[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Now take your Bible and go with me to Genesis chapter 21. Genesis chapter 21, and I might be in competition with rain, so I hope you'll listen.
[0:15] Now, for the sake of time, I can't read to you everything I'd like to read, so if you have your Bible open, I'm going to skip through the passage and tell you the story and have you mark certain parts of it that are crucial for you to understand tonight.
[0:27] I'm going to cover Genesis 21, leaving off where Pastor Frick left off on Thursday night, down through the end of chapter 22. I want to share with you seven truths that I think will work in our lives.
[0:40] Faith trusts God with all of it. That's what I call it. Faith trusts God with all of it. Starting in Genesis 21, 22, the Bible says this. It came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the chief captain of his host, spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest.
[1:01] Why don't you underline that? These two men, the king and his ruler, they knew that God was with Abraham, and they asked him in verse 23 to be honest and to not deal falsely with him.
[1:14] And in verse 24, Abraham swears, and he said, I'll be honest and I'll deal with you. That's important. If you remember, Abraham tricked Abimelech once before.
[1:26] You recall he came before him and he said she was his sister and she was his wife. And then God told Abimelech, that's another man's wife. What are you doing? And so Abimelech says, hey, do you mind?
[1:37] I figured out now God's with you. Do you mind working at being honest with me? And then later on, Abimelech's guys, they steal a well that Abraham has dug.
[1:48] And Abraham in verse 25 reproves him. And he says, hey, you can't be playing dirty either. But in verse 27, he learns as he deals with him, he takes some sheep and oxen and he gives them to Abimelech.
[2:00] And in verse 30, he says that they will be a witness between them. And then in verse 33, Abraham worships God. Abraham worships God. He goes there and he calls on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.
[2:14] And that gets you to chapter 22. And in chapter 22 is that most famous story that you probably heard preached many times. But it's a story where God does tempt or test, tempt or test Abraham.
[2:29] And verse 21, chapter 21, verse 1. And in chapter 22, verse 2, he says, will you give me what you love? Will you give me what you love?
[2:41] The son that you love, will you give him to me? And he prepares everything for the sacrifice. He gets a knife and he prepares the wood. And he doesn't ask anybody else to do any of that work for him.
[2:53] And verse 4, on the third day, similar to what our father went through on the third day, Jesus dead and buried. Abraham looked up his eyes and saw the place afar off.
[3:05] And he went to worship God. He went to worship God. In verse 5, it says, go yonder and worship. He said, I'm the lad. We'll go yonder and worship and come again to you.
[3:18] By the way, the lad in the story is somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 or 35 years of age. The word lad here doesn't refer to a small child. He's a grown man.
[3:28] He's a grown man that will allow his dad to take him up on a mountain and lay him on an altar, tie his hands up, raise an eye for him, ready to plunge it into his heart. Just like, just like God's son went up on a cross and allowed himself to be placed on a cross and die for us.
[3:46] In chapter 22 and verse 7, Isaac says to his dad, where's the lamb? We have the fire. We have the wood. We have everything we need.
[3:56] Where's the lamb? And in verse 8, one of the most famous statements you could find in your Bible. The Bible says, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.
[4:08] God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. And later on, God, after it's all over, of course, God doesn't allow him to sacrifice his son. And after it's all over, in verse 12, he said, you didn't withhold your son, your only son.
[4:22] You gave me what you loved most on this planet and this world. You gave it to me. And on that mountain, Abraham said, verse 14, he called that the name of that, it says, Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh.
[4:38] Because it means in the mount of the Lord, it shall be seen. I saw God. God saw me. I learned some great things. And God says, because you have offered your son, I will bless you that you can be a blessing.
[4:55] A tremendous two chapters. I want to give you about seven things that you might write down, seven things that you might consider with me, if you would, that I think will make a big deal in our lives.
[5:05] Father in heaven, I pray that you work. I pray that you magnify yourself. I thank you for your people. And I mostly thank you for your word. I thank you that you've given us a Bible with such great truths.
[5:16] And God, there's more in here than we can cover in a lifetime of going through it over and over again. And we cover so much at a time. I just pray, God, you'd help it to sink in, help it to get into our hearts, help us to trust you.
[5:28] And I'll give you great glory and honor for all that you do as you work in our lives. In Jesus' name, amen. First thing I want you to write down, first thing I want you to look at is this. He had an unquestionable testimony.
[5:41] Abraham had an unquestionable testimony. If you go back to Genesis chapter 21 and verse 22, the Bible said, It came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the chief captain of his armies, of his host, spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest.
