WEBVTT

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Good morning. How y 'all doing today? I'm doing

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pretty good. Thank you so much. If this is your

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first time visiting us here at Hosanna Christian

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Fellowship, either in our sanctuary here or if

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you're watching online, we want to say welcome

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to all of you. We're so glad you're here to worship

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with us today. I am Pastor Nathan, and today

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as a part of our study, we're going to be celebrating

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communion together. And so if you're watching

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online, we want to remind you to... Get your

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communion emblems ready. If you have them, we

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will be partaking together as a fellowship at

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the end of service. But today we're talking about

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the link between faith and sacrifice. I think

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in the last few studies we've said a lot about

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how God wants obedience rather than sacrifice.

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But we have to be careful thinking that obedience

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means we never sacrifice. Because a lot of times

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the obedience that God calls us to can involve

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great sacrifice. You know, in the New Testament,

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Hebrews chapter 11 is commonly referred to as

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the great hall of faith where there's that entire

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chapter that is full of so many fantastic examples

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of faith and really what biblical faith looks

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like. And the example in that chapter that is

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given the most space is Abraham, the man we have

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been studying for a number of weeks at this point.

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And as we've been studying his life, we've learned

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so many different lessons about faith and overall

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really how to respond to the promises of God,

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how to live in light of the promises of God,

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and then a whole lot of what not to do as we're

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living out the promises of God, as well as how

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to recover when we mess up, and so on. But you

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know, the promises that God made to Abraham throughout

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scripture here are repeated over and over and

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over as he was learning to live the life of trust

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and faith, growing in that faith that he had

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in the Lord. As a quick recap, in Genesis 12,

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in the very beginning of his story, he got the

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promise of a people. that he would have offspring

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that would be incredibly numerous and a land.

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In Genesis 13, God showed him the boundaries

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of that land and then told him that the people,

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his offspring, would be more than the dust of

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the earth. Genesis 15, as Abraham is struggling

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with the promise of the people, he's worried

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because he has no kids and his wife is barren.

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And so at that point, God tells him to look up

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into the sky, count the stars if you can. He

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goes, that's how many you're off. offspring is

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going to be. And it was at this point in Abraham's

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life that the promise of a people was assured

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in his life. He had come to the place of saying,

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okay, I believe it. I'm no longer believing whether

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or not it's going to happen. But he was still

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a man struggling with the how that promise would

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come to pass. And you know, Hebrews 11 .1 opens

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with faith, tells us that faith is the reality

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of the things that we hope for. or the assurance

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of the things that we hope for. And so he was

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still struggling with the assurance of the land,

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and he was asking God, how do I know that this

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promise of this land is gonna come to pass? God

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then made a covenant with him in this vision,

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this dream he had, where God himself walked through

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the middle of these split animals as a sign,

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as a covenant of saying that this promise is

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based on me, and since it's based on me, it cannot

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be broken. Well, in Genesis 16, Abraham and his

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wife decided to help the promise of a people

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along a little bit and came up with their own

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plan, which was the story of Hagar and Ishmael.

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Well, I'm going to paraphrase what God said to

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that. Nope. And then he gave Abraham the covenant

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of circumcision, really telling Abraham that

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in your very powers of procreation, you're going

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to have a sign that those who come from my promise,

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my way, are my people. And so we read about that.

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And then in Genesis 20, we read how they went

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down into the desert, into the land where King

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Abimelech was ruling. And because Sarah and Abraham

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lied about the identity of Sarah as his wife,

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she was taken into Abimelech's harem. Well, again,

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because God had made promises, he said, nope,

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I am not going to let Abimelech sleep with her

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because my promise is coming through her and

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Abraham. And then in Genesis 21, we read that

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the promised son had come. Isaac was born as

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a miraculous pregnancy because Sarah was still

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barren, but God had fulfilled what he said was

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going to happen, that he would have an offspring

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from him and his wife Sarah, and through that

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son, the whole world would ultimately be blessed.

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So it was a great time, laughter. A time of great

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celebration, spiritual highs, and now we come

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to Genesis 22, which is a major, major scene

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in the story of Abraham's life. It's a huge milestone

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in the growth of his faith where we see obedience

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and sacrifice come together within faith. You

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see, the obedience that God wants us to have

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will often include sacrifice, but it's that order

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that we need to be aware of. It's obedience that

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leads to sacrifice. Because the obedience comes

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when God tells us to do something and if it involves

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sacrifice, if we have the right faith, if our

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faith is grown in the Lord, we're gonna trust

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God and say, okay, I will give up the thing you're

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asking me to give up. I will sacrifice the thing

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you're asking me to sacrifice because I trust

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you. But far too many of us flip it around and

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we wanna say, no, I don't wanna be obedient,

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but here's my sacrifice. I came to church on

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Sunday, Lord, aren't we good? But the problem

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is, is when we live that way, if we live a life

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of sacrifice and then obedience, when the time

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comes where God asks us to give up something

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or sacrifice something truly special to us, we're

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not going to sacrifice it at all because we've

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already laid the groundwork of disobedience.

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The story we're looking at today is how things

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are set in the right order, that as God was increasing

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the faith of this man, Abraham, that he came

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to a place of obeying God even when it was great

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sacrifice because that faith had grown to a point

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where he believed in the impossible. That's what

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we're going to be looking at today and really

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how all of that pertains to our own growth in

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faith, but first we're going to worship God.

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Because he is amazing. God is awesome. God is

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almighty. God is lovely. God is true. Let's pray.

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Father, we love you so much. We're so grateful

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that you sent your son Jesus to die on the cross

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for us, Lord. And whoever we are, whether we're

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young or old or in between, God, the promises

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that you've made to us, the promises of salvation,

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the promises of you being in our lives and taking

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care of us and being our anchor, being our everything,

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Lord, those promises apply to all of us, young

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and old, God. because, Lord, all of us are made

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in your image. We are created by you. Some of

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us today, Lord, in this room may not have yet

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come back to you, come to that place of putting

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faith in you, Lord, and I pray today they would

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understand the depth, the distance that you would

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go, that they would be saved. I pray, Lord, that

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we would all be people who trust in you, God,

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and that as you increase our faith incrementally,

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a little bit each day, God, that we would truly

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become people like Abraham, the father of the

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faith, God, people that would be even able to

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believe in the impossible because you are you.

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We love you, God. We want to praise your name.

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It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right,

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we are in Genesis 22. And recently in the story

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of Abraham, we've been watching that during this

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long 25 years of him having this promise of a

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people and a promise of a land, this promise,

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this... promised blessing that would come to

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him was reiterated over and over and over. And

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as we've watched Abraham grow in his faith, he's

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had many ups and many downs. But with the birth

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of Isaac, the promised son, he was now just reassured,

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right, that he would truly have an offspring

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that would number more than the dust of the earth

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and number more than the stars of the sky. And

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so he was kind of like at the top of the mountain,

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right? He was at the spiritual high that we can

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often find ourselves in where things seem to

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be going well and going right and God's grace

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is just lavishing on us and we're just so blessed

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and so excited for what God is doing. We saw

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that he specifically was kind of reaching a new

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level in his own personal faith at the end of

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chapter 21 where he then called on the Lord as

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the everlasting God. There was this new place

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of understanding in his heart. about God being

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the same yesterday, today, and forever. That

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God is always, and God always is, and God always

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will be, and that his promises will always be

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true. And so, as we come to this place where

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we see Abraham feeling stable and secure and

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really permanent. in his covenant with God and

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his relationship with God, we see that he's just

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settled, right? He's just really settled. In

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Genesis 21, 34, it said, and Abraham lived as

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an alien in the land of the Philistines for many

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days. So everything's great. Everything's going

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well. It's such a wonderful life. And then we

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come to Genesis chapter 22, which I know many

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of you are familiar with, but read with me in

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verse one. It says, after these things, God...

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tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, here

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I am. He answered. Now, the very first verse

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in this chapter, we're told that he's being tested.

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Abraham doesn't know this yet, but I think God

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is telling us this for us, the readers, so that

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as we read the story to come, the shock of what

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God is asking Abraham to do is a little bit...

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cushioned by us. If we didn't know any better,

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and if you didn't know this was a test, after

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studying Abraham's life and seeing these promises

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reiterated and seeing him wait and wait and wait,

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finally the son comes. And then in this chapter,

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we read that God is going to say, okay, now go

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sacrifice him. It might be easy to go, oh, God

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is mean. God is a liar. Is God just playing with

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him? But we're told up front. that God is testing

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Abraham. And right in the beginning here of this

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chapter, it really teaches us an important lesson

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about faith, that growth in faith involves testing.

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Now, wouldn't it be great if we could grow in

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faith without testing? But we are dumb, all right?

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We're sheep, as the Bible describes us, right?

