WEBVTT 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:06.820 Our scripture reading tonight is one passage from the Old Testament and one passage from the New Testament. 00:00:07.580 --> 00:00:09.980 ! We're in a series on Hebrews 11. 00:00:11.140 --> 00:00:11.620 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.799 God tested Abraham and said to him, 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:33.140 Abraham! 00:00:33.899 --> 00:00:34.560 And he said, 00:00:34.980 --> 00:00:35.640 Here I am. 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:36.520 He said, 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:48.500 Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I shall tell you. 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:56.060 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac. 00:00:56.060 --> 00:01:02.540 And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose, and he went to the place of which God had told him. 00:01:03.380 --> 00:01:07.719 On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes, and he saw the place from afar. 00:01:08.659 --> 00:01:10.659 Then Abraham said to his young men, 00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:12.439 Stay here with the donkey. 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:17.200 I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you. 00:01:18.180 --> 00:01:22.099 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son. 00:01:22.099 --> 00:01:25.899 And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. 00:01:27.179 --> 00:01:28.979 So they went, both of them together. 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:31.159 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:32.459 My father! 00:01:32.839 --> 00:01:34.159 And he said, Here I am, my son. 00:01:34.219 --> 00:01:40.239 And he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 00:01:41.239 --> 00:01:42.060 Abraham said, 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:46.000 God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. 00:01:46.579 --> 00:01:48.060 So they went, both of them, together. 00:01:48.060 --> 00:01:52.460 Then, when they came to the place of which God had told him, 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:56.980 Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac, his son, 00:01:57.040 --> 00:01:59.600 and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 00:02:00.540 --> 00:02:04.480 Then Abraham reached out his hand, and he took the knife to slaughter his son. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:08.199 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:09.800 Abraham, Abraham. 00:02:10.500 --> 00:02:11.900 And he said, Here I am. 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:17.680 And he said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:24.460 For now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. 00:02:25.020 --> 00:02:27.140 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked. 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:31.400 And behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:36.780 And Abraham went, and he took the ram, and he offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 00:02:36.780 --> 00:02:41.479 So Abraham called the name of that place, the Lord will provide. 00:02:42.039 --> 00:02:45.560 As it is said to this day, On the mountain of the Lord it shall be provided. 00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:50.340 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, 00:02:50.819 --> 00:02:57.740 By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son. 00:02:58.259 --> 00:03:04.240 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of the heaven 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:06.500 and as the sand that is on the seashore. 00:03:07.140 --> 00:03:10.000 And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies. 00:03:10.600 --> 00:03:16.379 And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:22.060 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. 00:03:22.460 --> 00:03:24.000 And Abraham lived at Beersheba. 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:28.480 And from Hebrews 11, verses 17 to 19. 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:38.839 By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 00:03:39.339 --> 00:03:43.120 of whom it was said, Through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:48.859 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:53.419 from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 00:03:53.419 --> 00:03:58.159 By faith, Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 00:03:58.239 --> 00:04:05.560 By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 00:04:06.019 --> 00:04:07.719 This is God's holy word. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:12.500 I feel like Corey's nearly preached this passage in his prayer, 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:21.419 but we'll endeavor to talk a little bit more for 20 minutes or so about Hebrews 11, verses 17 to 19. 00:04:21.420 --> 00:04:23.040 We've been in Hebrews for a few weeks. 00:04:23.780 --> 00:04:27.819 And in this letter, the writer is writing to his Hebrew audience, 00:04:27.900 --> 00:04:31.220 and he's saying that although times are hard, don't turn back. 00:04:31.740 --> 00:04:35.900 Don't go back to the way things were before you knew Jesus, 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:39.319 because Jesus is better than anything else. 00:04:39.400 --> 00:04:43.259 And in chapter 11, the one that we've been looking at specifically for the last few weeks, 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:47.000 the writer is saying, Don't turn back, but look back. 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:53.480 Look back at these great men and women of faith and how they were blessed by God, 00:04:54.300 --> 00:05:00.139 not because of the strength of their performance, their moral character, or their sheer determination, 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:02.379 but because of their faith. 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:05.959 Abraham gets quite a lot of coverage in this chapter. 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:09.100 So we started talking about Abraham back in verse 8. 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:14.459 That's unsurprising because Abraham in the Bible is called the man of faith. 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:18.779 Well, tonight we're going to look at one of the tests. 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:23.079 Abraham went through several tests, different challenges in his life. 00:05:23.180 --> 00:05:25.859 Today we're going to look at, I think, the most significant of those. 00:05:28.259 --> 00:05:32.859 And despite going through these tests, Abraham remained faithful to God. 00:05:33.479 --> 00:05:36.539 Before we dive into it, I just want to say, 00:05:36.679 --> 00:05:38.620 if this is the first time that you've read this passage, 00:05:38.859 --> 00:05:41.299 these words are quite difficult to read. 00:05:41.300 --> 00:05:48.680 If you've come to church for the first time and you've read about Isaac being put onto a pile of wood, 00:05:48.699 --> 00:05:52.220 these are difficult things for us to read. 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:54.199 But as we consider it together, 00:05:55.280 --> 00:06:02.160 I think we'll see that what we actually have here is an example of the extraordinary faithfulness of God. 00:06:03.080 --> 00:06:07.300 A faithfulness that taught Abraham that he could rely on God 00:06:07.300 --> 00:06:10.639 with even the most precious things in his life. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:16.500 And it shows us that our God goes to extraordinary lengths to save his people. 00:06:17.460 --> 00:06:22.040 And it shows us why we can put our faith in God, 00:06:22.960 --> 00:06:26.939 holding nothing back, not even our most precious possessions, 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:32.759 and come before him certain that he will fulfill the promises he's made to his people. 