[5:59] God is with thee in all that thou doest. You understand, they knew God was with Abraham. They knew that God was with Abraham.
[6:09] And I would honestly, if I didn't have to preach the whole Bible, if I could just plant myself, I'd stop right here and say to you, isn't it amazing that people around him knew he was God's man?
[6:22] Isn't it amazing that there was evidence? And I would question you, do people know you're a Christian? You know, in the southeast part of the United States, you can't put a fish on the back of your car and expect everybody to know you're a Christian.
[6:34] And you can't put a little, you can't put a sticker on there that says you go to Vision Baptist Church and expect it. The question is, is there evidence that God is at work in your life? I mean, the thought that he could say, God is with thee.
[6:47] We know God's with you, Abraham. We can see that God is with you, Abraham. There's no doubt that God is with you. God is working in you and in your life. Does your life exhibit a work of God in your character, your customs, your conduct, your conversation?
[7:04] Is God at work in your life? Now, we could stop right there. That's message enough. I'm taking you through the life of Abraham right now as a brand new nation gets started. And I would just like to ask you if you would realize that you are a testimony.
[7:19] People know that you claim to know Jesus. Jesus, people know, even if you're a 007 Christian, even if you're a secret agent Christian, people have picked up on the fact that you go to church.
[7:29] People in your neighborhood realize on Sunday you drive out and go to church. People are watching you. We want them to know that God is with us, that God is working in our lives, that God is showing his power in our lives.
[7:42] Now, I wanted to take the time, but I'm not going to. I want to take the time to show you even how he handled the disagreement. Just because you're a man of God didn't mean you couldn't go speak to Abimelech and say, Wait a minute, buddy. Wait a minute.
[7:53] You did wrong. Your guys did wrong. He went straight to the person and he talked to him. I'd like to have gone through a lot of what happened there. He went straight to him. He even gave an offering. In other words, he handled things in a professional way.
[8:04] You have a testimony. Be sure to live up to it. Now, get to chapter 22 with me, the main chapter. Chapter 22. I'd like you to notice this. Write this down.
[8:15] You should expect testing from the Lord. You should expect testing from the Lord. Genesis chapter 22, verse 1. It came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham and said unto him, Abraham, and he said, Behold, here I am.
[8:34] God did tempt Abraham. You should underline that. God did tempt Abraham. We need the test to know where we are. We need the test to know where we are.
[8:47] Tempting and testing are the same word. They're the same thing. The tempting is testing. Satan uses tempting to cause you to fall. God uses tempting or testing to prove you and to show who you are and where you are.
[9:02] God will never bring about a test until you are ready to pass the test. God will never bring about a test until you are ready to pass the test.
[9:13] And so it's kind of like, you know, when they're going to put a car on a test, they're going to bring a car out and show you what it can do.
[9:26] They're going to put it out. They've already tested that car. They already know where that car is. They already know what that car can do. And so when they're saying, we're going to put our car to the test, what they're saying is, we already tested it in the background.
[9:37] We know what it can do. We're not going to put it to a test. When God brings you to a test, God knows you are able to deal with the test. He would never give you a test you could not pass.
[9:50] And testing comes in stages, and God is constantly moving you through tests. God is constantly moving you through tests. Look, if you would, with this. The Bible says in chapter 22, verse 1, and it came to pass.
[10:05] It came to pass. A bunch of stuff's already happened, and now I'm to chapter 22 and verse 1. A bunch of stuff's already happened, and now I'm to chapter 22 and verse 1. And notice what happened.
[10:16] Do you remember, this test is coming 57 years later after God began working in Abraham's life. God's been working in Abraham's life for 57 years before we get to Genesis chapter 22.
[10:29] Abraham had already passed the test when he left his home. You remember one day God said to him, hey, leave your house. And he got up and he left his home. He failed the test when God told him, hey, God sent a famine in the land, and Abraham runs down to Egypt to see if he can't get help from the world.
[10:46] He uses self to make a decision. He passed the test when he said goodbye to Lot. He passed the test when he refused to get rich at the hands of the king of Sodom.
[10:57] He failed the test when his wife said to him, why don't you sleep with Hagar and see if you can't help me, we can't help God get his will done. He passed the test when he sent Ishmael away.
[11:08] Every test prepared Abraham for something greater. Would you look this way just a second? If you are going to be used of God, you are going to go through test after test after test.