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We will jump right into the hole that God just

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pulled us out of. And so... As we grow in our

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faith and we grow in our trust of him and we

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grow in our being able to rest on his promises,

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we have to go through this type of testing. Now

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the test, the word tested here means to evaluate

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or to try or to prove. The idea here is that

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as God tests our faith, the quality or the strength

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of our faith is proven, right? It's very much

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like how places will test materials to... see

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how strong they are. Just out of curiosity, I

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was like, oh, I wonder how they test the strength

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of steel. You know how they test the strength

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of steel? They put it in a machine that stretches

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it until it snaps. And I thought, I never knew

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steel could stretch. How do you do that? Well,

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you put it in a very strong machine. So what

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they do is they just pull it apart and pull it

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apart and pull it apart and pull it apart until

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it snaps, and that's how they measure the strength

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of steel. Well, Abraham's faith is about to be

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stretched to the utter limit here, and because

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he's going to ultimately pass the test we're

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going to read about, it's why his faith becomes

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legendary. He's recorded in Hebrews chapter 11,

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and why he is the one, his particular faith,

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is the one given the most space there in Hebrews

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11. Growing in faith through being tested, what

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that means is that the way to build faith is

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by exercising faith, right? You wanna build your

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faith, it has to be exercised. You wanna make

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your faith stronger, you have to put it through

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the process. If you don't exercise your faith,

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you don't get any stronger, right? If you have

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a goal in your life and you're like, I wanna

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get in shape, and you don't exercise, guess what?

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You're not gonna get in shape. I know this very

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well, okay? So faith has to be exercised, and

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that exercising is what this testing process

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is all about. It looks like this, very simply

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put. You trust God, you have faith, God acts.

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And then you go, wow, my faith has built a little

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bit. And then you trust God for a little more,

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and God acts. And you go, wow. And on, and on,

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and on, and on. For Abraham, like I just said,

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he was at the height, this faith height. Everything

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was good, right? We often think of testing only

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being in those moments where things are bad,

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right? Things are tough. We're going through

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a trial. We're going through this. We're going

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through this struggle. And don't misunderstand

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me. Those are times of testing. But Abraham's

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being tested here right in the midst of just

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spiritual heights. Granted, this is some years

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after the events of chapter 21, but we're not

00:13:30.570 --> 00:13:32.649
told of anything that passes in between. So what

00:13:32.649 --> 00:13:34.409
we're meant to understand biblically is that

00:13:34.409 --> 00:13:36.929
right after these spiritual heights, he comes

00:13:36.929 --> 00:13:39.730
into this test of chapter 22, which tells us

00:13:39.730 --> 00:13:42.990
that oftentimes spiritual success in our life

00:13:42.990 --> 00:13:47.909
is grounds for further testing. And what I've

00:13:47.909 --> 00:13:49.710
experienced in my life over and over, and maybe

00:13:49.710 --> 00:13:53.049
you've experienced this, is God will test our

00:13:53.049 --> 00:13:55.570
faith to refine it, to evaluate, to prove its

00:13:55.570 --> 00:14:00.289
strength to us because the next thing he's gonna

00:14:00.289 --> 00:14:04.350
ask of us requires that improved faith. And then

00:14:04.350 --> 00:14:07.909
so on and so on and so on. See, really with the

00:14:07.909 --> 00:14:09.649
idea of this, and this is what I've experienced

00:14:09.649 --> 00:14:11.929
in my life, the thing God has for you in five

00:14:11.929 --> 00:14:15.710
years, today you don't have the faith to believe

00:14:15.710 --> 00:14:19.549
he can do. So between now and five years, he's

00:14:19.549 --> 00:14:21.149
going to take you through these incremental faith

00:14:21.149 --> 00:14:22.990
-building steps so that five years from now,

00:14:23.029 --> 00:14:25.070
when you get to that thing and God says, I need

00:14:25.070 --> 00:14:26.970
you to believe me for this, or I'm going to ask

00:14:26.970 --> 00:14:29.370
you to do this, or I'm going to put you through

00:14:29.370 --> 00:14:32.830
this, that you're ready. And that is one of the

00:14:32.830 --> 00:14:35.350
ways God takes care of us in this life, in this

00:14:35.350 --> 00:14:37.889
world. Now, we don't know what's coming down

00:14:37.889 --> 00:14:40.870
the line, but God does. And so God knows where

00:14:40.870 --> 00:14:44.690
we need to be at every point in our life. This

00:14:44.690 --> 00:14:47.389
testing that Abraham's going through is what

00:14:47.389 --> 00:14:52.370
he needs for what's next. Now, although we know

00:14:52.370 --> 00:14:54.570
it was a test, Abraham did not, and so this is

00:14:54.570 --> 00:14:58.049
what God says in verse 2. Take your son, he said,

00:14:58.149 --> 00:15:00.309
your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to

00:15:00.309 --> 00:15:03.490
the land of Moriah. Now, the language there is

00:15:03.490 --> 00:15:07.350
kind of sweet, right? Take your son, your only

00:15:07.350 --> 00:15:10.389
son, whom you love, and go to Moriah. And we're

00:15:10.389 --> 00:15:13.240
like, oh. How beautiful, right? Are they going

00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:16.200
to a father and son retreat? I mean, this is

00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:19.899
so nice. He says your only son. We know that

00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:22.679
Ishmael was his other son, but the idea here

00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:25.019
is that Ishmael and Hagar had been sent away

00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:27.779
some years earlier at this point. There's some

00:15:27.779 --> 00:15:32.059
details later in the story that lead us to believe

00:15:32.059 --> 00:15:35.220
that Isaac is likely a teenager or a young adult

00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:36.559
at this point, but we'll deal with that when

00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:38.840
we get there. But the idea is that for a number

00:15:38.840 --> 00:15:42.850
of years, Isaac has been the light of Abraham's

00:15:42.850 --> 00:15:46.370
life. The joy in his life. The laughter in his

00:15:46.370 --> 00:15:48.309
life. His very name, Isaac, meaning laughter.

00:15:50.009 --> 00:15:54.289
Abraham, after 25 plus years, now had the son

00:15:54.289 --> 00:15:56.230
of the promise born and he was able to raise

00:15:56.230 --> 00:15:58.029
him and father him into just this wonderfully

00:15:58.029 --> 00:16:01.549
beautiful thing. And so, yeah, of course, God.

00:16:02.309 --> 00:16:04.769
My son whom I love, this is wonderful. And then

00:16:04.769 --> 00:16:07.129
God says, and offer him there as a burnt offering

00:16:07.129 --> 00:16:09.250
on one of the mountains that I will tell you

00:16:09.250 --> 00:16:12.940
about. Now, I don't think Abraham was expecting

00:16:12.940 --> 00:16:16.559
that. I don't think he was necessarily expecting

00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:20.879
God to say, hey, the son that I gave you, the

00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:23.139
son that was the one that the promise is gonna

00:16:23.139 --> 00:16:25.679
come through, the one that was specifically not

00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:29.240
the work of the flesh that Ishmael was, yeah,

00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:32.159
I want you to offer him as a sacrifice. Now,

00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:37.279
in Abraham's time, A burnt offering suggested

00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:40.659
something very specific and very gruesome. In

00:16:40.659 --> 00:16:42.460
the time that if you were to offer something

00:16:42.460 --> 00:16:45.820
as a burnt offering, the process went like this

00:16:45.820 --> 00:16:48.259
in summary. First, you would have to slit the

00:16:48.259 --> 00:16:52.320
offering's throat with a knife. Second thing

00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:55.059
you would do is dismember the offering, which

00:16:55.059 --> 00:16:57.899
is separate its limbs from the body and all that.

00:16:58.019 --> 00:17:00.360
And then you would put these things on an altar

00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:03.259
where they would be sacrificed. in fire. They

00:17:03.259 --> 00:17:05.140
would be burnt up. That was a burnt offering.

00:17:05.339 --> 00:17:08.579
And the burning would fully consume every part

00:17:08.579 --> 00:17:11.440
of the offering so that there was nothing left,

00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:16.500
right? Now, doing this to people was not unknown

00:17:16.500 --> 00:17:18.660
to Abraham and in his time because there was

00:17:18.660 --> 00:17:21.420
a lot of pagan cultures that would offer humans

00:17:21.420 --> 00:17:24.740
as burnt sacrifices. And so human sacrifice was

00:17:24.740 --> 00:17:26.660
common among the cultures of the time. And so

00:17:26.660 --> 00:17:30.720
as God says, hey, take your son, your only son

00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:34.450
whom you love, So it's not like God misunderstands

00:17:34.450 --> 00:17:37.710
the relationship Abraham has to Isaac, and he

00:17:37.710 --> 00:17:42.750
says, go do this terrible thing to him. All of

00:17:42.750 --> 00:17:46.369
that would go through Abraham's mind. The cutting,

00:17:46.549 --> 00:17:52.609
all of it. But as we read that, we think, well,

00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:56.089
what was Abraham thinking? What was going through

00:17:56.089 --> 00:18:00.490
his mind? How did he feel about what God just

00:18:00.490 --> 00:18:05.059
told him? Did he object? Did he question the

00:18:05.059 --> 00:18:08.339
Lord? Well, it doesn't tell us any of that. What

00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:10.400
it seems to indicate is that he didn't for a

00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:14.299
moment doubt God's command, that it was God telling

00:18:14.299 --> 00:18:16.980
them this. Verse 3 says, Abraham got up early

00:18:16.980 --> 00:18:19.799
in the morning. That suggested an immediacy to

00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:23.119
his obedience. Right? It wasn't like he was like,

00:18:23.180 --> 00:18:25.160
okay, God, I'll go. It's going to take me a few

00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:27.839
months to get ready. You know, and I've got to

00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:29.400
pack. And then, of course, you know, I mean,

00:18:29.460 --> 00:18:32.269
Mariah, like. I don't know what's there, so I

00:18:32.269 --> 00:18:34.190
gotta pack the right thing. He didn't stall.

