1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 I don't know how many of you keep up with the news. 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,000 I would venture to conjecture that this crowd keeps up with it 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:13,000 maybe a little bit more than the general population. 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:17,000 Anybody ever get stressed out by the news? 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,000 You're a little worried about what is happening all over the world. 6 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,000 The last 48 hours if you've been paying attention, 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,000 the nation of Israel is being attacked. 8 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,000 The nation of Israel is being attacked. 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Some of you don't know that. 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,000 This is going on right now. 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Thousands of rockets flying in from the terrorist group Hamas 12 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,000 attacking Israel. 13 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,000 Rocket fire raining down on them. 14 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,000 And it's an atrocious thing. 15 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,000 But it's not the first time it's happened. 16 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,000 But it's a big deal. 17 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:59,000 And so I believe that the Bible teaches us to pray for the peace of Israel. 18 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:04,000 And we're going to learn today that God says I will bless those that bless you 19 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,000 and curse those that curse you. 20 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,000 That's what we told Abraham. 21 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,000 And God's not through with Israel. 22 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:13,000 He's not. 23 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,000 While the nation of Israel is by no means perfect, 24 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,000 they deserve our support and our prayers. 25 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,000 And I believe we got to pray for the peace of Israel. 26 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,000 So can we do that today? 27 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:28,000 God, we know that you have a heart for the nation of Israel. 28 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,000 That you're chosen people. 29 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,000 You're not through with them. 30 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,000 And you've called us to call for the peace of Israel. 31 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,000 And we call for that today. 32 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,000 God, as we examine Father Abraham today, 33 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:41,000 I pray that you'd help us. 34 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:46,000 This wouldn't just be something that we pray about, 35 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,000 but God, it will impact us and that we would be different 36 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,000 as a result of all that we're learning. 37 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,000 And so I pray that you do that today. 38 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:53,000 We love you. 39 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,000 In Jesus' name, amen. 40 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:01,000 I also believe, here's what else I know about us, 41 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:06,000 other than just knowing that we know these news reports and stuff. 42 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,000 While we can and should pray for these things, 43 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,000 we can't control such things. 44 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:15,000 Anybody realize you can't control what's happening in our country right now? 45 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,000 There's a lot of different things we could talk about that are problems. 46 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,000 And when you examine all that's going on in the world 47 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,000 and you focus on those things, a lot of times can be wasted 48 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:31,000 if the same amount of effort is and also aimed at self-examination as well. 49 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:36,000 And so we may not be able to change what's happening this week in Israel, 50 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,000 but we know someone who can, right? 51 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:44,000 And we can more directly, we can affect more directly what happens 52 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:50,000 in our relationship with God and our marriage and our families 53 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,000 with our kids and our church and our city and our school. 54 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,000 You guys with me? 55 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,000 We can impact that, can't we? 56 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,000 More directly than these other things. 57 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:06,000 And so I'm here today wanting all of us to be different 58 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,000 as a result of studying God's Word today. 59 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,000 And I want us to have stronger families, amen. 60 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,000 And stronger neighborhoods. 61 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,000 And if we can affect our neighborhood, maybe we can affect the nation 62 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,000 and the nations. 63 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,000 Ironically, the issues we're seeing play out in Israel right now 64 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,000 indirectly go back to the people we're studying in this book of Hebrews. 65 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,000 Abraham messed up in doubting God's promise on the one hand 66 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,000 and marrying his wife's handmaid. 67 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:38,000 And now there are offspring of the two families that are fighting today. 68 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:43,000 The good news is that you don't have to be perfect to be someone who lives by faith. 69 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,000 The just shall live by faith. 70 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,000 And we can live by faith and not be perfect at the same time. 71 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,000 Are you with me? 72 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:58,000 Who's glad that the people in the Bible, largely most of them messed up. 73 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,000 They messed up a lot, right? 74 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:05,000 A lot of the people in the very text we're reading, this Hebrews 11, 75 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,000 if you're, if it's your first time with us, Hebrews chapter number 11 76 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:14,000 is an accounting or a recounting to Jewish people about their forefathers 77 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,000 and how that they lived, not just by works, they lived by faith. 78 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,000 They were justified and walked by faith. 79 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,000 And it's an example to us to live by faith. 