[11:19] None of us are born strong enough. None of us are born right enough. None of us are born with a character to be used of God. He has to build in us what he needs in us to make us the man we ought to be.
[11:31] So Abraham comes to a test in chapter 22. God tempts Abraham. God puts him to a test. God knows he can pass the test because God's been working in his life. But Abraham needs to know.
[11:43] You don't have to worry about it. God already knows. You do know God knows how many hairs are on your head. Amen? So God's not up in heaven saying, I just wonder if he's going to make it or not. God's not up in heaven saying, I just don't know if he's going to hang in there or not.
[11:55] That's never the question. God's knowledge is not the question. It's your knowledge. I need a test to see if I can pass it. I need a test to see if I've learned my material. I need a test to see if I'm growing.
[12:07] So he puts him to a test. God is busy building you right now. God is busy building every one of us right now.
[12:17] By the way, I'm 58 years old and I've been full-time minister over 40 years and I can tell you something. God's not through building me yet. He'll be through with me when he puts me in the ground. He'll be through with me when he puts me in the ground or he takes me out in the rapture.
[12:30] God is still working on us. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 13. Write that down in the margin of your Bible. There had no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.
[12:43] But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it.
[12:54] Do you understand? Would you look this way a second? Get your testings and trials, your things going wrong in your life, the things where it's making it hard for you to trust God, the things where it's like going up on a mountain and laying your son out there and giving the most loved thing you have to God, is God working in you, always knowing you're able to deal with it, always knowing that what you're going through, he's at work in.
[13:19] Testing is when God's growing you. Temptation is from wrong desires in us. Testing is when God is growing you. Temptation is when we have wrong desires in us.
[13:31] Look at your Bible at James chapter 1, if you would. James chapter 1, verse 12. James chapter 1 and verse 12. You realize that God doesn't test us or tempt us in the way to make us fall.
[13:43] I want you to understand, get this straight, God does not tempt us or test us to make us fall. John, the Bible says in James chapter 1 and verse 12, Blessed is the man that endureth temptation.
[13:58] For when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.
[14:13] Stop. We will keep reading in a second. So you might be saying, well, he said he tempted him over there. It is the same word. The difference is the motive behind the test, the motive behind the temptation.
[14:24] The difference is Satan would tempt you to make you fall. God would test you to prove you have learned and grown. God would never allow you even a temptation to bring you down.
[14:34] Look at verse 13. Let no man say when he's tempted, I'm tempted of God. Verse 14. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.
[14:46] Now, when I was a young preacher a long time ago, when I was as old as Ed, I had a message I preached called Dr. Temptation. And I used to show them that actually any time you had a temptation to do anything wrong, it was like God sent a doctor to show you where you were weak.
[15:05] And the doctor came to you and he began, you ever, I took my daughter Stephanie into the doctor in Peru. And she was having, I think it was Steph, can't remember for sure. One of the kids was having major problems in their stomach area.
[15:16] And they were hurting and we didn't know if it was appendicitis or whatever. And so we went to the doctor. And they lay her down on the table. And then they, you know, it's always so funny. They're hurting all over. And the doctor did like this.
[15:27] He pushed. And she goes, oh. He said, does that hurt? Well, of course it hurts. And then he pushed it up. Oh. And finally he pushed one place and she went, oh. He said, oh, that's where it really hurts.
[15:40] Now he knows where he needs to work. You get the idea? And you know what God's doing? God's saying, hey, you got some junk in your life that's bothering you. You still got some kind of addiction to porn.
[15:50] That's not me tempting you to fall into porn. God would never tempt you to fall into porn. You got some addiction to money. You got some addiction to some other lust or desire. And what's happening is, look at what it says in verse 14.
[16:02] Every man is tempted when he is drawn away. Would you read these next three words with me? Of his own lust. Would you read that with me? He's tempted and drawn away. Of his own lust.
[16:14] And enticed. It's because I have a desire I ought not to have. Then when lust hath conceived. When my desire. And lust is nothing more than desire. But it's a desire.
[16:25] In this context here, it's a desire that's not pleasing to God. And when I have a desire that doesn't please God. It conceives and brings forth sin. And when it's finished, it brings forth death.
[16:36] Do not err, my beloved brethren. Stop and listen to what I'm about to say to you. God's tempting Abraham. But he knows exactly what's going to happen. There's always a way of escape. He knows. There's a way of escape.
[16:47] There's a lamb already waiting on him up on top of the hill. He knows Abraham's going to pass that test. He did not send Abraham up there to see him fail. He sent Abraham up there to show Abraham. Abraham, you have really grown to love me more than you love anything.
