As for the daughter,
00:29:13.216 she gets to go free,
00:29:15.136 unscathed,
00:29:17.096 untouched,
00:29:21.636 because her father, the king, was covering her.
00:29:26.196 As a father of two daughters, this story wrecks me every time.
00:29:30.216 But this story is not just a story of myth, it's a story of what Jesus did
00:29:33.456 for us. That we have all robbed God.
00:29:37.516 We've all stolen from God. We've all committed sins, and we deserve
00:29:41.106 punishment. The Bible says the wages of sin is
00:29:45.016 death, that we deserve death, a death sentence.
00:29:47.516 And God is so loving, how could He kill us?
00:29:51.136 But He's so just, He cannot let sin go unpunished.
00:29:55.096 So He says, "You go to the executioner's table." And as we go to the cross,
00:29:58.176 Jesus says, "No. I'm going to take the punishment.
00:30:02.196 I'm going to bear the consequence." Out of His love and His mercy
00:30:03.696 for us,
00:30:07.676 we don't have to bear the consequence of our
00:30:12.036 sin that Jesus paid for on the cross.
00:30:14.196 We get to go free.
00:30:18.316 Jesus, He bore it all. He took the 40 lashes.
00:30:22.236 He took being nailed to the cross as a loving and just
00:30:25.196 king.
00:30:27.996 I can't help but think, how did this daughter
00:30:30.336 live moving forward?
00:30:32.612 Do you think she lived a little bit different?
00:30:34.672 Do you think she kept on stealing?
00:30:38.072 Do you think she kept on hiding? She kept living this sinful lifestyle?
00:30:41.792 Or did she live her life to honor her father's sacrifice?
00:30:45.892 Did she live her life of gratitude knowing, "I should be dead, but now
00:30:50.452 I'm alive because of what my father did for me."
00:30:54.692 I think it begs us to ask the question, how are we living our lives?
00:30:58.692 Do we just go on sinning? Do we just go on doing things the way we've always done?
00:31:02.692 Or do we live our lives differently because of the sacrifice that
00:31:08.612 our Heavenly Father has made for us on our behalf?
00:31:11.492 Will you join me as I pray?
00:31:14.772 Heavenly Father, we thank you, God, for this Father's Day.
00:31:18.972 God, I thank you for what you did for each and every one of us as the ultimate,
00:31:21.712 perfect Heavenly Father.
00:31:25.812 God, we thank you for your sacrifice, through your Son, Jesus, on the cross.
00:31:28.852 That God, there's no other way we could be forgiven.
00:31:32.652 There's no other way we could ever even take the punishment upon ourselves, but for
00:31:36.552 what you did on Calvary, what you did on the cross for
00:31:39.632 each and every one of us. God, we thank you.
00:31:43.712 God, we can't say thank you enough, but God, may we live our lives
00:31:46.752 as a thank you for what you've done.
00:31:51.072 God, may we live our lives different in light of the reality
00:31:55.012 of what you've done for us, for who you are, the most
00:32:01.252 loving and just king that's ever been known.
00:32:04.752 God, I pray our lives would not just be going through the motions, but God, we
00:32:08.792 would truly live on purpose, transformed by your
00:32:14.812 truth, by who you are, and our identity in you.
00:32:18.812 I just invite anybody here today, right now in this time of prayer, if you're here
00:32:20.412 today
00:32:24.452 and you don't know for absolute certainty that you've been forgiven of your
00:32:28.092 sin, have you received the punishment of
00:32:31.972 sin through Jesus Christ? You don't have to receive the
00:32:35.872 lashes. He already took the lashes for you.
00:32:39.772 You simply have to repent to God. Say, "God, I confess my
00:32:43.732 sin to you. I'm caught. I know I'm in the wrong. I've been doing things wrong.
00:32:47.312 I've been doing things bad, but God, I receive
00:32:51.012 you as the one who bears the punishment that I
00:32:54.812 deserve. And God, I want to live my life different from this day
00:32:56.072 forward."
00:32:59.892 If you want to make that decision, or you say, "I need to recommit my
00:33:02.132 life. I need to get back on track with God.
00:33:05.772 I need to get back on track with my relationship," I want to pray a special prayer
00:33:07.032 for you.
00:33:11.952 I just ask that you'd slip your hand up right where you are.