80 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,000 And last week we began to study the story of Abraham and Sarah. 81 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,000 God had told Abraham to leave his family and his homeland 82 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,000 and go to a country that the invisible Jehovah God would show him. 83 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:40,000 Abraham was told that God had chosen him to be the father of an incredible nation. 84 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:46,000 The issue at that time was that Abraham and Sarah were old. 85 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,000 And they had no kids. 86 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,000 So if you can't father one, you're not going to father a nation. 87 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:53,000 Who agrees with me? 88 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,000 If you can't have one kid, you can't have a nation. 89 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,000 And so God gave them a promise. 90 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:02,000 And that promise will show up here in Hebrews 11, chapter 11 verse 8. 91 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,000 Go back with me if you will and look at that in your Bible. 92 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,000 If you don't have it, you can see it on the screen. 93 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,000 Hebrews 11, 8, it says this, by faith Abraham, when he was called 94 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:16,000 to go out into a place which he should after receive for an errand 95 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:17,000 and obeyed. 96 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:18,000 I love that. 97 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:19,000 Don't you? 98 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:23,000 You can't be disobedient and say that you have faith in God, right? 99 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,000 You're not exhibiting a faith if you don't have obedience. 100 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,000 And so he says, he obeyed and went out not knowing whether he went 101 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,000 by faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country 102 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:38,000 dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, theirs of the same promise. 103 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,000 For he looked for a city which has foundations whose builder and 104 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:42,000 maker is God. 105 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:47,000 Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed 106 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:53,000 and was delivered of a child when she was past age, over 100 years old. 107 00:05:53,000 --> 00:06:00,000 And all the ladies said, oh me, not amen, right? 108 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,000 Because, how did it happen? 109 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,000 Because she judged him God faithful who had promised. 110 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,000 We have a promise keeping God, don't we? 111 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:12,000 Therefore spring there even of one, there spring from Sarah's room, 112 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:16,000 a child even of one Abraham and him as good as dead. 113 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:17,000 Why? 114 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,000 Because he's pretty old too. 115 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:23,000 So many as the stars of the sky and the multitude and as a sand which is by 116 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:25,000 the seashore innumerable. 117 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:30,000 The promise that Hebrew 11 refers to and will refer to in today's text 118 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:35,000 was expressed by God very clearly in Genesis chapter 12 verse 1 and 3. 119 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,000 So as I talk about the promise today, here's the promise. 120 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,000 Genesis 12, 1 it will be on your screen. 121 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,000 You can also go back there because it will be in Genesis a lot today. 122 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:48,000 And it says, now the Lord had said to Abraham, back then Abram, 123 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,000 Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's 124 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,000 house unto a land I will show thee, and I will make of thee a great 125 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,000 nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great, and now shall be a 126 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,000 blessing, and I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that 127 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:07,000 curseeth thee, and in thee all the families of the earth shall be 128 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,000 blessed. 129 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:10,000 So what was the promise? 130 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:14,000 The promise was that he would be a father of a great nation. 131 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,000 The promise was that everyone in the world would be best blessed by 132 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:19,000 his kids. 133 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:21,000 You want that for your kids? 134 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,000 For my kids to make the world a better place? 135 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:26,000 Who wants that? 136 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,000 Are you desiring that for your kids? 137 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,000 Man, what an incredible thing to tell a between 90 and 100 year old 138 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:38,000 couple, hey, you're going to have kids. 139 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:40,000 What? 140 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,000 I'm going to need help, right? 141 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,000 And your kids are going to impact the world. 142 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,000 They're going to be a blessing. 143 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:52,000 In fact, every nation that ever lives, every family in the earth, 144 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:57,000 every tribe, nation and tongue are going to be blessed by your kids. 145 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:58,000 Who votes for that? 146 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,000 That's a great thing, right? 147 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,000 When you don't have any kids at the time the promise is made and 148 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,000 you're 100 years old, this is a big promise. 149 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,000 And Abraham later called Abraham probably thought before this, 150 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:15,000 that fathering was something that wouldn't have been for him. 151 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:19,000 Once you get to that age and you don't have kids, you're like, 152 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,000 okay, I guess I'm not having kids. 153 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:25,000 He probably thought that at 100 with no kids, that's not even in the 154 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:26,000 picture. 155 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,000 Then God came through. 