[16:58] And I already know that, but you need to know that. So God's putting you through tests. God's putting you through tests. You've been going through some junk in your life.
[17:09] And junk you thought would make you quit on God. And junk that made you think you would doubt God and walk away. But every time you've been able to get up and pass that test, and you've been saying, I would have thought I'd have fallen by now, but God's helped me through it.
[17:23] Trials that come from the Lord are preparation for us to do something. Not all believers face the same testings and trials. You ever notice this? There's no mention of Lot going through this.
[17:37] Lot never got past the temptations of the world and money and material things. Trials and testings are almost like compliments because God's showing that he trusts us and that we will be victorious.
[17:51] Now, can I just stop here? I want you to know you should get ready for trials. And if you're going to serve God, and everybody's going to serve God, you need to know something. God's going to run you through the ringer.
[18:01] God is going to run you through the ringer. And by the way, if he doesn't run you through the ringer, you didn't pass test one. George Mueller was famous for saying this.
[18:15] When he would be going through a major trial, he would have prayer, and he would say, God, don't let this get over until I learn whatever lesson you're trying to teach me.
[18:27] God, help me to learn from this trial and this problem. You might be having money problems. You might be having marital problems. You might be having health problems. It doesn't matter what you're going through.
[18:39] You can mark this one down. God does not want you to fail. If you're a born-again Christian, God does not want you to fail. God is helping you grow and mature. Grow and mature.
[18:51] Lot never gets into those tests. But Abraham seems to go from one test to another test to another test. Abraham is God's working in Abraham's life. Is God at work in your life? Are you allowing God to do a work in your life?
[19:03] Those tests are almost like compliments. They're almost like compliments. You know, basically, it's like this. It's like God walks in a room, and let's just pretend he's a teacher, and he looks at you, and he says, Hey, you can take the first grade test.
[19:14] And he looks over here at another guy and says, I'm going to give you a 10th grade test. And you're like, man, why is he being so mean when that guy give him a 10th grade test? He's not being mean. He knows he's smarter than you are. He knows he's farther along than you are.
[19:27] He knows he's grown and matured more than you have. And if God's going to use us, we need to understand something up front right now. That God is going to constantly test us. Do we love God more than we love whatever?
[19:39] Are we putting him first? Genesis chapter 22, if you would. Genesis chapter 22, if you would. And I'm going to skip that part and get down to verse 2. Let's go to verse 2.
[19:50] Will you give God what you love? I want you to answer a question tonight. That's the big question that takes place on that big mountain of Moriah there that day. He said, Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest.
[20:05] Now, that's a bunch of redundancy, isn't it? But you see what he's saying to him? He's saying to him, hey, take your son. That's all he needed to say. Take your son. But look how he does it.
[20:16] He even, I mean, it's almost like he's saying, let me remind you. Take your son. You know, the only one you got. Hey, not only the only one you got. Take the one you love.
[20:26] Take the one you love. Take the one you love. And get into the land of Moriah and offer there a burnt offering above the mountains, which I will tell thee of. All of Abraham's hopes and aspirations hang on Isaac. Isaac is God's promise and an answer to prayer for Abraham.
[20:40] There's absolutely nothing more important in the world to Abraham than Isaac. And God says, take the absolute most precious possession you have.
[20:54] Take everything. Abraham would have rather died than lose Isaac. And God said, take Isaac and climb that mountain and offer him as a sacrifice.
[21:07] Now, for the sake of time, I won't take the time to show you. You know, this is a picture of Christ. You know that it's Jesus carrying his own cross up a hill. You know, it is Jesus willingly laying down when he's old enough to fight him off.
[21:20] Abraham's an old man. Abraham's an old man. Abraham's an old man. But Isaac's a young man. Isaac could have easily walked away and said, you're not sacrificing me. But Isaac laid down and let his daddy tie him up, raising up to kill him.
[21:33] And Jesus went to the cross willingly. And God took him to the cross willingly loving us. And Jesus dying for us. I'd like you to notice as I say that as you look at verse 2.
[21:45] I'd like you to notice this. That worship is associated with the sacrifice. You see, real worships when you give to God what's precious to you.
[21:57] Real worships when you give to God what's precious to you. Look, if you would, at verse 5. Chapter 22 and verse 5. Abraham said to his young men, abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you.
[22:14] Now, I need you to look this way and listen to me a second. Listen to what I'm about to tell you. You think worship means singing songs. It's always amazing to me. When Ed gets up to lead a song and everybody's singing it, it's like, that's worship time.