00:18:34.410 --> 00:18:38.170
He didn't wait. He didn't drag his feet. God

00:18:38.170 --> 00:18:40.089
said, and he got up to do it. And it says he

00:18:40.089 --> 00:18:41.930
saddled his donkey, took with him two of his

00:18:41.930 --> 00:18:45.250
young men, and his son Isaac. Now what God was

00:18:45.250 --> 00:18:48.589
asking Abraham to do, I imagine from Abraham's

00:18:48.589 --> 00:18:50.970
perspective, went against common sense because

00:18:50.970 --> 00:18:54.430
he was the promised son. Like if he's dead, how

00:18:54.430 --> 00:18:58.779
through his line It might have a people that's

00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:00.339
more than the sand of the sea, more than the

00:19:00.339 --> 00:19:03.039
stars of the air. It went against common sense.

00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:06.380
It went against his natural affections. And then

00:19:06.380 --> 00:19:08.259
on the surface, we might read this and go, how

00:19:08.259 --> 00:19:10.299
offensive for God to say, yeah, your only son,

00:19:10.339 --> 00:19:13.180
the one you love, go take him as a burnt offering.

00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:16.359
And really, it was Abraham's lifelong hope. He

00:19:16.359 --> 00:19:18.799
waited 25 plus years for this kid to come. I

00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:21.279
mean, just, and now God is saying, do this. Now,

00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:23.819
again, nothing is said here about how Abraham

00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:27.170
felt. Nothing is said about his thoughts. We

00:19:27.170 --> 00:19:31.609
have nothing there. But we can surmise, or at

00:19:31.609 --> 00:19:33.470
least safely surmise, that when we look at the

00:19:33.470 --> 00:19:35.930
command where God said, you take your only son,

00:19:36.130 --> 00:19:40.509
the one that you love, you go to Mount Moriah

00:19:40.509 --> 00:19:44.849
and you offer him as a sacrifice. We can imagine

00:19:44.849 --> 00:19:48.009
that some of that joyous laughter that had characterized

00:19:48.009 --> 00:19:50.490
these years with his son Isaac might have been

00:19:50.490 --> 00:19:53.710
dimming a little in his mind. But verse four.

00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:57.099
It says, he split wood for an offering and sent

00:19:57.099 --> 00:19:58.880
out to go to the place God had told him about.

00:19:59.339 --> 00:20:01.579
On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the

00:20:01.579 --> 00:20:04.079
place in the distance. Then Abraham said to his

00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:07.539
young men, stay here with the donkey. The boy

00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:09.900
and I will go over there to worship, and then

00:20:09.900 --> 00:20:12.680
we'll come back to you. Now, if you're the type

00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:14.680
of person that's highlighting, whether it's in

00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:17.000
a paper Bible or in your app or whatever, highlight

00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:18.900
that part. The boy and I will go over there to

00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:22.059
worship, then we will come back to you. Because

00:20:22.059 --> 00:20:24.400
the first part of what he's saying there is a

00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:28.859
little bit vague. You see, these young men that

00:20:28.859 --> 00:20:30.779
had been traveling with Abraham and Isaac, they

00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:33.839
were traveling with all the supplies for a burnt

00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:36.240
sacrifice. And so when they stop, Abraham's like,

00:20:36.299 --> 00:20:38.440
we're going to go over there and worship. Now,

00:20:38.460 --> 00:20:40.220
if he had said to them, we're going to go up

00:20:40.220 --> 00:20:42.539
there and offer a burnt sacrifice, that might

00:20:42.539 --> 00:20:43.980
have raised some questions, as we're going to

00:20:43.980 --> 00:20:47.890
see Isaac has questions later. But when he says,

00:20:47.950 --> 00:20:49.410
the boy and I will go over there to worship,

00:20:49.470 --> 00:20:51.829
then we will come back to you, we know for a

00:20:51.829 --> 00:20:57.029
fact that Abraham was absolutely sincere. He

00:20:57.029 --> 00:20:59.369
truly believed that they were going to go worship

00:20:59.369 --> 00:21:02.549
and they were going to come back. He was convinced

00:21:02.549 --> 00:21:07.589
that after offering Isaac on that altar as a

00:21:07.589 --> 00:21:10.269
burnt offering, that they would return together.

00:21:10.470 --> 00:21:12.299
And how do we know that? Well, this is where

00:21:12.299 --> 00:21:13.880
we have the benefit of the New Testament. In

00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:16.339
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 17 through 19, this

00:21:16.339 --> 00:21:19.539
is what it tells us. By faith, Abraham, when

00:21:19.539 --> 00:21:22.680
he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received

00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:24.819
the promises, and yet he was offering his one

00:21:24.819 --> 00:21:28.539
and only son, the one to whom he had said, your

00:21:28.539 --> 00:21:32.680
offspring will be traced through Isaac. He considered

00:21:32.680 --> 00:21:36.779
God, here's the clincher, he considered God to

00:21:36.779 --> 00:21:38.980
be able to even raise someone from the dead.

00:21:39.670 --> 00:21:41.970
Therefore, he received him back figuratively

00:21:41.970 --> 00:21:50.349
speaking. Abraham so believed God's promise that

00:21:50.349 --> 00:21:53.369
through Isaac, he would have a nation of people

00:21:53.369 --> 00:21:55.750
come from him, a number of people that would

00:21:55.750 --> 00:21:58.329
end up being a blessing to the whole world. He

00:21:58.329 --> 00:22:01.390
was so sure of that, that when God told him,

00:22:01.430 --> 00:22:04.460
hey, take your son. the son you love so much,

00:22:04.539 --> 00:22:06.619
the laughter of your life, the joy of your life,

00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:12.920
and sacrifice him as a burnt offering, that Abraham's

00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:17.720
response was, okay, I guess you're gonna raise

00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:22.720
him from the dead then. That's how strong Abraham's

00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:25.779
faith was here. That all those things that Abraham

00:22:25.779 --> 00:22:27.720
had gone through in his life, building his faith

00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:29.640
and teaching his faith and his stumbles and his

00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:32.180
failures and his growth and everything, he needed

00:22:32.180 --> 00:22:36.559
all of that to come to this point where seemingly

00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:38.859
without question, because we're not told any

00:22:38.859 --> 00:22:41.440
of his struggle or anything, he just got up early

00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:43.799
in the morning, saddled the donkey, let's go,

00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:47.819
son. And that we were told that he was like,

00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:56.099
well, God said through him. God cannot lie. Therefore,

00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:58.839
if God is telling me to offer him as a burnt

00:22:58.839 --> 00:23:02.000
offering and he's going to be fully consumed

00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:05.039
by the fire, God's going to raise him from the

00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:07.980
dead. That's the only possible outcome to this.

00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:11.259
That's what I believe. I'm good. How many of

00:23:11.259 --> 00:23:14.819
us would do that in that situation? Instead,

00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:19.819
at least what I struggle with, is God, I must

00:23:19.819 --> 00:23:25.539
have misheard you. wait a second, God, maybe

00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:30.259
you misspoke because I can't fathom a way for

00:23:30.259 --> 00:23:35.059
this promise to be true if I do this thing in

00:23:35.059 --> 00:23:40.859
obedience. They're incongruent, Lord. And so

00:23:40.859 --> 00:23:44.839
we might argue, we might question, we might do

00:23:44.839 --> 00:23:46.920
the things that a lot of Christians do. We're

00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:49.109
all really good at it, right? When we're sure

00:23:49.109 --> 00:23:51.869
God told us to do, God gave us his promise and

00:23:51.869 --> 00:23:53.829
then God may have told us something that seems

00:23:53.829 --> 00:23:55.650
to be contradictory to that promise and we go,

00:23:55.690 --> 00:23:59.089
well, I'm supposed to go get a multitude of counsel.

00:24:00.549 --> 00:24:03.950
And you want to talk to 50 ,000 people. God said

00:24:03.950 --> 00:24:06.750
multitude. And you know. I mean, there are times

00:24:06.750 --> 00:24:08.869
where we get counsel. It's very good to get counsel.

00:24:08.910 --> 00:24:11.150
That's what the Bible tells us. But there's times

00:24:11.150 --> 00:24:12.710
where we know for a fact what God is telling

00:24:12.710 --> 00:24:15.150
us to do and then what God is calling us to do

00:24:15.150 --> 00:24:18.220
in a... in a way that looks contradictory, and

00:24:18.220 --> 00:24:20.779
yet we struggle. Well, I need to pray about this.