156 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,000 And Abraham had a son. 157 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,000 It was his only son through Sarah that got a promise that would 158 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:34,000 happen. 159 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:38,000 Anybody have any grandkids in here? 160 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,000 Are your grandkids precious to you? 161 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,000 Like, I can't wait to have grandkids. 162 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,000 It's going to be awesome. 163 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,000 I don't want them too soon. 164 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:53,000 Yeah, he's the age of a grandparent and he has this child and it's the 165 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:54,000 child of promise. 166 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,000 It's a big deal. 167 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:03,000 All his hopes and dreams were connected to his son, Isaac, laughter. 168 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,000 It's that this season of Abraham's life that then God comes to him 169 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:08,000 again. 170 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:12,000 I'm looking at a daddy right now with a little daughter. 171 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:15,000 We think these things are precious, these kids. 172 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:19,000 And I said that season that God showed up again to Abraham. 173 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:25,000 But this time we find that God puts Abraham to the test. 174 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,000 He wanted to reveal Abraham's heart. 175 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:31,000 And I believe he wanted to reveal Abraham's faith both to Abraham 176 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,000 and Abraham to us. 177 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:39,000 We have already said that we want this message to impact us today. 178 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,000 Who wants this message to impact you? 179 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,000 Who wants to be different as you leave? 180 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,000 Here's the real questions for people who believe in God and receive his 181 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,000 promises that still affect us today. 182 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,000 These are the kind of questions this text brings up. 183 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:56,000 Are you ready? 184 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:00,000 Are we more in love with God himself or what God gives us? 185 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:08,000 Am I more loyal to God than I am God's blessings? 186 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:15,000 Do I only love God because God has been so good to me? 187 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:20,000 Do we trust more in the person of God than we do in the provision of God? 188 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,000 What scares you more? 189 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:30,000 God's office throne or you have no money in your bank account? 190 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,000 If you don't have money in your bank account, God's on his throne. 191 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:38,000 Do we love the created thing more than our creator? 192 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,000 What should faith in God compel us to do? 193 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:50,000 And will we trust and obey God even when doing so may not seem to make sense to us. 194 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:55,000 Have you ever had a situation where being obedient was hard? 195 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,000 Was difficult? 196 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:02,000 Where I had to choose between God and some other relationship? 197 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:10,000 Today I want to plead with you to examine your own heart and being faithful to God who is the source of the promises. 198 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,000 God is the promise giver. 199 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:20,000 And every good gift and every good perfect gift comes from above James says, 200 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:24,000 from the Father of lights and who is no variableness neither shadow of turning. 201 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:31,000 And so I want you to know this, that we ought to trust and love and be loyal to the promise giver. 202 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:38,000 A promise is only as good as the person who makes the promise. 203 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:43,000 Have you ever heard any politicians make a promise? 204 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:47,000 And some of them follow through with their promises and some of them don't. 205 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:51,000 It's a lot more in the don't category lately. 206 00:11:51,000 --> 00:12:01,000 The text here points to the example of Abraham and the character of God to help us have the courage to answer these questions with faith in God even when it's difficult. 207 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,000 Here's why that's so critical. 208 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:08,000 Things that are created make horrible gods. 209 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:18,000 Serving the true promise keeping God brings blessings and when we make idols out of God's provision, it brings us pain. 210 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:28,000 When we make idols out of what God's given to us, if we make the created thing the thing that we worship more than we worship God, it will always end in pain. 211 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,000 God cannot bless this. 212 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:37,000 When we make God's provision the object of our worship, we will always, always, always lose in the end. 213 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:50,000 Our God is a promise keeping God who always keeps his promises and is deserving of our faithful obedience even when that obedience seems difficult. 214 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:57,000 We can exhibit faith in our promise making God through three intentional responses that are exemplified here by Abraham. 215 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,000 The first one being this. 216 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:06,000 Faith believes the promise keeper's word. 217 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:11,000 Faith believes the promise giver's word. 218 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,000 He is a promise keeper too. 219 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,000 Look at verse 17 in our text. 220 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:26,000 By faith Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac. 221 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:39,000 And he that received the promises offered up his only begotten son of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 222 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:45,000 How many of you in the room today have heard this story about Abraham offering up Isaac? 223 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,000 How many of you have heard it? 224 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,000 Maybe some of you have never heard it. 225 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:51,000 A lot of you have. 226 00:13:51,000 --> 00:14:00,000 The danger when you read or hear familiar stories is that if we are not careful we lose its power because it is familiar to us. 227 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,000 We know what happens. 