[22:27] Now here comes Bible study time. Well, you want to, here comes offering time. Ed, always got to have money around here. Always taking up money. You want to hear a wild one? Real worship costs you.
[22:40] It's pretty cheap to sit in the seats. And say amen and hallelujah and let her go and not give. Abraham, take your son.
[22:51] Come, climb the hill and sacrifice your son. When Abraham turns to his servants, he said this. We're going up in the mountain and we're going to worship. By the way, you know, let's just take it that he knew there was a lamb waiting and he knew his son wasn't going to die.
[23:08] He was still going to sacrifice an animal. There was an offering made. And by the way, there were all kind of rules about the offering that was made when you're talking about an animal. It had to be a firstborn. It had to be of a certain quality.
[23:19] You didn't go out there and look around and say, hey, I got five sheep and one of them is crippled and ugly. And ain't nobody going to buy them. I'll sacrifice that one. God wouldn't take that one. God wanted one that cost you.
[23:32] Because what you're saying is, I'll give what I love. Because you're worth what I love. Are you ready for this?
[23:43] That's what makes people so upset in church when it's offering time. You know what makes it hard to give the money in the offering plate? I mean, honestly, a tithe is a burden for us.
[23:56] And faith promises a burden. And giving money is a burden. You know why? Because we hold on to that. Money. Money. That's my security. Money. That's what gives me what I want.
[24:07] Money. That's what takes care of me. And did you know that if you want to talk about the most strong worship time in every service we have, is when you take a part of what God's given you and you say, God, I love you more than what I have.
[24:20] I love you more than my stuff. In our church, sometimes there's a problem because, you know, vision's kind of got a bad reputation because maybe your children will turn out to be missionaries.
[24:31] The camp we just had, we have a harder time getting kids to go to. And if we just take them and do a whole bunch of fun stuff and quit saying, go to the mission field, we wouldn't have such a hard time getting campers.
[24:42] Other camps flood up with kids. But, buddy, when you say, will you go to the mission field, it's not really the kids that buck at it. It's mom and dad. Mom and dad are like, I'll send my kids over there where they tell them to be good and obey me.
[24:56] I'll send my kids where I get a product back that's nice for me. But, hey, you're not taking my kids and sending them somewhere. It's our children. It's our future. It's our security.
[25:06] It's our money. Look, if you would, Genesis chapter 22 and verse 12. Genesis chapter 22 and verse 12. Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself.
[25:20] Excuse me. That's wrong. Verse 12. And he said, lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God. Look at this.
[25:31] Look at this. Look at this. Look at the verse. You're looking at it. You're looking at verse 12. Sin. You didn't hold your son back. Your only son from me.
[25:43] God said, hey, I know you love me. I know you love me because you brought the most precious thing you have to me. I'm fixing to leave that point and move on.
[25:54] But I wish you'd listen to this. Real worship is when you tell God he is more to you than your wife is to you. He's more to you than your husband is.
[26:06] He is more to you than your bank account. He is more to you than your children. He is more to you than your future. He is more than anything. If the death sentence comes and you step out and they say, you have cancer.
[26:21] You are probably going to die. A real Christian would say, my life is yours. I worship you. Take my life.
[26:33] That goes against the grain. Every human being would scream and say, it's not fair. And it's not right. But one who worships God would say, I'll climb the mountain. I'll fix the wood.
[26:44] I'll get the fire. I'll bring the knife. I'll climb the hill. I'll plunge it into the heart of my son, my only son, the son I love. I'll plunge it into his heart. I will give you what I love.
[26:56] And this may aggravate you and you may be angry with me right now. But honestly, we're just reading the passage here. That's what it's about. The test was to find out, would Abraham give God what he loved?
[27:08] Would Abraham give God what he loved? You remember the rich young ruler, don't you? He comes to Jesus and he says, what must I do to inherit eternal life in Jesus?
[27:19] Keep the commandments. He said, no sweat. Been doing that all my life. He said, then go sell everything you have and give it to the poor. He said, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't go that far. I'll keep commandments and I'll go to church and I'll get baptized and I'll sing in the choir and I won't have sex outside of marriage and I'll do a whole bunch of stuff.
[27:36] But don't be touching my money. And he went away sorrowful. Genesis 22.
[27:51] Will you give God what you love? If I were preaching a missions conference and I wasn't at this church and I was just being as mean and blunt as Austin Gardner has been known to be so many places, I would say during the invitation tonight, I want you to bring your picture book, bring your Christian or your grandkids pictures and your children's pictures and put them on the altar and say, God, they're yours.