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:34.699 I've got three points. 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:40.920 The unthinkable test, the unbreakable promise, the incomparable provision. 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:43.740 So first, the unthinkable test. 00:06:44.599 --> 00:06:48.039 So the test that we've read, that we've referred to, 00:06:48.159 --> 00:06:49.879 Hebrews 11 verse 17, 00:06:50.579 --> 00:06:56.459 says that when Abraham was tested. 00:06:56.459 --> 00:07:02.919 And in the chapter that Corey read for us, chapter 22 of Genesis, 00:07:03.379 --> 00:07:07.839 it tells us this is a test that stands above all the other tests 00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:09.919 because it says God tested Abraham. 00:07:10.039 --> 00:07:10.939 That's a pretty big clue. 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:14.479 But also when we consider the nature of the test, 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:17.419 God spoke to Abraham and he said, 00:07:17.659 --> 00:07:18.679 Here I am. 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:19.959 And God said, 00:07:20.019 --> 00:07:23.139 Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love. 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:26.399 And notice here the preciseness of the language. 00:07:27.039 --> 00:07:27.560 God says, 00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:33.519 Take your son, your only son, Isaac, the one that you love. 00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:39.959 There's no ambiguity to who God's referring to, what God's commanding. 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:43.219 Father Abraham had many sons. 00:07:43.300 --> 00:07:44.419 We all know that from the song. 00:07:45.159 --> 00:07:50.219 But here he calls Isaac Abraham's only son. 00:07:50.220 --> 00:07:52.920 Well, we know already from Genesis, 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:54.880 if we'd been reading through, 00:07:55.500 --> 00:07:57.620 that he's got a half-brother called Ishmael. 00:07:58.320 --> 00:08:01.940 So Isaac wasn't literally Abraham's only son. 00:08:02.880 --> 00:08:06.620 But Isaac was the one through whom God promised 00:08:06.620 --> 00:08:11.700 he would deliver the blessings that were coming to Abraham 00:08:11.700 --> 00:08:13.800 and through Isaac to the whole world. 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:18.460 So we can think of Isaac that only maybe as a unique. 00:08:18.459 --> 00:08:20.979 Isaac was a unique son. 00:08:22.419 --> 00:08:24.239 And Abraham takes Isaac, two of his servants, 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:27.039 along with the woods and a couple of servants, 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:30.879 and they head off for Mount Moriah. 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:36.179 And it takes them three days to get there. 00:08:37.419 --> 00:08:41.199 And I can't help but put myself in Abraham's sandals 00:08:41.199 --> 00:08:45.399 in three days thinking about what's going to take place. 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:52.100 Because God tells Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. 00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:57.620 And I don't want to be overly detailed and gory, 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:02.639 but that would involve killing the sacrifice with a knife, 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:06.179 letting out its blood, and then burning it. 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:09.840 This is truly horrific, what he's walking towards. 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:17.540 You've maybe seen children's storybook stories of Isaac and Abraham. 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:21.180 And Isaac's a little toddler on his back. 00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:26.200 But Isaac's old enough to carry the wood up the mountain. 00:09:27.879 --> 00:09:30.259 So he's at least a teenager. 00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:36.000 And Isaac knows something of the plan of what's going to happen. 00:09:36.700 --> 00:09:40.159 Because he says, you've got the fire, I've got the wood. 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:43.899 Where's the animal for the burnt offering? 00:09:45.319 --> 00:09:47.039 And Abraham says to Isaac, 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:52.519 God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:57.579 So they go up the mountain until they arrive at the place. 00:09:58.419 --> 00:10:00.240 And Abraham builds the altar. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:03.299 And he ties up Isaac. 00:10:04.059 --> 00:10:06.840 And he places Isaac onto the woods. 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:12.220 Isaac's been strong enough to carry this wood up the mountain. 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:15.579 He's not a helpless child. 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:18.840 Abraham, when Isaac was born, was 100 years old. 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:22.540 So it's not as if Isaac couldn't fight him off. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:24.500 Or at least run away. 00:10:25.540 --> 00:10:26.540 But he doesn't. 00:10:26.920 --> 00:10:33.460 Isaac willingly allows himself to be put onto the sacrificial altar. 00:10:34.019 --> 00:10:38.200 Isaac's been raised to know the God that his father knows. 00:10:38.560 --> 00:10:41.720 Isaac goes willingly onto the wood. 00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:44.940 And then we arrive at the climactic moment. 00:10:44.940 --> 00:10:48.519 And Abraham's hand is stretching for the knife. 00:10:49.580 --> 00:10:51.980 He's going to kill his son. 00:10:52.940 --> 00:10:55.040 And a voice comes from heaven and says, 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:59.480 Abraham, Abraham, don't harm the boy or do anything to him. 00:11:00.540 --> 00:11:02.800 Because I know that you fear God. 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:08.120 Seeing you've not withheld your special, unique son. 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:10.220 Your pride and joy. 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:12.399 Your most precious thing from me. 00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:16.700 This is hard to hear. 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:22.660 What could have, in our minds at least, have happened. 00:11:22.940 --> 00:11:25.820 We've got lots of children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews. 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:27.420 And friends. 00:11:27.920 --> 00:11:30.120 And little lives that we love. 00:11:31.460 --> 00:11:32.320 And just to be clear, 00:11:32.540 --> 00:11:36.820 God is not going to command any of us to do anything like that. 00:11:36.820 --> 00:11:42.379 The culture that Abraham lived in was pagan. 00:11:42.560 --> 00:11:47.920 He lived in a pagan land among pagan people before God called him. 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:55.640 Sacrificing children to lowercase gods was not an uncommon practice. 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:58.519 That's not saying it's okay. 00:11:59.080 --> 00:12:00.659 That it's okay then and it's not now. 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:01.279 Not at all. 00:12:01.340 --> 00:12:02.179 It was wrong then. 00:12:02.699 --> 00:12:03.600 But it existed. 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:05.139 And Abraham knew about it. 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:11.620 Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah, though, was a very different situation. 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:14.220 Because the real God. 00:12:14.860 --> 00:12:16.000 The big G God. 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:17.100 Abraham's God. 00:12:17.560 --> 00:12:18.600 The Israelite God. 