00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:23.440
I need to fast about this. I need to fast about

00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:26.599
praying and then pray about fasting. And I need

00:24:26.599 --> 00:24:28.460
to do everything I could possibly do to delay,

00:24:28.599 --> 00:24:31.839
to delay, to delay, because this can't happen.

00:24:31.859 --> 00:24:36.220
And yet Abraham here is just like, okay. But

00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:39.619
he only came to that place after a life of testing

00:24:39.619 --> 00:24:43.339
and growth in his faith. A life of going through

00:24:43.339 --> 00:24:45.539
circumstances where he was required to trust

00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:47.940
God. And in some of those he did and some of

00:24:47.940 --> 00:24:54.559
those he didn't. Now verse six. We see that his

00:24:54.559 --> 00:24:58.019
growth in faith and his trust in God and his

00:24:58.019 --> 00:25:00.619
promises had led him, just like it leads us,

00:25:00.859 --> 00:25:03.740
to a place of eventually being able to believe

00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:08.140
the impossible. To be assured of the thing we

00:25:08.140 --> 00:25:12.349
hope for because God. Verse 6, Abraham took the

00:25:12.349 --> 00:25:13.970
wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his

00:25:13.970 --> 00:25:17.450
son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the

00:25:17.450 --> 00:25:19.849
knife, and the two of them walked on together.

00:25:20.490 --> 00:25:24.710
So likely the ascent up to the place where God

00:25:24.710 --> 00:25:27.349
had showed him was too steep for the donkey or

00:25:27.349 --> 00:25:29.250
something. We don't know why he got off the donkey,

00:25:29.410 --> 00:25:32.430
but we see that they get off and he gives Isaac

00:25:32.430 --> 00:25:35.049
the wood and the father and the son then proceed

00:25:35.049 --> 00:25:38.470
to the place of sacrifice. Are you guys seeing

00:25:38.470 --> 00:25:41.920
a picture? A prophetical picture that we're starting

00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:48.160
to see here? Christ carried the wood of the cross

00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:51.140
upon his shoulders to the place of sacrifice.

00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:55.400
Verse seven, then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham

00:25:55.400 --> 00:25:58.819
and said, my father. And he replied, here I am,

00:25:58.839 --> 00:26:02.359
my son. Isaac said, the fire and the wood are

00:26:02.359 --> 00:26:05.660
here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?

00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:11.140
Now that's a very good question, isn't it? Hey,

00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:15.079
Dad, you know, we've come all this way. I'm carrying

00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:18.819
all this wood. We're going to do a burnt offering.

00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:25.220
Where's the lamb? Now, we often read this, and

00:26:25.220 --> 00:26:28.759
I've read it in the past, where Isaac is doing

00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:34.779
that. Dad, you're acting suspicious. What's going

00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:38.319
on here? Things aren't adding up. But after it

00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:40.680
told us that, you know, in verse 6, they walked

00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:42.859
on together, it suggests that there had been

00:26:42.859 --> 00:26:46.240
some time of them walking in silence. Maybe Abraham

00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:49.039
was just, you know, grieving. Not that he wasn't

00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:50.299
going to do what God asked him to do, but he

00:26:50.299 --> 00:26:52.200
was just, you know, grieving this broken heart

00:26:52.200 --> 00:26:55.680
over what he was about to do. I don't know all

00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:58.680
the details there. It doesn't tell us. But I

00:26:58.680 --> 00:27:00.700
don't think Isaac's asking the question here

00:27:00.700 --> 00:27:04.039
was one of accusation or one of fear or one of

00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:06.819
doubt. And the reason is this. When he uses the

00:27:06.819 --> 00:27:09.779
phrase, my father, and the Nehemiah responds

00:27:09.779 --> 00:27:13.819
with, my son. In the original language, there's

00:27:13.819 --> 00:27:18.440
a tenderness in those phrases. There's a specialness

00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:21.460
to those phrases that emphasize respect and mutual

00:27:21.460 --> 00:27:26.740
affection and trust, right? So instead of Isaac

00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:29.539
being like. What's going on here? I don't know.

00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:33.680
I'm mistrusting you, Dad. I'm starting to have

00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:36.640
fear that you're going to do something bad. He

00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:39.539
was just simply saying, Dad, I don't understand

00:27:39.539 --> 00:27:43.619
exactly. Can you let me know? But it was in complete

00:27:43.619 --> 00:27:48.799
trust. It wasn't a question about accusing his

00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:51.259
dad. It was a question asked in trust. And so

00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:54.119
Abraham answers in verse 8, God himself will

00:27:54.119 --> 00:27:56.160
provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.

00:27:57.139 --> 00:28:00.140
Then the two of them walked on together. This

00:28:00.140 --> 00:28:02.140
is the turning point of the story, and this is

00:28:02.140 --> 00:28:04.180
the statement that demonstrates where Abraham's

00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:07.400
frame of mind is, where his faith is. His son's

00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:11.160
going, Dad, I trust you. You've taught me a life

00:28:11.160 --> 00:28:15.720
of faith. You've taught me how to trust in the

00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:19.950
Father, and I trust in you, my Father. even though

00:28:19.950 --> 00:28:22.190
this doesn't make sense, Abraham probably has

00:28:22.190 --> 00:28:24.450
taught his son, and I'm sure through evidence

00:28:24.450 --> 00:28:25.970
and stuff, that it's like, look, we don't need

00:28:25.970 --> 00:28:28.849
to know how, we just need to know that God is.

00:28:29.529 --> 00:28:32.730
And so he's like, okay, dad, I trust you, where's

00:28:32.730 --> 00:28:35.390
the lamb? And then Abraham says this phrase,

00:28:35.509 --> 00:28:38.769
God himself will provide. That phrase literally

00:28:38.769 --> 00:28:42.589
is saying, I don't know how, I just know that

00:28:42.589 --> 00:28:49.430
he will, because I trust him. That is a big turning

00:28:49.430 --> 00:28:53.150
point in faith for a lot of us. That is one of

00:28:53.150 --> 00:28:55.690
the milestones of faith that I know God is working

00:28:55.690 --> 00:28:58.470
in every single one of us to get us to at different

00:28:58.470 --> 00:29:04.029
phases in our life. I don't know how, but I know

00:29:04.029 --> 00:29:09.690
he will. Why? Because he said so. But it doesn't

00:29:09.690 --> 00:29:12.630
make sense. Irrelevant. But I don't understand

00:29:12.630 --> 00:29:16.940
how. Irrelevant. This is an important place to

00:29:16.940 --> 00:29:19.339
be in faith because there are gonna be times

00:29:19.339 --> 00:29:24.119
in your life, if you are a person of faith, walking

00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:27.220
in obedience, that then requires sacrifice on

00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:31.079
God's part. You need this type of faith if God

00:29:31.079 --> 00:29:33.039
comes to your life and says, I want you to give

00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:36.880
up or sacrifice or give to me the most important,

00:29:37.019 --> 00:29:40.400
the most precious thing in your life, the thing

00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:44.309
that means the most to you. You see, when we

00:29:44.309 --> 00:29:46.529
lead a life of, yeah, I kind of have faith, but

00:29:46.529 --> 00:29:49.910
it's mostly sacrifice before obedience, it's

00:29:49.910 --> 00:29:51.529
easy because we'll sacrifice things that don't

00:29:51.529 --> 00:29:54.029
mean that much to us and think that that justifies

00:29:54.029 --> 00:29:58.029
the disobedience to the Lord. But when the time

00:29:58.029 --> 00:29:59.549
comes and the Lord says, okay, I want you to

00:29:59.549 --> 00:30:01.630
sacrifice the most important thing in your life.

00:30:02.230 --> 00:30:04.230
I want you to give over to me the most important

00:30:04.230 --> 00:30:06.049
thing in your life. If you're the person who's

00:30:06.049 --> 00:30:09.130
lived a life of using sacrifice to justify disobedience,

00:30:09.150 --> 00:30:10.750
you're definitely not going to sacrifice the

00:30:10.750 --> 00:30:15.289
most important thing in your life. But the other

00:30:15.289 --> 00:30:17.809
way around, God says, be obedient to me. Everyone's

00:30:17.809 --> 00:30:19.490
like, okay, you're gonna raise him from the dead.

00:30:21.089 --> 00:30:23.609
The sacrifices give me the most important thing.

00:30:24.329 --> 00:30:28.170
Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to

00:30:28.170 --> 00:30:31.109
do that? And be in that place where it says,

00:30:31.150 --> 00:30:32.970
God, I don't need to know how, I just trust you

00:30:32.970 --> 00:30:38.009
because you said so. It's silly to the world

00:30:38.009 --> 00:30:39.930
around us. It makes no sense to the world around

00:30:39.930 --> 00:30:44.170
us. It makes no sense to... you. It makes no

00:30:44.170 --> 00:30:47.589
sense to me. But being in a place where you've

00:30:47.589 --> 00:30:49.869
come to the area of your faith where you're like,

00:30:49.950 --> 00:30:54.710
I am at peace. I'm no longer anxious. I'm no

00:30:54.710 --> 00:30:59.589
longer worried. It's just God said so. I don't

00:30:59.589 --> 00:31:01.170
know how and I don't know when, but I don't need

00:31:01.170 --> 00:31:05.190
to. That's a peace that surpasses all understanding.