[28:17] Use them any way you want. Do anything you want with them. Take their life or send them away. But they're yours. I love you more than I love my grandkids. I love you more than I love my children. And then I'd say, bring your keys and I'm on the altar and say, God, I love you.
[28:29] And I love you more than I love my house. I love you more than I love my car. Bring your CDs and your retirement. Lay it up here. Bring your wedding band and lay it on the altar. You're going to take it back.
[28:39] I'm not trying to get an offering out of you. But you're saying to God, you're saying to God, no, nothing held back. Nothing held back. I love you when I love everything.
[28:52] We live our Christian lives holding on to our stuff instead of trusting him. And Abraham passed a test.
[29:03] Abraham lived in faith. You can write that down. Abraham lived in faith. The Bible says in chapter 22 and verse 8, and Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.
[29:17] And so they went both of them together. Now, for years in my mind, I thought, I figured Isaac was about 7, but you can do your own little study. And about the youngest, you can come up with him being somewhere around 20 and the oldest is about 38.
[29:31] If you do all the numbers and try to figure out how old he was when he was born, he's not a kid. He's no 6-year-old that he could pop in the nose and take up on the hill. The fact is, all the wood needed for an offering, you probably wouldn't put it on the back of a 6 or an 8-year-old.
[29:47] He probably had to be a pretty big husky boy. He'd probably be like one of the mighty mises that went to camp. He'd put all the wood on his back, climb the hill, ready to die.
[29:57] But Abraham lived by faith. You see, Abraham believed God. Now, I want you to stop a second and listen to me. You know why we don't want to give God what's important to us? Because we don't believe Him.
[30:07] We believe that if we lose our children, we'll lose something important to us and never get it back. The truth is, he that loses his life finds it. That's what the Bible says. He that loses his life finds it.
[30:20] He that finds his life loses it. So Abraham lived a life of faith. In Hebrews 11, verse 8, you don't have time to look all those verses up, but in Hebrews 11, verse 8, Hebrews 11 is a chapter of faith that says, By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should receive for an inheritance, obeyed and went out.
[30:39] And he didn't even know where he was going. He just knew God said leave. And he didn't say, I need it all written down and I need it all planned out for me. Now, do you understand it? He just said, I'll go and do what you want me to do.
[30:52] In chapter 11, verse 9, he lived in uncomfortable places while he waited on the promise. The Bible says, By faith he sojourned in the land of the promise as in a strange country dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob and the heirs with him.
[31:06] In a strange country and he sojourned. He sojourned. He's traveling. He's camping. He's moving from spot to spot in a strange country and he's living in tents.
[31:17] That's what tabernacles are. In chapter 11, verse 10, he kept his eyes on God the whole time. When he walked out of his home place, when he walked out of the house probably built with bricks and mortar, and he walked out and started down the road.
[31:30] And as he walked out, he looked for a city, verse 10, which had foundations whose builder and maker were God. And in chapter 11, verse 7, he knew this. The Bible tells me he knew this.
[31:41] He knew that God promised him that kid. God promised him Isaac and that if he had to, he'd raise him from the dead. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 17. By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, there's the word that goes with tempted in the Old Testament.
[31:56] When he was tried, he offered up Isaac and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
[32:08] Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead from whence also he received him in a figure. If you have your Bible open or if you're taking notes, would you write this down in verse 17?
[32:20] It says, offer it up, offer it up. Offer it up, offer it up. The truth is, we walk around like this, this, and we hold it in. This is my iPhone. This is my stuff, and I have it. And God says, hey, give it to him.
[32:32] And Abraham said, I'll offer it up. It's yours. Take it. He offered it up. He gave it up. But Abraham knew something really big. God had already given a promise. And God had already said, hey, buddy.
[32:44] God had already said, hey, buddy, your seed will come out of Isaac. He's the one. And so Abraham said, hey, you told me he was going to be the one. You really are God. I really do believe you're God. And if you take his life, you'll have to give it back.
[32:56] You'll have to give him back. And he actually received him in a figure, in a symbol. He got him back in a resurrection. He lived a life of faith. Faith means trusting the Lord Jesus for your salvation, but also for everything else.
[33:13] Will you believe that he will not allow anything to happen to you that's not for your good? I really wish you'd listen. Listen, this morning as we sang one of the songs that Ed had us sing, Betty leaned over and said, it was one year ago when I knew you had cancer and we sang that song.