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:19.440 Our God. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:23.259 He intervenes to stop child sacrifice. 00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:27.799 And this is a massive departure from the peoples around them. 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:32.100 And later, the people of ancient Israel. 00:12:32.860 --> 00:12:34.000 They were defined. 00:12:34.419 --> 00:12:35.860 They were different among their neighbors. 00:12:35.860 --> 00:12:39.960 Because they were not allowed to practice human sacrifice. 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:42.460 In fact, when they mixed with people who did. 00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:45.759 And they defiled their own way of life that God had set for them. 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:47.200 They were condemned for that. 00:12:48.420 --> 00:12:50.879 God strictly forbids murder. 00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:57.200 And in the New Testament, Jesus takes that murder commandment and extends it to being angry. 00:12:59.060 --> 00:13:01.040 God loves children. 00:13:01.040 --> 00:13:06.519 And wants them to come in to a saving relationship with him. 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:06.579 God loves them. 00:13:07.579 --> 00:13:11.620 He's never going to ask you to do something like this in a literal sense. 00:13:13.199 --> 00:13:19.759 But there is a sense in which what Abraham was asked to do does apply to us, I think. 00:13:20.860 --> 00:13:28.039 Because what Abraham was asked to do was give over the thing that he loved most to God. 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:31.399 God, the son of his old age. 00:13:31.899 --> 00:13:37.459 And the son through whom Abraham's blessings and the blessing of the whole world was going to come. 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:44.679 Abraham being able to hand over his one and only son. 00:13:45.500 --> 00:13:47.240 It has to make us stop and think. 00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:55.179 What are the things that we do, that we love tonight, that we refuse to give up for God? 00:13:55.179 --> 00:13:57.079 What possessions do you have? 00:13:57.179 --> 00:14:05.319 Or I think what's more likely is what habits, what ways of living do we know that God doesn't want for us? 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:07.339 And yet we cling to them. 00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:08.459 We hold on to them. 00:14:08.899 --> 00:14:13.459 We let them become between ourselves and our God. 00:14:14.599 --> 00:14:18.219 And these don't have to be inherently sinful things. 00:14:19.799 --> 00:14:22.899 Putting anything before God is idolatry. 00:14:22.899 --> 00:14:28.759 And often our idols are good things that we make our first things. 00:14:30.220 --> 00:14:31.759 So hard work's good. 00:14:32.939 --> 00:14:40.740 But refusing to fight against overworking at the sacrifice of other things that we know God wants us to do. 00:14:42.179 --> 00:14:45.340 Because we need to prove our worth is not good. 00:14:45.340 --> 00:14:50.160 Maybe you refuse to Sabbath, to take rest. 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:55.879 Because you think that getting a first in your degree is the thing that is going to prove your worth. 00:14:57.200 --> 00:15:05.440 Or maybe you love your children so much that you allow them to dictate their own screen time, home time, bed time, Bible time. 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:10.820 Because you're afraid that they're going to resent you for making them do otherwise. 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:19.140 What are the things that you love tonight that you refuse to stop for God? 00:15:20.140 --> 00:15:22.460 Because we're in a chapter that's all about living by faith. 00:15:22.560 --> 00:15:28.040 And Tim Keller says, you've never known true faith until you've given up something that you love. 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:30.879 Okay, point number two. 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:33.279 The unbreakable promise. 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:42.139 So my old job was the kind of job where you'd spend weeks thinking about how you're going to express an idea in like three words. 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:45.139 And I know that sounds kind of worthless to lots of people in here. 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:49.559 But it means that I can't help but think about how things are expressed. 00:15:49.699 --> 00:15:51.000 Especially in writing. 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:56.440 And to me, what we have here is such a straightforward, matter-of-fact account. 00:15:57.080 --> 00:16:02.460 That there's no discussion of the circumstances, the setting, the mood. 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:08.700 And that feels surprising considering the task that Moses is describing here. 00:16:10.419 --> 00:16:12.539 And Abraham's actions are kind of like that too. 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:15.480 God tells Abraham to go. 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:19.320 And Abraham immediately gets up the next morning and heads off. 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:24.580 And it takes him three days, as I said, to get where they're going by donkey. 00:16:24.920 --> 00:16:26.420 Lots of time to back out. 00:16:27.280 --> 00:16:30.480 But the narrative doesn't even give us a hint that he's considering it. 00:16:32.020 --> 00:16:40.600 How can it be that Abraham's experience is recorded here as almost serene despite what he was facing? 00:16:42.060 --> 00:16:48.800 Well, we know in our relatively comfortable lives that we're full of anxiety and stress and doubt and fear. 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:53.280 God's made promises to Abraham. 00:16:54.280 --> 00:16:57.440 Promises to bless him with land and offspring. 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:02.020 And that through his seed, all the nations of the earth are going to be blessed. 00:17:02.900 --> 00:17:07.539 And when Abraham asked God for assurance that he could trust those promises, 00:17:08.320 --> 00:17:10.740 God didn't say, trust me. 00:17:11.360 --> 00:17:12.059 He did. 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:14.139 But he didn't just say, trust me. 00:17:14.460 --> 00:17:17.019 He entered into a covenant with Abraham. 00:17:18.859 --> 00:17:21.980 So Presbyterian seminary students love talking about covenants, 00:17:22.059 --> 00:17:24.440 but maybe everyone else doesn't love it as much. 00:17:24.539 --> 00:17:26.460 So I'm going to be brief. 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:31.259 But this covenant is a solemn agreement between God and Abraham. 00:17:31.399 --> 00:17:33.299 You can read about it in Genesis chapter 15. 00:17:33.299 --> 00:17:39.059 When we were children and we didn't want somebody to tell our mums what we were doing, 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:41.460 we would say, cross your heart and hope to die. 00:17:42.339 --> 00:17:44.099 And it's kind of like that. 00:17:45.059 --> 00:17:48.839 In the ancient Near East, two parties, a powerful king and a less powerful king, 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:51.599 they would swear on terms of an agreement. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:55.759 And they would also agree on the sanctions, 00:17:56.099 --> 00:18:00.599 the consequences that would happen if he broke that agreement. 00:18:01.659 --> 00:18:09.419 So it's a visceral, a really real sign of the solemnity of the agreement that God makes with Abraham. 00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:14.519 God gets Abraham to gather some animals and to cut them up 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:17.219 and put them in two parts, two halves. 