00:31:06.569 --> 00:31:08.609
That's a piece you're like, I don't even understand

00:31:08.609 --> 00:31:10.990
myself how I'm okay right now because there's

00:31:10.990 --> 00:31:14.769
so many things that seem impossible. This is

00:31:14.769 --> 00:31:17.710
where we find Abraham at in this story, where

00:31:17.710 --> 00:31:19.890
he's finally settled on these things. It's not

00:31:19.890 --> 00:31:21.690
just a declaration of trust. It's an expression

00:31:21.690 --> 00:31:24.970
of hope. And for our sake, it's a prophecy of

00:31:24.970 --> 00:31:27.410
the future. Now, as we're going to see shortly,

00:31:27.589 --> 00:31:29.730
Abraham's declaration of faith right here, where

00:31:29.730 --> 00:31:32.750
he says God himself will provide, it's something

00:31:32.750 --> 00:31:35.089
that rings out loud in our Christian doctrine.

00:31:35.819 --> 00:31:38.980
John Calvin said this. This example, speaking

00:31:38.980 --> 00:31:42.940
of Abraham here, is for our imitation. In such

00:31:42.940 --> 00:31:45.200
straits, the only remedy is to leave the event

00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:48.480
to God in order that he may open a way for us

00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:51.839
when there is none. We pay him the highest honor

00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:54.839
when in affairs of perplexity, we nevertheless

00:31:54.839 --> 00:31:59.740
entirely acquiesce to his providence. Now for

00:31:59.740 --> 00:32:01.140
those of you that said, I don't know what any

00:32:01.140 --> 00:32:05.460
of those words mean. We pay God the highest honor

00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:10.980
when we simply trust him, especially in the most

00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:17.440
confusing, difficult moments of our life. Now,

00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:21.019
we see that in verse six and verse eight, both

00:32:21.019 --> 00:32:23.160
of these verses ended, then the two of them walked

00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:27.759
on together, right? The idea here is we're seeing

00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:29.599
this prophetic picture starting to come into

00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:31.440
greater focus. This is a picture of the cross

00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:35.730
of Calvary. Because when it came to God the Father

00:32:35.730 --> 00:32:40.089
giving of his son as a sacrifice for us, we see

00:32:40.089 --> 00:32:42.190
this picture here in Abraham's story of the father,

00:32:42.210 --> 00:32:44.609
the one offering the sacrifice, and the son who

00:32:44.609 --> 00:32:47.309
is the sacrifice, both together walking towards

00:32:47.309 --> 00:32:51.569
the place of sacrifice. Now verse nine. When

00:32:51.569 --> 00:32:53.710
they arrived at the place that God had told him

00:32:53.710 --> 00:32:56.329
about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged

00:32:56.329 --> 00:32:59.210
the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him

00:32:59.210 --> 00:33:01.230
on the altar on top of the wood. Then Abraham

00:33:01.230 --> 00:33:03.960
reached out. and took the knife to slaughter

00:33:03.960 --> 00:33:08.779
his son. Okay, hold up. This is where I start

00:33:08.779 --> 00:33:12.000
to have a little difficulty here. Like, there's

00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:13.799
some details we pull out of this narrative, right?

00:33:14.380 --> 00:33:19.980
Abraham is, what, 116 to 130 at this point, right?

00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:24.700
His son is 16 to 30, right? That's kind of the

00:33:24.700 --> 00:33:27.559
age range that he could possibly be. But the

00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:30.339
idea is this, is we know Isaac was strong because

00:33:31.069 --> 00:33:33.490
It says that Abraham loaded the wood on him and

00:33:33.490 --> 00:33:35.410
he carried the wood up the ascent to the place.

00:33:35.690 --> 00:33:37.990
The amount of wood required to do this type of

00:33:37.990 --> 00:33:42.589
sacrifice was significant and heavy. So Isaac

00:33:42.589 --> 00:33:44.269
was the one carrying the wood. He was strong.

00:33:45.069 --> 00:33:49.069
We also know that at Isaac's age, contrasted

00:33:49.069 --> 00:33:51.730
with Abraham's age, Isaac was likely a little

00:33:51.730 --> 00:33:56.140
bit faster. A little bit quicker than his dad,

00:33:56.200 --> 00:33:58.779
so it's unlikely that Abraham chased him down,

00:33:58.839 --> 00:34:00.599
wrestled him to the ground, tied him up like

00:34:00.599 --> 00:34:03.059
a calf in a rodeo and threw him on the altar.

00:34:03.900 --> 00:34:08.539
What that tells us is that Abraham didn't do

00:34:08.539 --> 00:34:11.880
this without Isaac's cooperation. It tells us

00:34:11.880 --> 00:34:14.860
that he didn't do this without Isaac's consent

00:34:14.860 --> 00:34:18.460
to, okay, I'll get up there, I'll get on this

00:34:18.460 --> 00:34:24.099
altar, I'll be the sacrifice. Isaac apparently

00:34:24.099 --> 00:34:28.539
had decided to obey his father no matter the

00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:34.619
cost. Just like Abraham was obeying God his father

00:34:34.619 --> 00:34:38.440
whatever the cost. That just shows us a beautiful

00:34:38.440 --> 00:34:41.800
picture of the role, the importance, the effect

00:34:41.800 --> 00:34:44.340
of good parenting, godly parenting has on kids.

00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:49.260
You see, there's sadly a lot of parents, good

00:34:49.260 --> 00:34:53.829
God -fearing Christian parents for some reason,

00:34:53.889 --> 00:34:57.070
seem to think their example in the home isn't

00:34:57.070 --> 00:35:01.349
that important. And so they inadvertently teach

00:35:01.349 --> 00:35:03.690
their kids to profess faith but not to live faith.

00:35:05.210 --> 00:35:08.150
And then when their kids grow up professing faith

00:35:08.150 --> 00:35:11.670
but not living faith, they're like, I'm so surprised.

00:35:11.789 --> 00:35:15.750
Where did they learn that? Well, if you're not

00:35:15.750 --> 00:35:17.429
doing it, the kids aren't going to do it. And

00:35:17.429 --> 00:35:19.630
what we see here is this beautiful picture. At

00:35:19.630 --> 00:35:22.659
least I understand that. Abraham, who was a man

00:35:22.659 --> 00:35:24.280
of faith, who had been growing in faith, living

00:35:24.280 --> 00:35:27.820
in faith, he taught that to his son by example,

00:35:27.820 --> 00:35:31.320
if not by word. And so Isaac is getting up on

00:35:31.320 --> 00:35:34.900
this altar bound, letting his dad do it, letting

00:35:34.900 --> 00:35:37.460
his dad sit him up there, sees his dad grab the

00:35:37.460 --> 00:35:40.460
knife, and again we see another picture of the

00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:44.159
cross of Calvary. Whereas Isaac willingly let

00:35:44.159 --> 00:35:46.980
his dad put him up on that altar, Jesus Christ

00:35:46.980 --> 00:35:50.380
willingly let his dad put him up on the cross.

00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:56.579
Now I can imagine as Abraham is grabbing this

00:35:56.579 --> 00:36:00.519
knife, I don't think he was totally like, okay,

00:36:00.539 --> 00:36:02.840
no big deal. I mean, whether or not he believed

00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:04.619
God was going to raise his son from the dead,

00:36:04.780 --> 00:36:08.199
he was still about to stab his son with a knife

00:36:08.199 --> 00:36:10.199
and do all those horrible things that a burnt

00:36:10.199 --> 00:36:13.699
sacrifice or a burnt offering entailed. So I

00:36:13.699 --> 00:36:16.510
imagine that there was some... difficulty there

00:36:16.510 --> 00:36:19.590
for him. And obeying God, it's not the super

00:36:19.590 --> 00:36:22.010
easy thing because we have this nature that riles

00:36:22.010 --> 00:36:26.869
against obeying God. And that's often the test.

00:36:27.570 --> 00:36:30.269
Are you going to obey God or are you not going

00:36:30.269 --> 00:36:34.090
to obey God? And so, it teaches us something

00:36:34.090 --> 00:36:37.429
very important. That true faith produces an amazing

00:36:37.429 --> 00:36:42.110
obedience. A strong faith produces amazing obedience.

00:36:42.289 --> 00:36:47.380
And as our faith grows, We see ourselves in a

00:36:47.380 --> 00:36:49.920
place of doing things that we thought we would

00:36:49.920 --> 00:36:53.280
never be able to do. That's what faith works

00:36:53.280 --> 00:36:56.539
in our lives. To find peace that we never thought

00:36:56.539 --> 00:36:59.500
we'd be able to have. To step out, to do things

00:36:59.500 --> 00:37:01.300
we never thought we'd be able to do. To give

00:37:01.300 --> 00:37:03.900
up things that God may be calling us to give

00:37:03.900 --> 00:37:07.039
up that we thought, I will never do that. As

00:37:07.039 --> 00:37:10.739
our faith grows, we're able to obey God in greater.