228 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,000 But I want you to know this is a shocking story. 229 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,000 I want you to think about it that way. 230 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:12,000 Put yourself in Abraham and Sarah's shoes. 231 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:22,000 It is my desire to help us feel the way Adam felt when he experienced the circumstance. 232 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,000 We are given something about the faith of Abraham. 233 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:32,000 It says he was tried or tested the King James and Genesis 22 talks about being tempted. 234 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,000 How did it happen? 235 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:36,000 He offered up Isaac. 236 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,000 More on that as we look. 237 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:42,000 He received the promises. 238 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,000 What I had read. 239 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:49,000 You are the father of a great nation and you the nations of the earth will be blessed. 240 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,000 What did that look like? 241 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,000 If you go back to Genesis 22. 242 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,000 This is where we will be a lot. 243 00:14:55,000 --> 00:15:00,000 Genesis 22 is the first book of the Bible. 244 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,000 Chapter 22. 245 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:07,000 Here is the account of what happened in the narrative. 246 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,000 This is a true story. 247 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,000 Really happened. 248 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:15,000 Given to us through Moses and the Holy Spirit. 249 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,000 It came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham. 250 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:25,000 The word here for tempt is a Hebrew word that speaks to testing. 251 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:29,000 James tells us God does not tempt men to do evil things. 252 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:33,000 No way does God leave Abraham to do something evil here. 253 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:37,000 He said to Abraham, what did he say? 254 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:44,000 He said to him in verse 1, Abraham and he said, behold here I am. 255 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:49,000 What a great response. 256 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,000 Availability. 257 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,000 Are you available to the Lord? 258 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,000 Are you available to him? 259 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:59,000 Are you listening to his voice as he speaks to you through his word? 260 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:09,000 He says, take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac. 261 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:13,000 Whom thou, what is the next word? 262 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:15,000 Lovest. 263 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:19,000 Is it God's testimony that Isaac was precious to Abraham? 264 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:23,000 Does Abraham love Isaac? 265 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,000 He loves Isaac. 266 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,000 He says it's his only son. 267 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,000 Isaac was not the only son of Abraham. 268 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,000 There was also Ishmael through Hagar. 269 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:41,000 The first is someone here who is unique, one of a kind. 270 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:47,000 This is one who was begotten, fathered through the line that God was wanting to bless. 271 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,000 The line of Abraham. 272 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:55,000 Isaac was the only son born according to God's promise and was the only heir of that promise. 273 00:16:55,000 --> 00:17:05,000 If you look back one chapter in Genesis 21.12, it says about Isaac, Genesis 21.12, that in Isaac, 274 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:11,000 and it's going to get quoted here in just a minute, it says, I have to get there myself, 275 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:18,000 21 verse 12, and God said, let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad and because of thy bond with him. 276 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:29,000 And there is a son that Sarah has said unto thee, he was his only son and this was the son of promise. 277 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:33,000 This is the one through which the promise would come through. 278 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,000 Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jacob becomes Israel. 279 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,000 He has 12 sons. 280 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,000 Abraham, father, Abraham had many sons. 281 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,000 I am going to quote it every time. 282 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,000 Many sons have. 283 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:49,000 There is an old Sunday school song, but I am not going to do it. 284 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:56,000 When God was telling Abraham to take his son, this was the only son that his identity was wrapped up in. 285 00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:02,000 This is the son that pointed to the promise of God for Abraham, Sarah, his family and for the blessing of the whole world. 286 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,000 What was he to do? 287 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,000 Look at verse 2, the second part. 288 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,000 And get thee into the land of, what is it? 289 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,000 What land is it? 290 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,000 Say it real loud. 291 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:18,000 Get thee into the land of, Moriah, more on that later. 292 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:27,000 And offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell the of. 293 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,000 What was the command? 294 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:41,000 I want you to take your only begotten son of promise and offer him as a human burnt sacrifice to me at a mountain that I will show thee. 295 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:46,000 I will tell Abraham to go somewhere and tell him I will show you where. 296 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:48,000 Just the next step. 297 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:52,000 You all have to vote. 298 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,000 Are you ready? 299 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,000 Was this a heavy thing or no big deal? 300 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,000 Who votes heavy thing? 301 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,000 Almost everybody voted. 302 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,000 One day I will do a vote and everyone will vote. 303 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,000 It is a heavy thing. 