00:18:17.220 --> 00:18:22.559 And what's interesting about the covenant that God makes with Abraham, 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:27.059 as opposed to other covenants that God makes in the Old Testament, 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:30.920 is that the covenant God makes with Abraham, 00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:35.720 it's only God who takes on the consequences. 00:18:38.600 --> 00:18:41.039 Abraham's in a deep sleep. 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:44.880 God is the all-powerful king here. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:51.560 And yet, it's God, a representation of God that passes between the animals. 00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:55.060 God's saying to Abraham, 00:18:55.880 --> 00:19:00.360 may what's happened to these animals happen to me if I break this covenant. 00:19:01.620 --> 00:19:04.420 If I don't deliver these promises to you, Abraham, 00:19:05.540 --> 00:19:08.520 I'm going to be torn in two, just like these animals. 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:13.220 It's only God that says, cross my heart and hope to die. 00:19:14.019 --> 00:19:15.639 If I don't do what I'm going to say. 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:21.720 Now, we know God can't be torn in two. 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:25.579 And Abraham knew that God can't be torn in two. 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:29.740 So does that mean that God's promise was worthless? 00:19:30.339 --> 00:19:31.200 Well, no. 00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:33.660 In fact, it's the exact opposite. 00:19:33.660 --> 00:19:36.720 God's saying to Abraham, 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:42.240 just like it's absolutely impossible for me to be torn in two, 00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:47.759 it's impossible for me to break the promises I've made to you. 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:52.840 You see, while this passage might be hard for us to read, 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:56.660 there was never any possibility of God not fulfilling 00:19:56.660 --> 00:20:01.040 the promises that he'd made to bless Abraham through Isaac. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:05.720 And Abraham was convinced 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:09.600 that he and Isaac were both going home again. 00:20:11.019 --> 00:20:12.400 Look what he said to the young men. 00:20:12.660 --> 00:20:14.759 Genesis chapter 22, verse 5. 00:20:14.840 --> 00:20:15.640 He said to his servants, 00:20:15.860 --> 00:20:18.340 stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. 00:20:18.740 --> 00:20:21.920 We'll worship and then we will come back to you. 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:26.420 So these guys are not Abraham's peers 00:20:26.420 --> 00:20:28.519 that he has to kind of like pretend 00:20:28.519 --> 00:20:30.000 that everything's going to be okay 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:31.560 and nothing sinister is going to happen. 00:20:31.900 --> 00:20:32.759 These are his servants. 00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:33.820 They'll do what he says. 00:20:34.940 --> 00:20:35.840 And yet he tells them, 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:37.420 Isaac and I are going 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:40.700 and Isaac and I are coming back. 00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:44.440 Even as he reached for the knife, 00:20:45.779 --> 00:20:48.000 Abraham knew that this wasn't the end of Isaac. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:52.400 Even if, as Hebrews 11, 19 tells us, 00:20:53.059 --> 00:20:55.559 God was going to raise Isaac from the dead. 00:20:57.779 --> 00:21:02.339 There's already been a fair bit of life and death 00:21:02.339 --> 00:21:05.200 talk language in the story of Abraham. 00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:09.460 In verse 12 of Hebrews 11, 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:12.720 the writer calls Abraham as good as dead. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:15.019 And that refers to the fact 00:21:15.019 --> 00:21:17.200 that he was nearly 100 years old, 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:19.819 way past the age of having children 00:21:19.819 --> 00:21:21.279 when God came to him and said, 00:21:21.340 --> 00:21:22.400 your wife's going to have a baby. 00:21:23.860 --> 00:21:25.100 And Sarah was 90. 00:21:26.779 --> 00:21:29.299 She was well past her time of fertility. 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:32.960 There was no life left in Sarah's womb. 00:21:34.259 --> 00:21:36.420 So when Isaac was born, 00:21:36.580 --> 00:21:39.640 Abraham knew that God had already performed a miracle. 00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:42.460 He brought life from a place of death. 00:21:42.460 --> 00:21:46.079 And that's why when God told Abraham 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:48.360 to sacrifice Isaac, 00:21:49.380 --> 00:21:51.240 Abraham could get up the next morning 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:53.319 and go and do it, 00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:54.840 even although it contradicted 00:21:54.840 --> 00:21:56.779 what God had promised him. 00:21:58.380 --> 00:21:59.799 Maybe we could say 00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:02.660 that Abraham could do what God told him 00:22:02.660 --> 00:22:04.860 because it contradicted 00:22:04.860 --> 00:22:06.700 what God had promised him. 00:22:07.120 --> 00:22:09.579 He could contemplate sacrificing Isaac 00:22:09.579 --> 00:22:12.099 because he knew that that wasn't the end, 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:13.480 because he knew 00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:16.199 that God would not break his promises. 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:21.319 Living in Edinburgh, 00:22:21.980 --> 00:22:22.919 the 21st century, 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:24.019 these things are hard for us 00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:24.740 to get our heads right. 00:22:26.199 --> 00:22:27.259 You know, for a long time, 00:22:27.740 --> 00:22:29.220 our society in general 00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:31.299 has believed that the material 00:22:31.299 --> 00:22:32.740 is all there is. 00:22:32.740 --> 00:22:35.420 But Abraham lived in a culture 00:22:35.420 --> 00:22:37.599 when that wasn't the case. 00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:40.700 For Abraham, 00:22:41.019 --> 00:22:42.259 there was this life 00:22:42.259 --> 00:22:43.900 and there was an afterlife. 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:46.680 And Abraham believed that God 00:22:46.680 --> 00:22:48.140 was the God of both. 00:22:48.779 --> 00:22:50.359 Abraham's so utterly convinced 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:52.880 that if it came to it, 00:22:53.460 --> 00:22:56.000 God was going to raise Isaac from the dead 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:57.500 because he was utterly convinced 00:22:57.500 --> 00:23:00.960 that God would not fail 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:03.099 in delivering the promises, 00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:04.420 the covenant promises 00:23:04.420 --> 00:23:05.640 that he'd made. 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:10.319 Puritan Thomas Watson tells us 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:11.279 that there's an important lesson 00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:12.299 for us here as well. 00:23:12.940 --> 00:23:13.359 He says, 00:23:13.480 --> 00:23:14.740 God's to be trusted 00:23:14.740 --> 00:23:16.400 when his providences 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:20.200 run contrary to his promises. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:21.380 When his providences 00:23:21.380 --> 00:23:24.259 run contrary to his promises. 00:23:25.400 --> 00:23:27.019 So when our faith is in Christ, 00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:29.700 we can trust that God 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:32.079 is doing what is ultimately best for us, 00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:33.980 even when it doesn't feel 00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:36.279 anything like that at the time to us. 00:23:37.740 --> 00:23:39.279 Christian, the circumstances 00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:41.519 of your life at this moment 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:43.359 are not indicative 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:44.880 of your eternal life 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:47.240 with God in glory. 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:51.220 I wonder if you feel today 00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:52.920 like God's taking his eye off you. 00:23:54.039 --> 00:23:56.440 Maybe you're walking with the Lord 00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:58.000 and you feel like, 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:00.400 this is not how my circumstances 00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:01.039 should be. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:03.980 Maybe you're up against the wall 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:04.660 financially. 00:24:06.220 --> 00:24:08.740 Maybe you're dealing with a diagnosis 00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:10.059 that you were not expecting. 00:24:10.580 --> 00:24:12.400 Maybe the relationship 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:13.160 with your family 00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:15.080 has hit an all-time low. 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:18.220 Maybe you've stepped out in faith 00:24:18.220 --> 00:24:20.579 and you feel like things 00:24:20.579 --> 00:24:21.539 are just getting harder 00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:22.860 and harder. 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:25.400 What Abraham's teaching us 00:24:25.400 --> 00:24:27.880 to keep trusting the Lord. 00:24:29.259 --> 00:24:30.059 Don't compromise 00:24:30.059 --> 00:24:31.339 on listening 00:24:31.339 --> 00:24:33.120 to what he is saying 00:24:33.120 --> 00:24:34.519 and obeying 00:24:34.519 --> 00:24:35.339 the things 00:24:35.339 --> 00:24:36.339 that he says. 00:24:37.980 --> 00:24:39.380 Even when you feel like 00:24:39.380 --> 00:24:40.980 the way he's shaping your life 00:24:40.980 --> 00:24:42.700 is not what you expected. 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:46.480 Scottish minister Sinclair Ferguson, 00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:48.480 he wrote that Abraham 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:49.200 had faith 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:50.880 that looks away from self 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:53.160 and rests on the faithfulness 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:53.900 of God. 00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:57.299 Your circumstances, 00:24:57.559 --> 00:24:58.799 no matter how difficult, 00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:00.319 are not a reflection 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:01.559 on your faith, 00:25:02.860 --> 00:25:04.420 as though the more faith you have, 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:05.420 the fewer struggles 00:25:05.420 --> 00:25:06.240 you should have. 00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:08.319 The Old Testament book of Job 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:10.360 makes that very clear for us. 00:25:11.860 --> 00:25:13.220 And in the New Testament as well, 00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:14.039 the Apostle Paul, 00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:15.660 he says that 00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:17.700 his faith in Christ 00:25:17.700 --> 00:25:19.460 resulted in tremendous 00:25:19.460 --> 00:25:20.660 trials and difficulties. 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:23.920 Yet Paul knew God's promises 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:25.740 and he knew 00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:26.980 that the promises 00:25:26.980 --> 00:25:28.120 that God made to his people 00:25:28.120 --> 00:25:29.039 were unbreakable. 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:30.440 In Romans he writes, 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:31.799 for I'm sure that 00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:32.579 neither death, 00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:33.160 nor life, 00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:33.799 nor angels, 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:34.420 nor rulers, 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:35.240 nor things present, 00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:36.059 nor things to come, 00:25:36.120 --> 00:25:36.620 nor powers, 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:37.140 nor heights, 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:37.779 nor depth, 00:25:38.100 --> 00:25:39.160 nor anything else 00:25:39.160 --> 00:25:39.860 in all creation 00:25:39.860 --> 00:25:41.600 will be able to separate us 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:42.699 from the love of God 00:25:42.699 --> 00:25:44.379 in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:25:45.959 --> 00:25:47.139 We can have faith 00:25:47.139 --> 00:25:47.779 in the promises 00:25:47.779 --> 00:25:48.759 God makes us 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:51.419 because nothing can separate 00:25:51.419 --> 00:25:52.139 God's people 00:25:52.139 --> 00:25:53.079 from God's love. 00:25:56.139 --> 00:25:57.000 And it's worth 00:25:57.000 --> 00:25:58.019 reminding ourselves as well 00:25:58.019 --> 00:25:58.619 that this is not 00:25:58.619 --> 00:26:00.139 a blind faith. 00:26:00.719 --> 00:26:01.959 We're not being asked 00:26:01.959 --> 00:26:04.319 to blindly follow 00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:06.319 what God says. 00:26:06.819 --> 00:26:07.359 We're being asked 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:08.599 to follow what God says, 00:26:08.919 --> 00:26:09.659 but not blindly. 00:26:09.660 --> 00:26:11.720 So Abraham 00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:13.160 could follow 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:15.120 God's command 00:26:15.120 --> 00:26:16.740 because he'd seen 00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:17.540 God working 00:26:17.540 --> 00:26:18.660 throughout his life. 00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:20.100 He'd had evidence 00:26:20.100 --> 00:26:21.580 of God's faithfulness. 00:26:22.140 --> 00:26:22.600 When Abraham 00:26:22.600 --> 00:26:24.160 left the land 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:25.500 of his fathers 00:26:25.500 --> 00:26:26.779 and he went out, 00:26:26.820 --> 00:26:27.180 he didn't know 00:26:27.180 --> 00:26:27.820 where he was going 00:26:27.820 --> 00:26:29.200 and yet God 00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:30.660 was gracious to him. 00:26:31.259 --> 00:26:32.160 When Abraham 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:34.620 was with his nephew Lot 00:26:34.620 --> 00:26:35.279 and they were deciding 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:36.120 which land 00:26:36.120 --> 00:26:37.140 to pick 00:26:37.140 --> 00:26:37.920 for their people, 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:39.960 Abraham gave Lot 00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:40.700 first choice 00:26:40.700 --> 00:26:41.460 and Lot chose 00:26:41.460 --> 00:26:43.060 the good land 00:26:43.060 --> 00:26:44.160 and yet God 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:45.180 blessed Abraham 00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:46.680 in the land 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:47.220 that wasn't meant 00:26:47.220 --> 00:26:48.120 to be as good. 00:26:49.779 --> 00:26:50.400 And when Abraham 00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:51.720 pretended that Sarah, 00:26:51.860 --> 00:26:52.380 his wife, 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:53.880 wasn't his wife 00:26:53.880 --> 00:26:55.680 to save his own skin, 00:26:56.680 --> 00:26:57.240 twice, 00:26:57.960 --> 00:26:58.880 God was gracious 00:26:58.880 --> 00:26:59.279 to him. 00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:02.039 R.C. Spurl said, 00:27:02.039 --> 00:27:03.700 faith isn't blind. 