[33:31] And I couldn't quit crying. But you listen to this. You listen to this. We serve a God who has promised that there will be no condemnation.
[33:42] We serve a God who says that we will never die. We will always live forever. We serve a God who says there is a heaven. We serve a God who says nothing would ever happen to me that wouldn't be for my best.
[33:54] It's pretty hard to trust him, isn't it? Business falls apart. Family problems. Children not doing right. Everything messed up. Romans 8, 28 says, We know that all things, all things work together for good to them that are called, to them that love God and are called according to his purpose.
[34:14] Now listen to this. They work good to them that love God. Do you remember something about the flesh from Romans? Do you remember something about the flesh from Romans? The flesh doesn't love God. The flesh hates God. It's an enemy with God.
[34:25] Those that are in the spirit love God. So that's you and me. We're saved. We love God. And we are called according to his purpose. He saved us with a purpose for our lives to count for him.
[34:36] You can mark this down. Nothing ever happens in your life that God won't use it to do something big in your life. You got a lot of junk going on, hadn't you? You got a lot of reasons to doubt our great God.
[34:49] But Romans 8, 28 says, But in Romans 8, 28, we know that all things work together for good. To them that love God are called according to his purposes. Verse 29 tells me why.
[35:00] You know what he's doing? He said, Also, when I saved you, buddy, I saved you to turn you into the very image of Jesus. Look at verse 29. Romans 8, 29.
[35:12] For whom he did foreknow, he did also predestinate to be conformed and made equal to the image of his son. That Jesus might be the firstborn, the number one, the head among many brethren.
[35:25] All of us little peon nobodies. I mean, we come from bad backgrounds and messed up backgrounds. And we're big sinners. But the day God saved us, he said this, Austin, don't worry, buddy.
[35:35] I won't leave you. I won't forsake you. I'll never dump you. Don't worry about it. You'll never be condemned. I'm doing a great work in your life. And so then he brings me along through my life. And he brings a test into my life. And man, the winds blow.
[35:46] And the lightning flies. And the earth shakes. And I'm wondering, God, where are you? And God's up in heaven saying, I told you. I told you. Nothing's going to happen that I'm not in charge of. And I'm going to take care of you.
[35:57] And I'm making something big out of you. And if your wife dies, you can trust me. And if you get cancer, you can trust me. Believe me. I am God. Everybody says he's God.
[36:08] But isn't it amazing how many people think he's not God when stuff goes wrong? I always love it. I talk to my missionary friends. And they'll say stuff like, God's so good he didn't let them die.
[36:19] And I said, he'd have been good if he'd let them die. He'd have been good if he'd let them die. We've got to get a hold of something here.
[36:31] Abraham could climb that mountain because he knew God would keep his word. Do you believe that God will keep his word?
[36:43] In 22, 14. God called, Abraham called the name of the place Jehovah-Jireh as it is said to this day in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
[36:56] You know, you really don't need God to do much in your life until things are falling apart. You know, I go, listen, I want to tell you, but here it is. He wants me to be hungry for him.
[37:11] He wants me to need him. And that's pretty easy overseas sometimes where they're very poor and they're hungry. And they seek him. But to be honest, we're so stinking rich and comfortable.
[37:24] We hardly need God. And so God has to bring some things into our lives that say, wake up. I'm God and you're supposed to be loving me. But we're like, God, I love you.
[37:35] But hey, you get Sunday morning, stay out of the rest of my life. And he said he's Jehovah-Jireh. He's a God that sees my need.
[37:46] A God I see, God. He saw God come through in the very moment he was needed. He was God. Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 16, the Bible says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
[38:05] Buddy, you're in trouble. Run to God. I'll quickly finish. It's been one hour and two minutes since church started. But you listen to what I'm going to tell you.
[38:18] We need to need God. Something really sad wrong with us. God is an academic exercise with us on the whole.
[38:33] We read about him in the Bible. We read about him in books. But we really don't experience him because we don't trust him until, think about it, the last time your life was totally falling apart.
[38:47] And you needed him. And you grabbed a hold of the horns of the altar and you said, Oh, God in heaven, work in my life. And God moved and worked and you knew God like you don't know him tonight.
[39:00] And here's what he says, Abraham, climb the mountain, buddy. You'll see that I'm a God who meets your needs. Trust me. Chapter ends with this.
[39:13] God later says to him, Abraham, you know, you trusted me and you gave me what was most precious to you. But so I will do great things in you. I have a big plan for your life.