00:37:11.299 --> 00:37:13.460
ways and new ways and stronger ways, and it's

00:37:13.460 --> 00:37:16.860
just amazing. But Abraham was still exercising

00:37:16.860 --> 00:37:20.059
his free will here. He could have stopped with

00:37:20.059 --> 00:37:22.480
the knife, but we see that he's not. He's doing

00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:24.280
the thing God had commanded him to do in verse

00:37:24.280 --> 00:37:27.539
11. But the angel of the Lord called to him from

00:37:27.539 --> 00:37:30.360
heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. He replied,

00:37:30.659 --> 00:37:34.199
here I am. Then he said, do not lay a hand on

00:37:34.199 --> 00:37:36.079
the boy or do anything to him, for now I know

00:37:36.079 --> 00:37:37.940
that you fear God, since you have not withheld

00:37:37.940 --> 00:37:41.909
your only son from me. Now, that might be a difficult

00:37:41.909 --> 00:37:44.110
passage for somebody there because we read this

00:37:44.110 --> 00:37:48.550
phrase, God said, and it's the angel of the Lord,

00:37:48.570 --> 00:37:50.989
and I'll get to that in a little bit. For now

00:37:50.989 --> 00:37:55.090
I know that you fear God. Well, doesn't that

00:37:55.090 --> 00:37:59.429
seem to imply that God didn't know? Right? Is

00:37:59.429 --> 00:38:01.610
God Almighty the omniscient God creator of the

00:38:01.610 --> 00:38:03.429
universe who knows anything? Going, hmm, I'm

00:38:03.429 --> 00:38:07.650
not sure if Abraham believes in me. Here, I'm

00:38:07.650 --> 00:38:10.980
going to have you do this thing. That's probably

00:38:10.980 --> 00:38:19.860
not how God's voice sounds, so. So, who is the

00:38:19.860 --> 00:38:25.099
test for? It's for Abraham. God knows Abraham's

00:38:25.099 --> 00:38:28.440
faith. But digging into this and I'm going, okay

00:38:28.440 --> 00:38:30.380
God, how do I understand this? And looking at

00:38:30.380 --> 00:38:33.480
the Hebrew and going, and it kind of is like

00:38:33.480 --> 00:38:38.860
this. For now I know that you fear God. For now

00:38:38.860 --> 00:38:44.400
I know, That you know that I know. Does that

00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:49.659
make sense? God already knew, but Abraham needed

00:38:49.659 --> 00:38:53.659
to know. It was a part of his growth, his maturing

00:38:53.659 --> 00:38:56.760
in his faith. And then him being able to take

00:38:56.760 --> 00:39:00.780
the step, wow, now he knew that God knew, and

00:39:00.780 --> 00:39:02.800
it was just a part of him growing in his faith.

00:39:04.940 --> 00:39:08.420
And so verse 13, Abraham looked up. and saw a

00:39:08.420 --> 00:39:10.780
ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham

00:39:10.780 --> 00:39:12.699
went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt

00:39:12.699 --> 00:39:18.019
offering in the place of his son. Now, I could

00:39:18.019 --> 00:39:21.840
imagine that when Abraham looked up and he saw

00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:25.380
this ram here, it was the most beautiful, the

00:39:25.380 --> 00:39:28.760
most ramiest ram he had ever seen in his life.

00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:36.650
Like, oh my gosh. Because it meant that God had

00:39:36.650 --> 00:39:43.969
provided for the sacrifice. That his son, his

00:39:43.969 --> 00:39:49.150
only son whom he loved, would be saved. He would

00:39:49.150 --> 00:39:54.110
not have to plunge the knife into his kid. And

00:39:54.110 --> 00:39:56.969
so I imagine that he says he got the ram, took

00:39:56.969 --> 00:39:59.550
the ram, offered it as a burnt offering. And

00:39:59.550 --> 00:40:01.530
get this, remember when he told the two men as

00:40:01.530 --> 00:40:03.550
he was leaving, hey, me and my son, we're gonna

00:40:03.550 --> 00:40:06.130
go up there and worship? and then will return?

00:40:07.710 --> 00:40:09.789
I can only imagine what the worship was in this

00:40:09.789 --> 00:40:11.730
moment as Abraham's there with his arm around

00:40:11.730 --> 00:40:18.190
his son, praising God. Praising God. Now, it

00:40:18.190 --> 00:40:20.269
tells us in verse 14 that Abraham named the place

00:40:20.269 --> 00:40:23.769
the Lord will provide. So today it is said it

00:40:23.769 --> 00:40:26.630
will be provided on the Lord's mountain. That's

00:40:26.630 --> 00:40:28.710
simply a commentary as Moses is writing this.

00:40:28.769 --> 00:40:31.170
He's going, yeah, even in our day, we still remember

00:40:31.170 --> 00:40:33.929
that story and we still call that place by...

00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:36.579
This moniker, it will be provided on the Lord's

00:40:36.579 --> 00:40:41.559
mountain. You see, what God did in bringing the

00:40:41.559 --> 00:40:46.579
son of the promise, what God had done in bringing

00:40:46.579 --> 00:40:50.360
the son of the promise, was now memorialized

00:40:50.360 --> 00:40:54.760
as what God would do. He would bring the son

00:40:54.760 --> 00:40:58.420
of the promise. And it was memorialized by Abraham

00:40:58.420 --> 00:41:01.079
for all future generations. You see, he started

00:41:01.079 --> 00:41:07.219
out by saying, God himself will provide. And

00:41:07.219 --> 00:41:11.679
that was Abraham saying, I don't know how, but

00:41:11.679 --> 00:41:14.920
I know he will. Why? Because he had experienced

00:41:14.920 --> 00:41:16.960
it with the birth of his son Isaac in the past.

00:41:17.960 --> 00:41:21.039
And now he's going, ha, this place, this place

00:41:21.039 --> 00:41:25.500
is God will provide. The Lord will provide. There's

00:41:25.500 --> 00:41:29.760
no question, there's no, you know, the how, he's

00:41:29.760 --> 00:41:37.519
the Lord. That's the how now. How now? The promise

00:41:37.519 --> 00:41:40.280
is now fulfilled more perfectly than I think

00:41:40.280 --> 00:41:43.719
he could ever imagine. Okay, I'm going to go

00:41:43.719 --> 00:41:45.340
to the mountain. I'm going to sacrifice my son.

00:41:45.739 --> 00:41:47.860
I may not get the details. I don't need to get

00:41:47.860 --> 00:41:51.000
the details. I don't know how. I just know that

00:41:51.000 --> 00:41:53.199
God's promise stands firm. And now he's in this

00:41:53.199 --> 00:41:55.860
place, he's like, oh, his faith has grown again.

00:41:56.340 --> 00:42:00.340
Now I know how. Now I'm assured of how. The Lord.

00:42:01.289 --> 00:42:04.170
He's just the Lord, and the Lord cannot lie,

00:42:04.369 --> 00:42:07.210
and the Lord is faithful. You see, God gave the

00:42:07.210 --> 00:42:10.090
promise. God gave the covenants. God gave the

00:42:10.090 --> 00:42:12.210
reiterations. God gave the grace and mercy when

00:42:12.210 --> 00:42:14.409
he stumbled and messed up. God provided the fulfillment

00:42:14.409 --> 00:42:17.750
of his promises, and it was all because he promised

00:42:17.750 --> 00:42:23.889
it. That's it. That's the place of peaceful,

00:42:23.929 --> 00:42:26.130
content faith that God is working us towards

00:42:26.130 --> 00:42:28.960
through this whole life here on this earth. through

00:42:28.960 --> 00:42:30.840
every trial, through every tribulation, through

00:42:30.840 --> 00:42:35.039
every joy, everything, is to be in that peaceful

00:42:35.039 --> 00:42:40.800
place of God is God. I trust him. Now, our faith

00:42:40.800 --> 00:42:45.380
grows, as I said, by exercising faith. And yes,

00:42:45.619 --> 00:42:48.699
God desires obedience rather than sacrifice,

00:42:48.840 --> 00:42:50.780
but there are many times in our lives where obedience

00:42:50.780 --> 00:42:57.369
involves the willingness to sacrifice. where

00:42:57.369 --> 00:42:59.789
God may have said, I'm going to do this in your

00:42:59.789 --> 00:43:01.409
life, and you come to the place where you have

00:43:01.409 --> 00:43:05.110
to give up that dream. And you're going, but

00:43:05.110 --> 00:43:07.610
God, you said this is going to happen. Why are

00:43:07.610 --> 00:43:09.449
you asking me to give it up, give up the dream

00:43:09.449 --> 00:43:11.230
of it happening, to give up the pursuit of it

00:43:11.230 --> 00:43:15.789
happening right now? And God didn't say, I didn't

00:43:15.789 --> 00:43:17.809
ask you to understand. I asked you to have faith

00:43:17.809 --> 00:43:22.579
in me. And so we all have these circumstances

00:43:22.579 --> 00:43:25.539
in our lives where when we're called to give

00:43:25.539 --> 00:43:28.480
our Isaacs, where we're called to give those

00:43:28.480 --> 00:43:30.480
things that are important to us, to give those

00:43:30.480 --> 00:43:33.300
things that are most important to us, most precious

00:43:33.300 --> 00:43:41.159
to us, I could fairly confidently say that every

00:43:41.159 --> 00:43:46.199
parent in this room would struggle. If God said,

00:43:46.280 --> 00:43:48.239
hey, you know that baby, that little boy, that

00:43:48.239 --> 00:43:50.039
little girl that I've given you? Oh, how cute,

00:43:50.119 --> 00:43:53.559
yeah. Go cut them up and make them a burnt offering.