00:33:13.292 Right where you are. Don't be embarrassed.
00:33:17.692 This is all about you giving your life to God right now. Amen.
00:33:19.432 Anyone else?
00:33:23.792 Anyone online, you can click that link online and we'll follow up with you as well.
00:33:27.032 So let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray right now for every heart making that
00:33:30.912 decision, every hand that was raised, every person that needs to give their
00:33:33.072 life over to you.
00:33:34.652 God, I pray your blessing upon them.
00:33:37.812 God, I pray that they would be completely transformed
00:33:40.852 spiritually, mentally, physically.
00:33:44.802 God, help them see you and see themselves in light of who
00:33:48.532 they are as your son, as your daughter.
00:33:52.052 God, we thank you for your sacrifice, something we can never do on our
00:33:55.692 own. God, I pray for every person making that decision, that they would walk
00:33:59.852 forward, God, knowing who they are in you. They are new creations.
00:34:03.872 They walk by faith, not by sight. And God, they would worship you
00:34:08.412 and give you their lives fully and totally. In Jesus' name I pray.
00:34:12.493 Amen. Amen. Well, love you guys. And excited about
00:34:16.752 next Sunday. We're going to be talking about identity, looking at Noah,
00:34:20.172 Noah's Ark, and so excited to bring you next week's word.
00:34:23.053 So we'll see you back here. Jared's going to come up, a few announcements, and then
00:34:25.372 he'll close us out.
>> Jared
00:34:25.372 Amen. Thank you so much, Pastor Eric.
00:34:26.553 It's great to get a good refresher on the heroes of the faith and those who
00:34:31.053 went before us. And we actually have an opportunity to continue worshiping God
00:34:35.712 with an opportunity to give to God.
00:34:37.513 And as I was reading earlier this week in Galatians 3
00:34:41.432 about the life of Abraham and really how it applies to us, there's just
00:34:45.422 a couple things really that stood out to me.
00:34:47.372 I just want to read to you here this morning.
00:34:50.391 Galatians 3 says, "In the same way, Abraham believed God,
00:34:54.852 and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.
00:34:58.372 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in
00:35:01.812 God. So all who put their faith in Christ
00:35:05.572 share the same blessing Abraham received because of
00:35:09.512 his faith." Now, the life of Abraham is amazing because it's totally just a
00:35:13.212 life of faith. We see different aspects of the blessing of God, of
00:35:17.112 being a miraculous conception of his son.
00:35:20.372 We see extreme wealth, victory over his enemies, public
00:35:23.972 respect. We see all these amazing ways that God blessed
00:35:27.832 Abraham because of his faith, his belief in him.
00:35:30.812 The one thing that I love that we can glean from, that we can really take hold of,
00:35:34.912 that he had to say, "Wait a minute. God, this is all yours anyway.
00:35:38.632 I'll take my most treasured possession, my own son, and I'll lay it on the altar
00:35:42.382 for you. I trust you. I trust you with my most prized
00:35:46.632 possession."
00:35:48.092 You see, the blessings of God that God bestowed on Abraham
00:35:52.232 didn't own him. He was willing to surrender it all, to give it all away.
00:35:56.452 And so, this morning, one area, though, at least in my own personal life, if
00:36:00.412 I'm being honest, that can grip me at times it's finances, it's
00:36:04.168 trusting God with, "God, are you going to provide?" And it's been a lifelong
00:36:08.188 journey for me in faith, but God has never ceased to provide for me, to show up
00:36:12.388 as a loving father, as Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides.
00:36:16.388 So my prayer for you this morning, my prayer for us this morning, that we may
00:36:19.628 surrender more fully to Him in the area of our finances, but more than that,
00:36:23.678 too, to really rest in the peace and the grace that He will
00:36:27.008 truly provide as He always has, as He did for Abraham, and
00:36:30.908 He's still the same God today who provides for His kids.
00:36:34.668 There are several ways to give cash or check.
00:36:36.328 There is a giving station in the back of the room.
00:36:38.908 You can take out your phone, scan the tap card on the seat back in front of you,
00:36:42.028 give online, or scan that QR code. More importantly than the many ways that we can
00:36:45.908 give, let's give with the right heart attitude, just as Abraham says, "God, this is
00:36:49.568 all yours anyway. Take what you will." Father, I thank you so much, Lord.