00:27:05.220 --> 00:27:06.200 Faith is trusting 00:27:06.200 --> 00:27:07.319 in what you have 00:27:07.319 --> 00:27:08.079 good reason 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:09.259 to believe. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:10.920 Abraham believed God 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:11.259 because, 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:12.700 was faithful 00:27:12.700 --> 00:27:13.460 because Abraham 00:27:13.460 --> 00:27:14.019 had seen 00:27:14.019 --> 00:27:15.099 God's faithfulness. 00:27:17.399 --> 00:27:18.680 In what ways 00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:19.259 are we seeing 00:27:19.259 --> 00:27:20.279 God's faithfulness 00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:21.259 in our lives 00:27:21.259 --> 00:27:21.799 today? 00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:24.420 Have you failed 00:27:24.420 --> 00:27:25.799 to see God's faithfulness? 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:29.639 If you're investigating 00:27:29.639 --> 00:27:30.159 Christianity 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:30.860 and you've come 00:27:30.860 --> 00:27:31.400 here tonight, 00:27:32.540 --> 00:27:33.660 how did you even 00:27:33.660 --> 00:27:34.460 end up here? 00:27:36.040 --> 00:27:36.860 What was it 00:27:36.860 --> 00:27:37.640 that brought you here? 00:27:37.800 --> 00:27:38.220 Did you think 00:27:38.220 --> 00:27:39.140 it was pure coincidence? 00:27:40.180 --> 00:27:40.860 Or do you think 00:27:40.860 --> 00:27:41.440 something, 00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:42.279 someone, 00:27:42.660 --> 00:27:43.340 was coordinating 00:27:43.340 --> 00:27:44.519 events to bring you 00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:45.120 here so you would 00:27:45.120 --> 00:27:46.000 hear about Jesus? 00:27:48.840 --> 00:27:49.660 God doesn't need 00:27:49.660 --> 00:27:50.320 to speak to you 00:27:50.320 --> 00:27:51.580 audibly like he did 00:27:51.580 --> 00:27:52.279 to Abraham 00:27:52.279 --> 00:27:53.660 to show you 00:27:53.660 --> 00:27:54.340 that he's at work. 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:56.480 God's orchestrating 00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:58.279 everything that happens 00:27:58.279 --> 00:28:00.059 at all times 00:28:00.059 --> 00:28:01.339 in the whole world 00:28:01.339 --> 00:28:02.899 and in your life. 00:28:04.839 --> 00:28:05.899 One way we see 00:28:05.899 --> 00:28:07.000 God at work 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:08.319 every day 00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:09.599 is when we see 00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:10.920 people who were 00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:11.899 unbelievers 00:28:11.899 --> 00:28:13.039 that are now 00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:13.779 believers. 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:15.839 How he changed 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:16.639 people who 00:28:16.639 --> 00:28:17.619 once loved 00:28:17.619 --> 00:28:18.019 the things 00:28:18.019 --> 00:28:18.379 that God 00:28:18.379 --> 00:28:19.379 disapproves of 00:28:19.379 --> 00:28:21.099 and now long 00:28:21.099 --> 00:28:22.019 to listen to 00:28:22.019 --> 00:28:22.700 and obey 00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:23.839 the commands 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:24.680 that God gives. 00:28:24.680 --> 00:28:27.200 And the church 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:27.820 itself 00:28:27.820 --> 00:28:29.920 across the world 00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:31.279 for all the 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:31.880 imperfections 00:28:31.880 --> 00:28:32.500 of its people 00:28:32.500 --> 00:28:33.420 is evidence 00:28:33.420 --> 00:28:34.580 that God 00:28:34.580 --> 00:28:35.360 keeps his promises. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:37.380 The Bible 00:28:37.380 --> 00:28:38.080 promises that 00:28:38.080 --> 00:28:38.580 the church 00:28:38.580 --> 00:28:39.799 is going to 00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:40.500 exist until 00:28:40.500 --> 00:28:41.080 Christ comes 00:28:41.080 --> 00:28:41.539 back. 00:28:43.100 --> 00:28:43.460 And from 00:28:43.460 --> 00:28:45.100 12 disciples 00:28:45.100 --> 00:28:46.140 2,000 years 00:28:46.140 --> 00:28:46.400 ago 00:28:46.400 --> 00:28:47.840 we've now got 00:28:47.840 --> 00:28:48.920 2.26 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:50.100 billion people 00:28:50.100 --> 00:28:51.240 who say 00:28:51.240 --> 00:28:51.740 that they 00:28:51.740 --> 00:28:52.240 follow the 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:52.500 Lord. 00:28:52.500 --> 00:28:54.880 Our 00:28:54.880 --> 00:28:55.599 promise-keeping 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:56.099 God 00:28:56.099 --> 00:28:57.500 keeps keeping 00:28:57.500 --> 00:28:58.160 his promises. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:00.720 Finally 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:01.220 and briefly 00:29:01.220 --> 00:29:02.259 the 00:29:02.259 --> 00:29:03.039 incomparable 00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:03.779 provision. 00:29:05.259 --> 00:29:06.240 When God 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:06.799 stopped 00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:07.259 Abraham 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:08.319 from sacrificing 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:08.920 Isaac 00:29:08.920 --> 00:29:10.160 it wasn't 00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:11.039 just an end 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:11.500 to the 00:29:11.500 --> 00:29:12.180 sacrifice. 00:29:13.140 --> 00:29:13.539 It didn't 00:29:13.539 --> 00:29:14.480 just become 00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:14.940 abandoned. 00:29:16.220 --> 00:29:16.460 Abraham 00:29:16.460 --> 00:29:17.079 looked up 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:17.519 and he saw 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:18.720 ram caught 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:19.160 in some 00:29:19.160 --> 00:29:19.440 bushes 00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:21.819 and Abraham 00:29:21.819 --> 00:29:22.659 sacrificed 00:29:22.659 --> 00:29:23.439 the ram 00:29:23.439 --> 00:29:24.399 in place 00:29:24.399 --> 00:29:25.639 of his 00:29:25.639 --> 00:29:25.980 son. 00:29:26.659 --> 00:29:26.919 God 00:29:26.919 --> 00:29:27.559 substituted 00:29:27.559 --> 00:29:28.259 one life 00:29:28.259 --> 00:29:29.399 for another. 00:29:30.299 --> 00:29:30.759 And this 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:31.419 transforms 00:29:31.419 --> 00:29:32.200 this story 00:29:32.200 --> 00:29:33.980 of a test 00:29:33.980 --> 00:29:35.019 into a 00:29:35.019 --> 00:29:35.539 revelation 00:29:35.539 --> 00:29:36.179 of the 00:29:36.179 --> 00:29:36.599 gospel. 