00:43:55.199 --> 00:43:56.800
God, we're gonna have a conversation about that

00:43:56.800 --> 00:44:07.119
one. But it's about God first in our lives. That's

00:44:07.119 --> 00:44:10.800
a tough one. Some of us are like, oh, God first,

00:44:10.820 --> 00:44:13.900
but don't ask me to do anything with my kids.

00:44:14.429 --> 00:44:16.610
God first, don't ask me to do anything with my

00:44:16.610 --> 00:44:18.809
business though. God first, but don't ask me

00:44:18.809 --> 00:44:21.809
to do anything with my marriage. God first, don't,

00:44:21.809 --> 00:44:26.250
no, it's God first in everything. Everything

00:44:26.250 --> 00:44:30.789
in our lives. If God gave the promise, God will

00:44:30.789 --> 00:44:33.429
provide the fulfillment even when it involves

00:44:33.429 --> 00:44:37.550
us believing the impossible. So Abraham's extraordinary

00:44:37.550 --> 00:44:41.210
act of faith, It prompted God to do something

00:44:41.210 --> 00:44:43.309
that he had never really done before. He swore

00:44:43.309 --> 00:44:45.989
an oath by his own name in his own words. Look

00:44:45.989 --> 00:44:48.630
what he says in verse 15. Then the angel of the

00:44:48.630 --> 00:44:50.610
Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven.

00:44:51.250 --> 00:44:55.170
And he said, by myself I have sworn. So for those

00:44:55.170 --> 00:44:56.530
that are going to be like, it's an angel of the

00:44:56.530 --> 00:44:59.750
Lord. It's not God. I don't know if you have

00:44:59.750 --> 00:45:03.949
that voice. But by myself I have sworn. The angel

00:45:03.949 --> 00:45:06.130
of the Lord said, by myself I have sworn. This

00:45:06.130 --> 00:45:12.090
is the Lord's declaration. Who's swearing? God.

00:45:12.090 --> 00:45:14.469
It's the angel of the Lord. This is a theophany,

00:45:14.550 --> 00:45:18.829
Old Testament, physical appearance of God. Or

00:45:18.829 --> 00:45:20.909
it's just a voice, like an audible presence of

00:45:20.909 --> 00:45:23.190
God, because it says he's calling down from heaven.

00:45:23.469 --> 00:45:26.610
Or it's a Christophany. A lot of people think

00:45:26.610 --> 00:45:28.409
that the appearances of the angel of the Lord

00:45:28.409 --> 00:45:30.989
in the Old Testament are specifically a pre -incarnate

00:45:30.989 --> 00:45:35.369
appearance of the Son, God the Son. Whichever

00:45:35.369 --> 00:45:38.519
one you lean on that, it's God. And he says,

00:45:38.559 --> 00:45:40.500
because you have done this thing and have not

00:45:40.500 --> 00:45:42.780
withheld your only son, I will indeed bless you

00:45:42.780 --> 00:45:45.739
and make your offspring as numerous as the stars

00:45:45.739 --> 00:45:48.519
of the sky and the sand of the seashore. Your

00:45:48.519 --> 00:45:50.360
offspring will possess the city gates of their

00:45:50.360 --> 00:45:53.139
enemies and all the nations of the earth will

00:45:53.139 --> 00:45:55.579
be blessed by your offspring because you have

00:45:55.579 --> 00:45:58.159
obeyed my command. Abraham went back to his young

00:45:58.159 --> 00:46:00.619
men and they got up and they went together to

00:46:00.619 --> 00:46:05.139
Beersheba and Abraham settled in Beersheba. So

00:46:05.139 --> 00:46:09.590
it's with this oath. God reiterated this final

00:46:09.590 --> 00:46:14.570
time, the promises. And Abraham had every assurance

00:46:14.570 --> 00:46:17.570
possible from God now that the initial promise

00:46:17.570 --> 00:46:19.829
made to him in Ur, the promise that was made

00:46:19.829 --> 00:46:22.530
when he first visited Canaan, the promise that

00:46:22.530 --> 00:46:25.380
was made when Lot... was given the choice of

00:46:25.380 --> 00:46:28.360
the best land. The promise made under the stars

00:46:28.360 --> 00:46:30.340
when he believed God and it was accounted to

00:46:30.340 --> 00:46:33.260
him for righteousness. The promise that was confirmed

00:46:33.260 --> 00:46:35.800
by God's one -sided covenant when he split the

00:46:35.800 --> 00:46:37.659
animals in half and God passed through the middle

00:46:37.659 --> 00:46:41.139
while Abraham was sleeping. The promise in the

00:46:41.139 --> 00:46:42.980
new names where he said, you're no longer named

00:46:42.980 --> 00:46:45.139
Abram, you're now Abraham and your wife is no

00:46:45.139 --> 00:46:49.400
longer Sarai, she is Sarah. The promise that

00:46:49.400 --> 00:46:51.699
was seen in the person of Isaac himself as he

00:46:51.699 --> 00:46:58.179
was born. To a barren woman and an old man. All

00:46:58.179 --> 00:47:00.340
those promises, there was absolute assurance

00:47:00.340 --> 00:47:06.219
in Abraham's life. Why? Because God, again, came

00:47:06.219 --> 00:47:10.320
through with his promises. And the oath was secured

00:47:10.320 --> 00:47:14.940
by God himself, right? By myself, I swear. You

00:47:14.940 --> 00:47:17.239
know, when we were kids, and we used to say,

00:47:17.300 --> 00:47:22.219
I swear by my mom. Right? Because mom's the ultimate

00:47:22.219 --> 00:47:25.039
authority when you're a kid. I swear by my dad,

00:47:25.199 --> 00:47:27.599
you know. Because it's like, I'm gonna appeal

00:47:27.599 --> 00:47:29.820
to this greater power, this greater authority,

00:47:29.920 --> 00:47:32.280
this thing of greater value, so that you believe

00:47:32.280 --> 00:47:34.139
I'm telling the truth. Well, God is the superior

00:47:34.139 --> 00:47:36.360
power. God is the greatest value, so he can't

00:47:36.360 --> 00:47:41.260
swear by anything greater than himself. So he

00:47:41.260 --> 00:47:43.599
swears by himself. He secures this promise by

00:47:43.599 --> 00:47:46.099
his own character, one who cannot lie. And again,

00:47:46.320 --> 00:47:50.860
Abraham's explains, Abraham's, wow. Hebrews explains

00:47:50.860 --> 00:47:55.480
the gravity of this. Hebrews 6, 13. For when

00:47:55.480 --> 00:47:57.980
God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no

00:47:57.980 --> 00:47:59.820
one greater to swear by, he swore by himself.

00:48:00.099 --> 00:48:02.780
I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply

00:48:02.780 --> 00:48:05.300
you. And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham

00:48:05.300 --> 00:48:09.579
obtained the promise. You see, again, there's

00:48:09.579 --> 00:48:11.280
great encouragement in the story for us that

00:48:11.280 --> 00:48:13.239
God always keeps his word. God keeps every word.

00:48:13.280 --> 00:48:15.440
Every promise of God is kept, no matter what.

00:48:17.840 --> 00:48:19.960
From this point on for the rest of your life,

00:48:20.139 --> 00:48:25.119
if you ever question God's promises in your life,

00:48:25.300 --> 00:48:28.940
if God has spoken something in your life and

00:48:28.940 --> 00:48:32.320
then he's asking you to give something up that

00:48:32.320 --> 00:48:34.360
seems to contradict with that promise, if you're

00:48:34.360 --> 00:48:37.960
ever in that position, go back to this story.

00:48:39.139 --> 00:48:41.159
Read this story and find all the assurance you

00:48:41.159 --> 00:48:45.739
need about that thing you're hoping for. That

00:48:45.739 --> 00:48:48.869
you'd have the faith to go, God said, it is true.

00:48:49.289 --> 00:48:51.190
This applies to all his promises, right? You

00:48:51.190 --> 00:48:53.570
get into the word and you read what God says,

00:48:53.670 --> 00:48:58.550
hey, husbands be this and wives be this. And

00:48:58.550 --> 00:49:00.829
this is how your life will turn out and you do

00:49:00.829 --> 00:49:04.010
it. And it turns out that way. You're like, oh,

00:49:04.030 --> 00:49:06.010
hey, God was right. God knew what he was talking

00:49:06.010 --> 00:49:09.550
about. Hey, parents, do this. Don't do this.