00:36:53.188 You give us the opportunity, Father, to worship you in every area of
00:36:57.028 life. Our whole life can be lived as a thank you for you.
00:36:59.948 Lord, I ask you to help us this morning in the area of finances, that we would see
00:37:03.848 you with the right perspective as our provider, that you are our source,
00:37:07.988 and God, that we would continue to give to the mission that you're fulfilling in
00:37:11.828 and through Freedom Church, locally and worldwide.
00:37:14.888 Father, I thank you that each and every person will walk out of here today with a
00:37:18.428 fresh perspective of who you are as Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who
00:37:21.968 provides. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
00:37:26.188 If you're new here with us this morning, we just want to say welcome and thank you
00:37:29.068 so much for choosing to spend part of your Sunday with us.
00:37:31.888 It's been a beautiful several days. There's many places you could be.
00:37:35.148 We're glad you came. We want you to come back.
00:37:37.248 We would also love to get to know you and hear your story, how God brought you
00:37:40.588 here, and just get to know you as a person.
00:37:42.948 We'd love for you to take out your cellphone.
00:37:44.728 If you scan the tap card on the seat back in front of you, just fill out some
00:37:48.428 basic information so we can keep in touch with you.
00:37:51.148 We'd love to keep you up to date with all these great things that God is doing in
00:37:54.728 and through Freedom Church. Also, on your way out the door, grab a gift.
00:37:57.988 We want to put a gift in your hand, just as our way of saying thank you, and really
00:37:59.988 an opportunity to get to know you better as well.
00:38:04.228 Speaking of opportunities, men, we have a great opportunity coming up on Monday,
00:38:08.288 June 29th for a men's wing night. The only thing I like better than the beef
00:38:11.908 jerky that we received this morning is wings.
00:38:14.288 So we have an opportunity for men of our church to gather together, 6:30 to 8,
00:38:18.568 on Monday, June 29th, to enjoy great food, great
00:38:22.268 fellowship. The relationships I have with brothers in this church have made all
00:38:26.168 the impact and all the transformation in my life,
00:38:30.388 and this will be a great opportunity for us to just connect, be transformed, and
00:38:33.648 enjoy good food. Invite friends, family, neighbors, coworkers.
00:38:36.808 This is not an exclusive event. We do ask you RSVP just so we know how many
00:38:40.828 wings to prepare for, and then that'll be great.
00:38:44.228 We'll have a great opportunity to gather together.
00:38:46.628 July 5th, Sunday, July 5th, last but certainly not least, we have a
00:38:50.788 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM service typically.
00:38:52.508 On July 5th, we'll be joining as one service at 10:00 AM.
00:38:56.128 A great time to celebrate Independence Day, the freedom we have in this country,
00:39:00.488 and even more importantly, the freedom that we have in Christ.
00:39:03.748 The kids will be in the back making great tie-dye shirts, learning about the
00:39:07.468 freedom that we have in Christ, as well as we're going to give away some iced
00:39:10.608 coffee, popsicles, a lot of goodies.
00:39:12.668 It'll be a great time, and just to gather together and to celebrate
00:39:16.708 Independence Day, and really the true reason for freedom that we have as
00:39:20.528 followers of Jesus. If you guys could please stand to your feet, I'm going to
00:39:24.308 pray. Whenever I'm done, you're dismissed.
00:39:27.238 God, I thank you so much.
00:39:29.128 It's a privilege, Lord God. Thank you, Lord, that we have an opportunity to look at
00:39:32.748 the heroes of the faith, those who've gone before us, who live lives of radical
00:39:36.528 faith and were radically blessed by you, God.
00:39:38.688 We ask, Father, help us to live with the same faith, the same
00:39:42.568 surrender, that you who didn't spare your own Son, your most prized possession,
00:39:46.568 you will freely give us all things.
00:39:48.568 So God, help us freely give our whole life to you as a result.
00:39:51.808 God, help us be an example of your loving goodness, your kindness, your
00:39:55.368 truth to a lost and dying world around us, Lord.
00:39:58.268 We know that you are the light of the world and you live in us.
00:40:00.808 Help us be the light of the world this week to everyone we see.
00:40:04.508 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You're dismissed.
00:40:07.198 Have an awesome week, everyone. We'll see you next week.