304 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,000 This is a big deal. 305 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:15,000 I want you to offer not a sheep, not a lamb, not a goat, not a bull. 306 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,000 I want you to offer your kid. 307 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,000 And not just any kid, your only kid. 308 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:32,000 And not just your only kid, the kid that I gave to you as a promise of my goodness to you and blessing the whole entire earth. 309 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:42,000 This is your legacy and you are going to take him and I want you to give him back to me. 310 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:45,000 Now God had already made the impossible to happen. 311 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:49,000 This old man had fathered a son. 312 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,000 He knew that this was supernatural. 313 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,000 So how would Abraham obey? 314 00:19:55,000 --> 00:20:01,000 The just shall live by faith. 315 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:08,000 Abraham at the most basic level had to believe that what God said and promised he would do. 316 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,000 What had God promised? 317 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,000 Not just that he would have a great nation. 318 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:26,000 He promised that in Isaac, this little kid, this specific little kid, this son, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 319 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,000 Did Isaac have kids yet? 320 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,000 Did he want him to offer him now? 321 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,000 Abraham had to believe God's word. 322 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,000 Abraham had to believe God's word. 323 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,000 He had to believe the promise givers word. 324 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:48,000 For him to honor God, he had to believe God's promise and obey in light of it. 325 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:52,000 Now here's, we're going to make this about us too. 326 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:58,000 It's about God, it's about Abraham, but we got to apply this. 327 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:03,000 Some of us experience times where obeying God seems to be difficult. 328 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:07,000 Sometimes obeying God may seem illogical. 329 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:12,000 God, everyone else would retaliate in this situation. 330 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,000 God, everyone else would retaliate. 331 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:20,000 I think I ought to retaliate, but you're telling me I should not retaliate. 332 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:24,000 God, they're smearing me on the Internet. 333 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:30,000 They're saying things that aren't true, and I think I should just smear back. 334 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:38,000 God, I know you hate me breaking my promises, but everyone else would leave this marriage at this point. 335 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,000 So God, I'm going to do that, and I want you to bless me. 336 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:47,000 God, I know you want me to give proportionally and sacrificially, 337 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:53,000 but I think I can do more with my 100% that you've given me than I can with less. 338 00:21:53,000 --> 00:22:00,000 God, why would I leave this awesome career and leave my family and plant churches in the land where I don't even know their language, 339 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,000 much less anyone there? 340 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,000 God, why would you call me to do that? 341 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:10,000 It doesn't make sense. 342 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:17,000 Faith means taking our promise, keeping God at His word. 343 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:24,000 And when He asks us to do something that doesn't make sense, being willing to do it. 344 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:29,000 Abraham believed what God said he would do that he would do. 345 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,000 So look at what happened. 346 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:32,000 Verse 3, this is Genesis 22. 347 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:38,000 And Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his ass and took two of his young men with him 348 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:46,000 and Isaac his son and claved the wood for the burnt offering and rose up and he went onto the place of which God had told him. 349 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:47,000 It's interesting here. 350 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:48,000 He rose up early. 351 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,000 I think that's an interesting detail. 352 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,000 I think it speaks to his obedience. 353 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:59,000 If that was my task that God had given me for the day, I think I'd be tempted to take my time. 354 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:02,000 Who thinks you want to sleep in on that day? 355 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:03,000 But he doesn't. 356 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,000 He gets up early. 357 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:12,000 I think I would be tempted to delay, but delayed obedience is disobedience. 358 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,000 Verse 4, then on the third day, Abraham lifted up his offer. 359 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,000 Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place of far off. 360 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:28,000 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I in the lad will go yonder and worship and come again unto you. 361 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:32,000 I think the construction there is that he's saying we will come again. 362 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:40,000 I think he believed that in Isaac the sea, which we call it, I think he believed that Isaac was going to make it. 363 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:46,000 Verse 6, and Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon his Isaac his son. 364 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:51,000 And he took the fire in his hand and a knife and both of them went together. 365 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:57,000 Can you imagine this walk up the mountain? 366 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,000 He's with his only son. 367 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:03,000 Do they love each other? 368 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,000 They're walking up it. 369 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:09,000 His son is holding the wood for the fire. 370 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:10,000 He's holding the fire. 371 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,000 He's got the knife. 372 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:17,000 They're walking up the mountain. 373 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:18,000 Now here's where your heart rips out. 374 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:24,000 Verse 7, and Isaac spake unto Abraham his father and said, My father. 375 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,000 And he said, Here am I, my son. 376 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:31,000 And he said, Behold the fire in the wood. 377 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:35,000 But where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 378 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:39,000 You know what this tells me? 379 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:46,000 Abraham had seen Isaac and Isaac had seen Abraham worship him before, worship God before. 