00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:38.559 The 18th 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:38.859 century 00:29:38.859 --> 00:29:39.259 preacher 00:29:39.259 --> 00:29:39.899 and theologian 00:29:39.899 --> 00:29:40.200 Jonathan 00:29:40.200 --> 00:29:40.480 Edwards 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:40.839 said, 00:29:41.639 --> 00:29:42.099 this command 00:29:42.099 --> 00:29:42.379 was a 00:29:42.379 --> 00:29:43.220 great trial 00:29:43.220 --> 00:29:43.919 of Abraham's 00:29:43.919 --> 00:29:44.379 obedience 00:29:44.379 --> 00:29:45.319 and faith 00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:46.019 and also 00:29:46.019 --> 00:29:46.579 a type 00:29:46.579 --> 00:29:46.980 of what 00:29:46.980 --> 00:29:47.279 God 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:47.879 the Father 00:29:47.879 --> 00:29:48.879 was afterwards 00:29:48.879 --> 00:29:49.399 to do 00:29:49.400 --> 00:29:50.259 in his 00:29:50.259 --> 00:29:50.560 son. 00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:52.259 God 00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:52.640 provided 00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:53.100 a ram 00:29:53.100 --> 00:29:54.360 as a 00:29:54.360 --> 00:29:54.720 replacement 00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:55.940 for Isaac. 00:29:57.500 --> 00:29:57.860 But Abraham 00:29:57.860 --> 00:29:58.380 told Isaac 00:29:58.380 --> 00:29:58.800 in verse 00:29:58.800 --> 00:29:59.160 8 that 00:29:59.160 --> 00:29:59.540 God 00:29:59.540 --> 00:30:00.000 will 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:00.540 provide 00:30:00.540 --> 00:30:01.240 the 00:30:01.240 --> 00:30:01.580 lamb. 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:03.140 Abraham 00:30:03.140 --> 00:30:04.320 sacrificed 00:30:04.320 --> 00:30:05.040 a ram 00:30:05.040 --> 00:30:06.440 but a 00:30:06.440 --> 00:30:06.820 lamb was 00:30:06.820 --> 00:30:07.140 coming. 00:30:08.580 --> 00:30:09.160 The first 00:30:09.160 --> 00:30:09.580 readers of 00:30:09.580 --> 00:30:10.100 this story, 00:30:10.860 --> 00:30:11.340 the Israelites 00:30:11.340 --> 00:30:12.160 who wandered 00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:13.620 in the desert 00:30:13.620 --> 00:30:14.120 with Moses, 00:30:14.740 --> 00:30:15.720 they experienced 00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:16.880 the saving 00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:20.440 power through 00:30:20.440 --> 00:30:21.720 a lamb. 00:30:22.040 --> 00:30:22.320 When they 00:30:22.320 --> 00:30:22.520 were in 00:30:22.520 --> 00:30:24.020 Egypt and 00:30:24.020 --> 00:30:24.820 they were 00:30:24.820 --> 00:30:25.360 leaving, 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:26.560 they were 00:30:26.560 --> 00:30:28.520 in slavery, 00:30:29.740 --> 00:30:30.760 God sent 00:30:30.760 --> 00:30:31.280 plagues on 00:30:31.280 --> 00:30:32.460 Egypt and 00:30:32.460 --> 00:30:33.020 he said 00:30:33.020 --> 00:30:33.920 to the 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:34.440 Israelite 00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:34.860 people, 00:30:35.780 --> 00:30:36.440 kill a 00:30:36.440 --> 00:30:37.380 lamb and 00:30:37.380 --> 00:30:37.780 daub the 00:30:37.780 --> 00:30:39.160 blood on 00:30:39.160 --> 00:30:39.600 the frame 00:30:39.600 --> 00:30:39.860 of your 00:30:39.860 --> 00:30:41.440 door and 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:41.620 I will 00:30:41.620 --> 00:30:42.080 pass over 00:30:42.080 --> 00:30:42.720 your houses. 00:30:44.260 --> 00:30:45.120 Those people 00:30:45.120 --> 00:30:46.240 knew that 00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:46.640 God, 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:47.480 through a 00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:47.759 lamb, 00:30:47.940 --> 00:30:48.339 saved the 00:30:48.339 --> 00:30:48.740 life of 00:30:48.740 --> 00:30:48.900 their 00:30:48.900 --> 00:30:49.519 firstborn. 00:30:50.059 --> 00:30:50.299 And in 00:30:50.299 --> 00:30:50.720 subsequent 00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:51.420 generations, 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:52.779 they would 00:30:52.779 --> 00:30:53.500 bring lamb 00:30:53.500 --> 00:30:54.299 to the 00:30:54.299 --> 00:30:54.799 temple, 00:30:55.019 --> 00:30:55.579 not far, 00:30:56.019 --> 00:30:56.680 the temple 00:30:56.680 --> 00:30:57.099 was built 00:30:57.099 --> 00:30:57.700 not far 00:30:57.700 --> 00:30:58.960 from where 00:30:58.960 --> 00:30:59.259 this whole 00:30:59.259 --> 00:30:59.759 incident took 00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:00.200 place. 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:02.400 And those 00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:02.900 lambs were 00:31:02.900 --> 00:31:03.319 killed as 00:31:03.319 --> 00:31:03.880 payment for 00:31:03.880 --> 00:31:04.319 the sins 00:31:04.319 --> 00:31:05.079 of the 00:31:05.079 --> 00:31:05.400 people. 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:06.779 But all 00:31:06.779 --> 00:31:06.980 those 00:31:06.980 --> 00:31:07.640 sacrifices, 00:31:08.440 --> 00:31:08.839 all those 00:31:08.839 --> 00:31:09.440 lambs, 00:31:10.140 --> 00:31:10.599 were mere 00:31:10.599 --> 00:31:11.299 pictures of 00:31:11.299 --> 00:31:11.740 the one who 00:31:11.740 --> 00:31:12.039 was going to 00:31:12.039 --> 00:31:12.319 be the 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:12.740 ultimate 00:31:12.740 --> 00:31:13.660 lamb. 00:31:13.660 --> 00:31:15.000 Jesus, 00:31:15.960 --> 00:31:16.519 God's 00:31:16.519 --> 00:31:17.040 only 00:31:17.040 --> 00:31:18.019 unique 00:31:18.019 --> 00:31:18.680 son, 00:31:20.440 --> 00:31:20.820 who like 00:31:20.820 --> 00:31:21.320 Isaac, 00:31:22.019 --> 00:31:22.660 himself 00:31:22.660 --> 00:31:23.660 carried the 00:31:23.660 --> 00:31:24.900 wood up 00:31:24.900 --> 00:31:25.320 the hill 00:31:25.320 --> 00:31:26.259 where he 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:26.540 was going 00:31:26.540 --> 00:31:27.160 to be 00:31:27.160 --> 00:31:27.980 sacrificed. 00:31:28.860 --> 00:31:29.360 Who like 00:31:29.360 --> 00:31:29.740 Isaac, 00:31:29.740 --> 00:31:30.460 went willingly 00:31:30.460 --> 00:31:31.240 to the 00:31:31.240 --> 00:31:32.340 altar to 00:31:32.340 --> 00:31:32.640 give his 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:33.019 life. 00:31:34.700 --> 00:31:35.400 But unlike 00:31:35.400 --> 00:31:36.200 Isaac on 00:31:36.200 --> 00:31:36.380 Mount 00:31:36.380 --> 00:31:36.779 Moriah, 00:31:37.180 --> 00:31:37.800 there was 00:31:37.800 --> 00:31:38.779 no angelic 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:39.640 voice calling 00:31:39.640 --> 00:31:40.940 halt on 00:31:40.940 --> 00:31:41.180 Mount 00:31:41.180 --> 00:31:41.680 Calvary. 00:31:43.400 --> 00:31:44.279 Jesus died 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:45.539 for our 00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:45.820 sin. 00:31:46.019 --> 00:31:46.340 He was 00:31:46.340 --> 00:31:46.920 the substitute 00:31:46.920 --> 00:31:47.820 for us. 00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:48.340 There could 00:31:48.340 --> 00:31:48.740 be no 00:31:48.740 --> 00:31:49.380 substitute for 00:31:49.380 --> 00:31:49.900 the ultimate 00:31:49.900 --> 00:31:50.440 substitute. 00:31:52.039 --> 00:31:52.360 Jesus, 00:31:52.500 --> 00:31:52.980 the one that 00:31:52.980 --> 00:31:53.279 John the 00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:54.039 Baptist called 00:31:54.039 --> 00:31:54.740 the Lamb 00:31:54.740 --> 00:31:55.140 of God 00:31:55.140 --> 00:31:55.539 who takes 00:31:55.539 --> 00:31:55.900 away the 00:31:55.900 --> 00:31:56.220 sin of 00:31:56.220 --> 00:31:56.740 the world, 00:31:57.560 --> 00:31:58.160 died on 00:31:58.160 --> 00:31:58.720 that cross. 00:32:01.320 --> 00:32:01.820 And when 00:32:01.820 --> 00:32:02.360 he died, 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:03.200 even his 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:04.080 best friends 00:32:04.080 --> 00:32:05.000 were crestfallen. 