[39:24] And did you know that if you'll pass the test, God has big things in your life. If you will pass the test. He wouldn't be giving you a test if you couldn't pass it.
[39:39] Quit holding your fist up. Quit being rebellious against God. Find whatever is so precious to you. And tell him, God, it's yours. You can have it.
[39:50] I give it to you. Climb Mount Moriah. And offer everything. Your life. Your fame. Your fortune. Your friends.
[40:01] Your family. Put it on the altar. He's a God who delights in proving himself great. But he doesn't have to prove anything when everything is going great in our lives.
[40:13] Sad to say. Probably the only place in the world where we could say, we don't need God. I got money in the bank. The best doctors in the world.
[40:27] Got a problem. And they can handle everything around here. We're not living in Africa, you know. It's almost our attitude, to be honest. The fact is, if you tell the truth, as a preacher, you learn real quick, they don't like you to talk about money.
[40:47] Because it's too dear to their heart. I mean, there's a nerve that runs from your heart to your billfold. But you ever touch a billfold, they'll have heart palpitations.
[41:02] They will. Don't touch their kids. Hey, they'll even say, I'll give my life, but not my kid's life. I don't want to be a missionary, much less to hold my kid to be a missionary.
[41:16] So I would say to you tonight, Abraham had this testimony, man. They knew he was a man of God. Abraham had this testing that came in his life.
[41:27] And that testing's going on in your life. And you know what the test was? To take what he loved the most and lay it on the altar. In August of 1985, I was the most scared I've ever been in my entire life.
[41:47] My daughter got raped. Doesn't compare to that month. My daughter got raped. Doesn't compare. Everything went wrong. I'm telling you, I was the scariest in my life in 1985. Because God began to deal with my heart.
[41:59] And I knew I needed to go to Peru as a missionary. And I was terrified. Because I am so deeply in love with a woman I married in 1973. And I knew she did not want to go.
[42:14] I knew she had no desire to ever be a missionary's wife. To ever leave America. I knew that every time I'd ever talked to her about doing it, she'd said no.
[42:25] She said, I don't want to go where it's hot. I don't want to go where it's cold. And then I said, we'll go where it's lukewarm. She said, don't want to go there neither. Don't want to go anywhere. And for a month, I couldn't sleep at night.
[42:36] And for a month, I'd go to bed and sleep for about 30 minutes to an hour. And I'd wake up. It was like the Lord was dealing with my heart and saying, go to Peru. And I remember one night, I got on my knees. And I said, God, the most precious person on this planet is Betty.
[42:50] Please don't take her. He said, it's a foolish prayer. I know it is. I didn't know as much about the Bible as I know now. But that night I told him, I'll serve you no matter what it costs me.
[43:02] I'll serve you if it means by myself. And you take my wife's life. You say, well, that's a dumb prayer. It was, I need to know a little bit more Bible.
[43:12] He would never have done that to me. But I can tell you this. That night I needed to come to a place that I would say. Adonai and Judson wrote a letter to Ann of Ava, Ann Hasseltine's dad, and said, I want to know if you'd let me have your daughter to go with me as a missionary, knowing that the day I take her, you will probably never see her again, this side of glory.
[43:41] Will you consent to give me your daughter? By the way, she dies and he will end up marrying two more times. But there's a time in your life when you say to God, the most precious thing I have is yours.
[43:56] You climb a mountain. You lay your children down. You lay your credit cards down. You lay your money down. And you say, God, that son, that only son, the son that you love, I won't hold him back.
[44:11] You do what you want to do. And I'll trust you. And that's real surrender. By the way, I passed that test. But it happens all the time.
[44:24] That was 1985. That was a long time ago. He still comes saying, Austin, what about it? Because you see, every day of my life, he's going to say, who's first in your life?
[44:40] Me or you or somebody else. And I ask you tonight, who or what is first in your life? Father in heaven, I ask you to bless your people. I ask you to magnify yourself.
[44:52] I ask you, dear God, to draw us to you. To show your power in a real way. And I'll give you praise. Lord, I believe that I have tried to say what the text says.
[45:03] And I believe that my friends may not be too happy with me or you right now. But Holy Spirit, I beg you to convict hearts. I beg you to show us our great need to trust you and believe you.
[45:15] God, I pray you'd help your people. Bring what's precious to them. And symbolically to put it on this altar and say it's all yours. God, take our lives.
[45:26] Take our children, our grandchildren, our future. Take our health. Take anything you want to take. Because we love you. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia.
[45:38] For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.