380 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:50,000 Abraham understood what it took to do a burnt offering. 381 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:54,000 Isaac understood what it took to do a burnt offering. 382 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:59,000 And so he's walking up this mountain and he's going, How are we going? 383 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:04,000 I've seen sacrifices in the past and there's always been a lamb. 384 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,000 Where is the lamb? 385 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:15,000 Isaac, who is commanded to be offered, is looking at his dad and saying, Where's the lamb? 386 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:22,000 And Abraham said, Verse 8, My son, God will, what's the next word? 387 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,000 God will what? 388 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,000 Say it again. 389 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:33,000 God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. 390 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:38,000 So that they went both of them together. 391 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:44,000 We can exhibit faith in our promise making God through three intentional responses exemplified by Abraham. 392 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:48,000 Number one, faith believes the promise giver's word. 393 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:53,000 Number two, faith believes the promise giver's power. 394 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:57,000 His power. 395 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:05,000 What did Abraham believe that he would tell Isaac that God would provide the lamb? 396 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:12,000 I believe that Abraham believed that God would provide a means by which he would still receive his promise 397 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,000 and that Isaac would still be the heir of the promise. 398 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:20,000 For in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 399 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:26,000 We're told by the Holy Spirit what Abraham was thinking in our text in Hebrews 11 19. 400 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,000 So back to Hebrews. 401 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,000 If you want to stay in Genesis, we'll be right there again. 402 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:31,000 I'll put it on the screen. 403 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:32,000 What does it say? 404 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:42,000 Verse 19, talking about Abraham, Abraham accounting that God was able to raise him up, raise who up? 405 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:50,000 Isaac, even from the dead, from whence he also had received him in a figure. 406 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:56,000 Abraham believed in the power of God. 407 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:00,000 He believed God's word that he would receive the promise. 408 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:05,000 He believed God's power that God would be able to perform what he had promised. 409 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:10,000 And what I want to tell you is this, God is not slack concerning his promises. 410 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:14,000 As Peter tells us, God has the integrity to keep his promises. 411 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,000 He also has the ability to keep them. 412 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:24,000 God who cannot lie will do what he tells you he's going to do. 413 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,000 God has the integrity and the ability. 414 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:33,000 Some of us do not live a life of faith because at the end of the day we don't believe that God's ways are best. 415 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:39,000 We don't believe that if we would be obedient to what he says that it's going to work out for us. 416 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:44,000 We believe that we know best. 417 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,000 And I want you to know this, God knows best. 418 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,000 And when God says don't, what he's really saying is don't hurt yourself. 419 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:57,000 When God says do, he wants to say, he's like this is going to bring you blessing and help. 420 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,000 I'm not saying that there isn't hardship. 421 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:07,000 We studied in Mark today, Mark chapter 8, if any man come to me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 422 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:16,000 He also said, what will a prophet a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? 423 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:21,000 We believe that we can live out of our own power instead of his and everything is going to work out. 424 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:28,000 And for the person that's here today that's thinking that it's a bad plan. 425 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:31,000 Your plans are not better than God's plans. 426 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:37,000 And you can't directly disobey God and think that it's going to work out. 427 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:42,000 Sometimes it works out by this thing called God's grace. 428 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:46,000 But we ought to be obedient and repentant and follow him. 429 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:53,000 Abraham believed that God would do what he promised and that he believed that God could do and would do what he promised. 430 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,000 So what happened? 431 00:28:55,000 --> 00:29:02,000 Well, we're going to see the third response of Abraham. 432 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:06,000 Faith receives the promise givers provision. 433 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:12,000 Look at what happened. This is amazing. 434 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:16,000 Verse 9, Genesis 22, 9. 435 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:20,000 And they came to the place which God had told him of. 436 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:24,000 And Abraham built and altered there. 437 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,000 Can you imagine this? 438 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:32,000 Taking the wood off of your son. 439 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:39,000 Taking the stones and making the altar and placing the wood on the altar. 440 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:43,000 And bound his son Isaac. 441 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:53,000 And lay them on the altar upon the wood. 442 00:29:53,000 --> 00:30:08,000 And standing there by faith, God said that this son would be the son of promise that through him, 443 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:13,000 my seed is going to be called, what's going to happen? 444 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:17,000 He puts them there bound. 445 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:24,000 Abraham stretched forth his hand, verse 10, and took the knife to slay his son. 446 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,000 Got all the way up to it. 447 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:33,000 And the angel called unto him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. 