You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.
That's a powerful clip to me. Sorry, that song earlier, I'll tell you about it.
I'll get into that in the sermon, but I'm Derek Harris, because I haven't met you.
I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm very happy to preach the Word of God this morning.
That video, I hope, resonates with you the way it does with me, because you can feel his pain.
I feel it when I see his face, and we all know what it's like to be in a situation, don't we, where it's so hopeful,
and then it suddenly turns out to be something so broken, right?
We all long for a hero to make things right, to rush out of the stands, right, and carry us.
Someone who will turn the bad things into good things.
Someone who will save us from our distresses, our loneliness, and our fear, and who will protect us forever.
And we look to that hero in so many things that aren't that hero, right?
We look for our spouses to be that hero, our image, our work, our money, our reputation.
And underneath all of that, we're really just longing for a hero who understands our pain, our fear,
and has the power to actually change our world and our distressing circumstances.
We want someone to walk across that ultimate finish line with us the way that dad did,
and not merely a hero who just makes things better or is a rainbow in our pain,
but one who can completely erase all pain, all death, and all suffering forever.
We want that ending that says he or she lived happily ever after, and we look for it in so many things.
Well, in our passage today, Father Abraham was also longing for that hero.
He was also longing for an escape from those circumstances.
And he trusted a God who would deliver him from the horrific circumstances that just seemed like they would drag on and drag on.
So let's look at these verses together from Genesis chapter 22.
After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him,
Abraham, Abraham, and he said,
Here I am.
He said,
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.
So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac,
and he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose,
and went to the place of which God had told him.
On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes, and he saw the place from afar.
Then Abraham said to his young men,
Stay here with the donkey.
I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and he laid it on Isaac, his son.
And he took in his hand the fire and the knife.
So they went both of them together,
and Isaac said to his father, Abraham,
My father.
And he said, Here I am, my son.
He said, Behold the fire and the wood,
but where's the lamb for a burnt offering?
Abraham said,
God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.
So they went both of them together.
And when they came to the place of which God had told them,
Abraham built the altar there, and he laid the wood in order.
And he bound Isaac, his son, and laid on him the altar,
laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said,
Abraham, Abraham.
And he said, Here I am.
He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him,
for now I know that you fear God,
seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and he looked,
and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns.
And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up
as a burnt offering instead of his son.
So Abraham called the name of that place,
the Lord will provide.
As it is said to this day on the mountain of the Lord,
it shall be provided.
And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven,
and said, By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord,
because you have done this and have not withheld your son,
your only son, I will surely bless you.
And I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven
and as the sand that is on the seashore.
And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies.
And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,
because you have obeyed my voice.
So Abraham returned to his young men,
and they arose and went together to Beersheba.
And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
So this verse is very chilling, right?
It's these verses.
This is a story that we're all very familiar with,
but when we look at it very closely,
it's a striking story.
We have Abraham, the father,
the patriarch formerly known as Abram,
the promised father of all nations.
He and his wife Sarah have been waiting for a son
because Abraham and God had talked about it.
If we look at Genesis 15 here,
Behold, you've given me no offspring,
and a member of my household will be my heir.
And behold, the word of the Lord came to him.
This man shall not be your heir.
Your very own son shall be your heir.
And he brought him outside,
and he said, look toward heaven
and the number of the stars,
if you're able to number them.
Then he said to him,
so shall your offspring be.
And he believed the Lord,
and it was counted to him as righteousness.
So they have this conversation, right?
And then Abraham and Sarah wait and wait,
and they trust and they trust,
and they grow older,
tick, tock, tick, tock.
And after 10 years of waiting,
Abraham gets antsy.
And he decides to make other arrangements for the child
and take matters into his own hands.
So he decides, well,
God must have meant that I need to have
a child with my servant Hagar.
I'll take it from here, God.
And the child was named Ishmael.
Now, imagine how tough this was for his wife Sarah
to see this happen.
Imagine the despair in her heart.
And Abraham thought that this would be his heir.
He had taken care of this promise that God made.
He trusted, but he also tweaked.
He tweaked God's plan.
He thought this was the promised child
who would grow into the nations as numerous as the stars.
But God had one plan all along.
And he didn't need Abraham to tweak his plan.
And he doesn't need us to tweak his plan either.
So after more waiting and more years,
God provides a child.
15 years after Ishmael was born,
25 years after that initial conversation
that Abraham had with God
about him giving him a child,
God had planned for Sarah to bear a son
at the youthful age of 90.
And Abraham was to be the 100-year-old dad.
That's why Sarah laughed when Isaac was born
because the name Isaac means laughter.
This son, though, would be the heir.
This son, Isaac, would be the seed of the nations.
His name that meant laughter.
And it's through Isaac that Abraham
would become a blessing
to all the families of the earth,
including us here today.
But right before this passage in Genesis 21,
Ishmael has been sent away with Hagar.
And God promises to take care of him
and to make him into a great nation as well.
But Abraham, he decided to push the reset button
and to go back and say,
this is the family.
I've messed up in some ways.
And push reset.
And he started over.