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:07.960 The dreams 00:32:07.960 --> 00:32:08.600 that they had 00:32:08.600 --> 00:32:09.160 that this was 00:32:09.160 --> 00:32:09.660 the promised 00:32:09.660 --> 00:32:10.160 Messiah, 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:11.180 the long 00:32:11.180 --> 00:32:12.040 prophesied 00:32:12.040 --> 00:32:12.740 Savior, 00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:13.220 had been 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:13.779 dashed in 00:32:13.779 --> 00:32:14.060 the most 00:32:14.060 --> 00:32:14.700 terrible way. 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:17.180 And while the 00:32:17.180 --> 00:32:17.980 disciples didn't 00:32:17.980 --> 00:32:18.580 get it yet, 00:32:19.320 --> 00:32:19.759 generations 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:20.360 before, 00:32:21.300 --> 00:32:21.880 Abraham knew 00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:22.340 that death 00:32:22.340 --> 00:32:22.779 wasn't the 00:32:22.779 --> 00:32:23.080 end. 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:25.279 He had 00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:26.500 faith that 00:32:26.500 --> 00:32:27.360 death had 00:32:27.360 --> 00:32:27.840 no power 00:32:27.840 --> 00:32:28.360 to stop 00:32:28.360 --> 00:32:28.720 God. 00:32:31.180 --> 00:32:31.779 And he 00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:32.279 was right. 00:32:32.700 --> 00:32:33.080 On the 00:32:33.080 --> 00:32:33.540 third day, 00:32:33.640 --> 00:32:34.080 Jesus rose 00:32:34.080 --> 00:32:34.440 again, 00:32:35.320 --> 00:32:35.759 showing that 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:36.940 God provided 00:32:36.940 --> 00:32:39.300 his son as 00:32:39.299 --> 00:32:39.859 a true 00:32:39.859 --> 00:32:40.759 and a 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:41.079 complete 00:32:41.079 --> 00:32:41.559 atonement 00:32:41.559 --> 00:32:42.000 for our 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:42.220 sin. 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:44.460 He took 00:32:44.460 --> 00:32:44.839 on our 00:32:44.839 --> 00:32:45.099 sin. 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:46.359 We, 00:32:46.659 --> 00:32:47.299 through faith, 00:32:48.440 --> 00:32:48.980 put on 00:32:48.980 --> 00:32:49.220 his 00:32:49.220 --> 00:32:49.720 righteousness. 00:32:52.419 --> 00:32:53.279 The lesson 00:32:53.279 --> 00:32:54.259 of the trial 00:32:54.259 --> 00:32:54.659 of Abraham 00:32:54.659 --> 00:32:55.200 is not, 00:32:55.879 --> 00:32:56.700 like Abraham, 00:32:57.059 --> 00:32:57.619 you can do 00:32:57.619 --> 00:32:58.119 anything you 00:32:58.119 --> 00:32:58.419 put your 00:32:58.419 --> 00:32:58.899 mind to. 00:33:00.279 --> 00:33:01.000 It's not, 00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:01.859 no matter how 00:33:01.859 --> 00:33:02.599 bad things you 00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:02.919 get, 00:33:03.659 --> 00:33:04.159 you can 00:33:04.159 --> 00:33:04.480 overcome. 00:33:05.819 --> 00:33:06.259 It's not, 00:33:06.379 --> 00:33:06.700 climb that 00:33:06.700 --> 00:33:06.980 mountain, 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:07.460 claim that 00:33:07.460 --> 00:33:07.839 reward. 00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:09.879 The real 00:33:09.879 --> 00:33:10.639 lesson is 00:33:10.639 --> 00:33:11.599 Jehovah 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:12.159 Jireh, 00:33:12.740 --> 00:33:13.539 the Lord 00:33:13.539 --> 00:33:14.579 will provide. 00:33:16.519 --> 00:33:17.019 God the 00:33:17.019 --> 00:33:17.339 Father 00:33:17.339 --> 00:33:18.779 provided 00:33:18.779 --> 00:33:19.980 dearly, 00:33:20.099 --> 00:33:20.879 expensively, 00:33:20.879 --> 00:33:21.259 for our 00:33:21.259 --> 00:33:21.599 forgiveness 00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:23.959 by bringing 00:33:23.959 --> 00:33:25.659 the metaphorical 00:33:25.659 --> 00:33:27.359 knife across 00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:27.899 the throat 00:33:27.899 --> 00:33:28.339 of his 00:33:28.339 --> 00:33:28.919 pure, 00:33:29.639 --> 00:33:30.319 innocent, 00:33:31.059 --> 00:33:31.919 only begotten 00:33:31.919 --> 00:33:32.279 son. 00:33:33.919 --> 00:33:34.720 Paul writes 00:33:34.720 --> 00:33:35.199 in Romans 00:33:35.199 --> 00:33:35.740 8, 00:33:35.740 --> 00:33:48.579 God 00:33:48.579 --> 00:33:48.900 didn't 00:33:48.900 --> 00:33:49.259 spare 00:33:49.259 --> 00:33:49.839 his 00:33:49.839 --> 00:33:50.059 only 00:33:50.059 --> 00:33:50.400 son 00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:51.779 to 00:33:51.779 --> 00:33:52.160 fulfill 00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:52.359 the 00:33:52.359 --> 00:33:52.779 promises 00:33:52.779 --> 00:33:53.200 that he 00:33:53.200 --> 00:33:53.559 made to 00:33:53.559 --> 00:33:53.940 Abraham 00:33:53.940 --> 00:33:54.380 that through 00:33:54.380 --> 00:33:54.620 his 00:33:54.620 --> 00:33:54.880 seed 00:33:54.880 --> 00:33:55.759 the whole 00:33:55.759 --> 00:33:56.319 world 00:33:56.319 --> 00:33:57.000 would be 00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:57.460 blessed. 00:33:57.460 --> 00:33:58.460 God's 00:33:58.460 --> 00:33:59.460 love 00:33:59.460 --> 00:33:59.880 what could 00:33:59.880 --> 00:33:59.980 you 00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:00.480 possibly 00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:01.019 love 00:34:01.019 --> 00:34:02.299 that you 00:34:02.299 --> 00:34:04.160 let stop 00:34:04.160 --> 00:34:04.519 you 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:06.220 coming 00:34:06.220 --> 00:34:07.360 wholly 00:34:07.360 --> 00:34:08.300 and 00:34:08.300 --> 00:34:08.740 completely 00:34:08.740 --> 00:34:10.260 to this 00:34:10.260 --> 00:34:10.559 God? 00:34:11.860 --> 00:34:12.539 Amen. 00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:14.260 Let's pray. 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:18.000 Lord God, 00:34:18.059 --> 00:34:18.659 we thank you 00:34:18.659 --> 00:34:19.019 for your 00:34:19.019 --> 00:34:19.599 holy word. 00:34:20.280 --> 00:34:20.840 We thank you 00:34:20.840 --> 00:34:21.119 for the 00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:21.480 promises 00:34:21.480 --> 00:34:21.860 that it 00:34:21.860 --> 00:34:22.300 contains. 00:34:22.300 --> 00:34:24.220 we thank 00:34:24.220 --> 00:34:24.560 you that 00:34:24.560 --> 00:34:24.800 you do 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:25.240 not call 00:34:25.240 --> 00:34:25.580 us to 00:34:25.580 --> 00:34:26.080 a blind 00:34:26.080 --> 00:34:26.560 faith, 00:34:27.500 --> 00:34:29.880 but to 00:34:29.880 --> 00:34:30.320 have faith 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:30.580 in the 00:34:30.580 --> 00:34:32.019 things that 00:34:32.019 --> 00:34:32.340 we have 00:34:32.340 --> 00:34:32.800 faithfully 00:34:32.800 --> 00:34:33.220 recorded 00:34:33.220 --> 00:34:34.260 for us 00:34:34.260 --> 00:34:34.500 in the 00:34:34.500 --> 00:34:34.800 Bible, 00:34:36.640 --> 00:34:37.180 that our 00:34:37.180 --> 00:34:37.519 God did 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:37.980 not spare 00:34:37.980 --> 00:34:38.380 his only 00:34:38.380 --> 00:34:38.700 son, 00:34:39.220 --> 00:34:39.700 but gave 00:34:39.700 --> 00:34:39.980 him up 00:34:39.980 --> 00:34:40.640 for us. 00:34:42.019 --> 00:34:42.740 Help us 00:34:42.740 --> 00:34:43.400 put to 00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:43.780 death in 00:34:43.780 --> 00:34:44.080 our own 00:34:44.080 --> 00:34:45.380 lives any 00:34:45.380 --> 00:34:46.500 hard-heartedness 00:34:46.500 --> 00:34:48.180 or habits 00:34:48.180 --> 00:34:48.500 that are 00:34:48.500 --> 00:34:49.100 keeping us 00:34:49.100 --> 00:34:49.760 from putting 00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:50.460 all our 00:34:50.460 --> 00:34:51.840 faith in 00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:52.020 your 00:34:52.020 --> 00:34:52.380 promises. 00:34:53.380 --> 00:34:53.960 We pray 00:34:53.960 --> 00:34:54.260 in Jesus' 00:34:54.440 --> 00:34:54.620 name. 00:34:55.620 --> 00:34:55.940 Amen.