448 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:36,000 And he said, what did he say? 449 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,000 Does that sound familiar? 450 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,000 Here am I, my son? 451 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:48,000 God called him in verse 1, Abraham, here am I? 452 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:52,000 It's the same initial response back in verse 1, availability, listening. 453 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:57,000 Verse 12, and he said, lay not thine hand upon the lad. 454 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:01,000 Neither do anything unto him, for now I know that thou fearst God, 455 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:06,000 seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 456 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:15,000 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind them a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. 457 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:26,000 And Abraham went and took of the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 458 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,000 What happened? 459 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,000 God came through. 460 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,000 God provided. 461 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:43,000 God sustained Isaac as the son of promise, and God gave an incredible picture to Abraham, 462 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:48,000 to the sons of Abraham, and to us today. 463 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:50,000 Look at verse 14. 464 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:56,000 And Abraham called that place, the name of that place, Jehovah Jireh. 465 00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:01,000 As it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. 466 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:05,000 The word Jehovah Jireh means the God who provides. 467 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,000 God provides. 468 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,000 What did God provide? 469 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,000 Exactly what Abraham said in this text. 470 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:19,000 The Lord will provide himself a lamb. 471 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:25,000 That spot, that mountain, Mount Moriah, as it was called early in the chapter, is an interesting place. 472 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:31,000 J. Vernon McGee said this about Moriah, this mountain. 473 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:41,000 It is the belief of a great many that Moriah, that is this particular part, is the place where the temple was built centuries earlier, centuries later. 474 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,000 Now pause the quote. 475 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:48,000 I'm going to keep quoting for the McGee. 476 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:55,000 He says, many people believe, and I believe this too, that Moriah is where the temple would be built later. 477 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,000 What happened in the temple? 478 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:12,000 Millions upon millions of bulls and goats and sheep were slain in the temple as substitutes for the people. 479 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:13,000 Who agrees? 480 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:18,000 There is no remission of sins. 481 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:23,000 Those sacrifices could not make the comers there unto perfect. 482 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:27,000 They were a picture of something else that was coming. 483 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,000 Are you with me? 484 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:34,000 The temple was a place where Christ's coming sacrifice was a shadow of the good things to come. 485 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:40,000 McGee continues and says this, it is also the place where the Lord Jesus was sacrificed right outside the city walls. 486 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:46,000 He said, when I was in Jerusalem, I had the feeling that Galgotha and the temple area were not very far apart. 487 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,000 They belonged to the same ridge. 488 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:51,000 The street has been cut through there and the ridge has been breached. 489 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:54,000 But it is the same ridge and it is called Moriah. 490 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,000 Let's not say that the Lord Jesus died in that exact spot. 491 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:03,000 We don't know, but certainly he died on the same ridge, the same mountain on which Abraham offered Isaac. 492 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:08,000 Why did God, back to my part, why did God ask this of Abraham? 493 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:13,000 He wanted Abraham and us to see the way of faith. 494 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:16,000 To see the provision of God for a substitute. 495 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:20,000 And the shedding of blood that brings remission of sins. 496 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:42,000 In verse 15, Genesis 22. 497 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:50,000 Let me start over. 498 00:34:50,000 --> 00:35:05,000 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice. 499 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:12,000 God would provide that promised land, God would provide that promised seed, the people, the nation. 500 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:23,000 And the nation would be a blessing through the whole world because there would be another father who would not have his hand stayed. 501 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,000 Do you get the picture? 502 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:29,000 Abraham was the father who didn't go through it. 503 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:42,000 There was a substitute, but there's another father who didn't stop. 504 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:47,000 And when it came time to sacrifice his only begotten son, he did. 505 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:51,000 Isaiah 53.10. You might say Pastor Ben. 506 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:57,000 That's heavy. I thought the Romans killed Jesus. 507 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:06,000 I thought the Jews, the Pharisees killed Jesus. 508 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:10,000 I even thought maybe I did. 509 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,000 Isaiah 53.10 says this. 510 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:22,000 Talking about a servant, Isaiah 700 years before Jesus ever came. 511 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:27,000 Gave predictions about a servant that was coming. This is very clear it's going to be the Messiah. 512 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:45,000 And in Isaiah 52 and into 53, he talks about the servant who's going to rule the nations at some point being suffering. 513 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:52,000 And it says about this suffering servant who we all know to be Jesus. 514 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:57,000 Not everybody agrees with that. The Jews today don't believe that. 515 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:00,000 Many do. 516 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:03,000 It says this in verse 10. 517 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:10,000 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. 518 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:19,000 He, the Lord, the Father, hath put him, the servant, Jesus, to grief. 