00:49:09.550 --> 00:49:11.829
And you do it. God's promises are true every

00:49:11.829 --> 00:49:14.920
time. In our generosity, God says, trust me,

00:49:14.920 --> 00:49:17.000
their finances, do this, give generously, da

00:49:17.000 --> 00:49:19.739
-da -da -da -da. And we're going, whoa, hold

00:49:19.739 --> 00:49:23.420
up, God. No, we're to trust him. We're to put

00:49:23.420 --> 00:49:27.039
faith in him to say his word is true. When it

00:49:27.039 --> 00:49:29.460
comes to how we work and how we live and how

00:49:29.460 --> 00:49:33.900
we serve and everything, his word is true. We

00:49:33.900 --> 00:49:36.199
don't pick and choose or shouldn't pick and choose

00:49:36.199 --> 00:49:39.900
the promises that we're going to have absolute

00:49:39.900 --> 00:49:42.460
faith in. Because then we're missing out on his

00:49:42.460 --> 00:49:45.460
blessing. It's every promise that we put our

00:49:45.460 --> 00:49:48.420
faith in. So of course our life of faith is up

00:49:48.420 --> 00:49:50.539
and down, full of success, full of failure, full

00:49:50.539 --> 00:49:53.139
of challenge, of difficulty, but it all prepares

00:49:53.139 --> 00:49:56.840
us for the thing that is next. God may have not

00:49:56.840 --> 00:50:00.739
asked you to give up your Isaac yet. That doesn't

00:50:00.739 --> 00:50:04.699
mean don't prepare. God's taking you through

00:50:04.699 --> 00:50:07.199
an incremental faith process. process, a faith

00:50:07.199 --> 00:50:09.059
journey here to prepare you for what he has.

00:50:09.219 --> 00:50:12.639
And yeah, we grow in faith because we believe

00:50:12.639 --> 00:50:15.219
God. We grow in faith as we believe his bare

00:50:15.219 --> 00:50:17.980
word. And then when we do, he tests us by stretching

00:50:17.980 --> 00:50:19.619
our faith. And then our faith is stretched so

00:50:19.619 --> 00:50:21.239
that it can grow to greater heights than it's

00:50:21.239 --> 00:50:24.679
ever been at before. Yes, there will always be

00:50:24.679 --> 00:50:28.199
valleys next to those high places. Yay, God,

00:50:28.300 --> 00:50:31.579
I'm trusting you. I'm faithless. And guess what?

00:50:31.619 --> 00:50:34.559
God's in the valley too. He's there to pick you

00:50:34.559 --> 00:50:36.519
up. He's there to dust you off. He's there to

00:50:36.519 --> 00:50:39.219
say, hey, patiently and loving, I'm waiting,

00:50:39.340 --> 00:50:42.940
let's go, I'm working. But he grows our faith

00:50:42.940 --> 00:50:46.360
incrementally so that ultimately, ultimately

00:50:46.360 --> 00:50:49.239
in this life when God calls us to a place or

00:50:49.239 --> 00:50:52.579
puts before a call in front of us that is absolutely

00:50:52.579 --> 00:50:54.800
the most difficult, terrible thing we could possibly

00:50:54.800 --> 00:50:57.380
ever imagine, that we will give it over to God

00:50:57.380 --> 00:51:04.170
even if the impossible has to happen. Why? Because

00:51:04.170 --> 00:51:08.929
he's God. Now, the story is not just about God's

00:51:08.929 --> 00:51:12.769
command to sacrifice Isaac and be a test of Abraham's

00:51:12.769 --> 00:51:15.489
faith. It's not just a wonderful example for

00:51:15.489 --> 00:51:18.190
us to follow of obedience. But this whole story

00:51:18.190 --> 00:51:21.489
is a foreshadowing, a prophetical foreshadowing

00:51:21.489 --> 00:51:25.710
of God's sacrifice of his own son, Jesus Christ,

00:51:25.750 --> 00:51:28.849
on the cross. And so as we close our service

00:51:28.849 --> 00:51:32.900
here and move into the communion time here, You

00:51:32.900 --> 00:51:35.480
know, we have to remember that we do communion

00:51:35.480 --> 00:51:37.440
because Jesus said, do this in remembrance of

00:51:37.440 --> 00:51:41.460
me. Remembrance of him. Remembrance of who he

00:51:41.460 --> 00:51:44.139
was and what he did. We're called to take communion

00:51:44.139 --> 00:51:46.900
together as the body of Christ to remember that

00:51:46.900 --> 00:51:50.159
God the Father gave his only son in atonement

00:51:50.159 --> 00:51:53.159
for the sins of all mankind. To remember that

00:51:53.159 --> 00:51:56.059
Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the promises

00:51:56.059 --> 00:51:59.159
made to Abraham, that all nations would be blessed

00:51:59.159 --> 00:52:02.159
through Abraham's line. And all nations are through

00:52:02.159 --> 00:52:04.079
Jesus Christ because he's the one that died to

00:52:04.079 --> 00:52:09.199
pay the price for everyone's sin. In Abraham's

00:52:09.199 --> 00:52:12.039
story, we see one of the greatest acts of faith

00:52:12.039 --> 00:52:14.440
ever demonstrated here, but we also see the prophetic

00:52:14.440 --> 00:52:18.119
promise of the Savior. And that's what we remember

00:52:18.119 --> 00:52:20.679
in celebrating communion. You see, Abraham is

00:52:20.679 --> 00:52:23.739
told, take your son whom you love. New Testament

00:52:23.739 --> 00:52:25.539
tells us that God so loved the world that he

00:52:25.539 --> 00:52:28.800
gave his only son. Abraham is told to sacrifice

00:52:28.800 --> 00:52:31.840
him there as a burnt offering. The New Testament

00:52:31.840 --> 00:52:34.840
tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that Christ, who

00:52:34.840 --> 00:52:37.639
is God's son, died. He was sacrificed for our

00:52:37.639 --> 00:52:40.900
sin. Abraham had Isaac carry the wood for his

00:52:40.900 --> 00:52:42.480
burnt offering. We already talked about that.

00:52:43.440 --> 00:52:48.340
Christ carried his cross. Isaac asked, where

00:52:48.340 --> 00:52:51.380
is the lamb for the burnt offering? Well, John

00:52:51.380 --> 00:52:54.519
the Baptist said, look, behold the lamb of God.

00:52:57.480 --> 00:52:59.800
He comes to take away the sins of the world.

00:52:59.920 --> 00:53:02.500
Abraham answered Isaac, hey, God himself will

00:53:02.500 --> 00:53:06.300
provide a lamb. Revelation tells us that Jesus

00:53:06.300 --> 00:53:10.119
is the lamb who was slain. Isaac acted in obedience

00:53:10.119 --> 00:53:13.739
to his father. Jesus did the same thing in the

00:53:13.739 --> 00:53:16.119
garden of Gethsemane. God, if there's any other

00:53:16.119 --> 00:53:19.920
way, I vote for that, but not my will, your will

00:53:19.920 --> 00:53:22.960
be done. And then Isaac, Hebrews tells us, was

00:53:22.960 --> 00:53:27.079
figuratively resurrected. as Abraham had given

00:53:27.079 --> 00:53:29.679
him over and said, God's gonna raise him from

00:53:29.679 --> 00:53:30.920
the dead. That's the only way the problem's gonna

00:53:30.920 --> 00:53:32.659
be fulfilled. I have full faith and trust in

00:53:32.659 --> 00:53:36.579
that. And then Abraham received him back, figuratively.

00:53:36.719 --> 00:53:38.820
And we know that Jesus Christ, the son of God,

00:53:38.880 --> 00:53:41.980
was buried and literally resurrected on the third

00:53:41.980 --> 00:53:46.460
day. You know, in John 8, 56, Jesus said to the

00:53:46.460 --> 00:53:50.579
Jews, your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my

00:53:50.579 --> 00:53:55.639
day. And then he says, he saw it. and was glad.

00:53:57.000 --> 00:54:00.860
He saw the day of Jesus. How? We go back to Genesis

00:54:00.860 --> 00:54:02.920
22 and we say, what did Abraham see that made

00:54:02.920 --> 00:54:07.340
him glad? The ram caught in the thicket. That's

00:54:07.340 --> 00:54:12.199
what made him glad. He saw the substitute that

00:54:12.199 --> 00:54:16.000
his son would live. And that is the point of

00:54:16.000 --> 00:54:18.840
all of this, that in that, Abraham saw the day.

00:54:20.099 --> 00:54:22.619
The day that God's son would come to be the substitute

00:54:22.619 --> 00:54:24.900
for all of us. The one who would die in our place.

00:54:25.099 --> 00:54:28.340
The one who would take the punishment so that

00:54:28.340 --> 00:54:30.500
we could be set free. That is what we remember

00:54:30.500 --> 00:54:31.320
in communion.