519 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:32,000 When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he, the servant, Jesus, you got to get this. This is so good. 520 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:38,000 Shall see his seed. 521 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:41,000 What is he talking about? 522 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:51,000 He's talking. He shall prolong his days. How does that happen? After he's put to grief, after he's sacrificed, after he's made an offering for sin, he's going to see his seed and prolong his days. 523 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:54,000 That's resurrection. 524 00:37:54,000 --> 00:38:02,000 That's resurrection. And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul. 525 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:20,000 He, the Father, shall see the travail of his soul, Jesus, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. 526 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,000 What is he saying? 527 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:26,000 There's going to be a sacrifice. 528 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:40,000 That sacrifice, Jesus, will happen because the wrath of God for your sin and mine will be placed on Jesus. That's what happened at the crucifixion. 529 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:47,000 He would die for our sins. He would be buried. And guess what would happen? He would rise again. 530 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:56,000 He will see his seed. He'll prolong his days. And it says in verse 12, therefore will I divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong. 531 00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:10,000 Because he has poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bear the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors. 532 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:19,000 Jesus Christ, the suffering servant, the seed of Abraham will see his seed. 533 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:36,000 When his days are prolonged, how? It's by resurrection. I love it. It says, and by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many. 534 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:46,000 What did Abraham believe? Back to our text, Hebrews 11, 19. Abraham believed, he accounted. That's a term. It's an accounting term. 535 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:56,000 It's talking about he did a conjecture. How is this going to work out? He believed that God was able to raise him, Isaac, up, even from the dead. 536 00:39:56,000 --> 00:40:05,000 And when he didn't die and he came back off of that altar, it was like he was back from the dead because he was as good as dead. God provided a substitute. 537 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:17,000 Abraham believed that God would raise. Abraham's only be gotten from the dead if it came to it. Here's what you need to hear and I do too. 538 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:30,000 God did put his son to grief. Jesus became a propitiation, a wrath bearing sacrifice to bear the punishment for your sin and mine on the cross. 539 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:41,000 And then three days later, he did rise from the dead, not in a figure like Isaac, but mightily, bodily and eternally. 540 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:59,000 And so, what shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He, here it is, he that spared not his own son. 541 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:13,000 But delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also freely give us all good things? 542 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:27,000 Do you see the picture? If we would believe God and we would put our faith in Christ, he would give us eternal life. 543 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:35,000 And if you can trust him with your salvation and you can trust him with your eternity, then you can trust him with your business. 544 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:44,000 You can trust him with your money. You can trust him with your marriage. You can trust him with your relationship. You know how you do that? 545 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:55,000 There's an old song, trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 546 00:41:55,000 --> 00:42:09,000 If you get on the path of mistrust and disobedience, it will not be good for you. Trust and obey. 547 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:17,000 So here's three application questions. You want to be different? Let's apply this to our life. Number one. 548 00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:26,000 Do you know the promises of God made to you in his word? Do you know the promises of God? 549 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:36,000 There's this old song, every promise in the book is mine. Have you heard that song? Every chapter, every verse. It's a bad song. It's not true. 550 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:45,000 It's a song in our hymnal that's not good. Because not every promise in the Bible is for you. Not every promise. 551 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:52,000 I know the sentiment of what they are trying to say. If God says it, then you can trust it. But not every promise in the Bible is for you. 552 00:42:52,000 --> 00:43:00,000 There are some promises made to Israel that are for Israel, not for us as Gentiles. We haven't replaced Israel. 553 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:06,000 But God has made some promises to you. Do you know them? Do you live by them? 554 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:16,000 Just shall live by faith in the promises of God, our promise keeping God. You can trust him. 555 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:23,000 You can trust him not just for your salvation but how to live. So do you know the promises of God? 556 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:30,000 Here's another question. Number two. Whose power are you trusting in for living today? Whose power are you trusting in? 557 00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:37,000 Are you trusting in your own ability? Are you trusting in your own intellect? 558 00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:52,000 Your job? Your kids? Your husband? Your wife? You know what I found to be the case? People will let you down. 559 00:43:52,000 --> 00:44:01,000 At some point if we do life long enough together, it probably won't take very long. I'll let you down. 560 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:14,000 You'll let me down. Welcome to the human race. I know somebody who won't let you down. Jesus will never let you down. 561 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:22,000 Whose power are you trusting in today to live? Here's another question. Whose power are you trusting in for eternity? 562 00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:37,000 That leads to this third question. God has provided his only begotten son for you. He did not spare his only son. 563 00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:45,000 He poured out his wrath for your sin and mine on his son. Jesus died on the cross for your sins. He was buried. 564 00:44:45,000 --> 00:44:55,000 He rose again for the third day for your sins. And if God did that, and you're trying to get to heaven based on your good works, 565 00:44:55,000 --> 00:45:04,000 based on your ancestry, based on what church you go to, based on anything other than Jesus, 566 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:14,000 him crucified, buried, and risen again, if you're trying to trust in anything else, you're going to be ashamed on the last day. 567 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:23,000 God loves you and he offered his son to die for you. Will you put your faith in him for salvation? 568 00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:35,000 He gave what was most precious so that we could be called the children of God. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, 569 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:53,000 that we could be called the children of God. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes with me today?