And he's left with Sarah and Isaac,
his only son.
So the world around us
drastically influences
how we understand our reality.
And if we read this passage here
from only our perspective,
we might miss the greater message.
When I say our perspective,
I mean American perspective.
We might get derailed
from the very beginning of this passage
because our passage begins with a request.
A request from God the Father
to Father Abraham
that some have called maniacal,
cruel,
and downright disgusting.
So if we look at verses 1 and 2,
we see the request.
Take your son, your only son,
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.
So the first thing
that we have to consider
before moving forward
is the nature of this request.
This is where I found perspective
outside of an American perspective
to be helpful.
And that particularly
the perspective of how an Israelite
would have heard this.
An Israelite would not have understood
this request as maniacal
or cruel or disgusting.
They wouldn't have heard this
as an account of God tempting Abraham
to do something he shouldn't
and to sin.
It's not an account of Satan
tempting Abraham.
This was actually all about God
and they would have known that.
All of it.
God here is testing
one of his beloved servants,
one of his prophets,
so to speak,
of which Abraham was a type
to come,
the prophets to come later,
were often,
they were often tested
though with the most extreme circumstances.
It was a part of the plight
in their life.
And their life was a difficult one.
And if what they said wasn't true,
their life was actually taken from them
as a penalty.
So the Israelites would have actually
understood this
when hearing the gospel story.
So the request wouldn't have seemed
as odd as it may seem to us
and our modern American minds today.
If you think about it,
I've got a picture here
to put up here.
The passage begins
by giving us the motive here.
And we hear that the request is a test.
So when soldiers prepare for battle,
they must pass tests, right?
They must role play
in the preparation for the role
that they're going to play
in the future.
They've got to jump out of planes,
shoot guns many times,
risk their life.
But their instructors
are always preparing them for battle.
And certainly and always,
the well-being of the soldier
is of utmost importance.
The instructor's done this before
and knows how to best prepare
the soldier that he cares for
for what is ahead.
But the greater the responsibility
of the soldier,
the more extreme the test
is going to be for the soldier.
So here we have Abraham
and God's request for him
to complete a test,
to sacrifice his son,
the son of blessing.
And if you remember
how tough this must have been,
God had originally asked Abraham
to leave everything,
take everything he had,
and go to Ur.
So God had asked him
to sacrifice his past
and all that he had.
And now he's looking to Isaac
to be this blessing,
to continue to become
the nation of Israel,
and God's asking him
to sacrifice his promised future.
So how could a good God
ask for something like this?
Like the death of a child
to somebody that he loves?
That doesn't seem very good at all.
It doesn't feel good.
Does this mean that God
is not good?
You know, as I read this passage,
I had to struggle
with this question again.
And I think many of you
probably have struggled
with this question
in your heart before.
To me, it brought up
feelings of grief in my heart.
I had to wrestle with
whether or not
I would be able to do
what Abraham did.
And to this day,
I really don't think
that I would.
Which is why I'm so glad
that my faith
doesn't rest on my obedience.
But on the perfect obedience
and provision of someone else.
God himself.
Through Jesus Christ.
So, it made me think back
to times in my life
when I actually
was challenged
with the question,
God, are you good?
Because it feels so bad.
And I've not really shared this
much ever
from the pulpit.
But I remember the morning
that I watched my wife
on the phone
as she received the news
that her 23-year-old brother
had taken his life.
That moment changed
both of our lives forever.
It was followed by
a few years later
by the death of her mother
to cancer.
A time in our life
when it literally felt like
God had shaved off
all of our skin
and dropped us
in a pool of rubbing alcohol.
Pain, suffering,
looking for light
and escape.
Yet, I believe in God.
I trusted Him.
Many of you
may have experienced
something like this
in your life
or another type of tragedy
that changes you forever
from that point forward.
And it may have made you ask,
is God good
just when you think
you're going to win that race?
Right?
Your moment of joy
enters this brokenness.
Dan Allender calls this,
he's an author,
calls this,
the shalom shattered,
the peace completely broken
of the fabric that you know.
And I won't act like
I have all the answers,
but I have found rest in this.
Though God,
the creator of life
as we know it,
has the authority
to give life
and the authority
to take it away,
to create good circumstances
and to eradicate bad ones,
and though He has
full authority
to make this sort of request
that He makes to Abraham,
He's also the one
who sustains those
who are left
with any loss or pain.
He left the stands of heaven
to bring us home.
And though we experience
horrific loss,
my family and I,
that I honestly would undo,
I believe,
if God said,
you can snap your fingers
and undo this,
I would say,
okay,
my wife and I
have become closer
through all of this.
God's brought us closer
to Him
through all of this,
and He's done it
through His people,
the church.
church.
So it's the same God
who promises
that I will be
with my loved ones
in heaven forever.
So He allowed this
to happen,
but He sustained me
in the midst
of it happening.
And my loved ones
will be there
because they had faith
in the God
who provides,
Jesus Christ.
Heaven is real,
and when I'm there,
this loss
will no longer exist.
And if you have faith
in Jesus,
it won't exist
for you either.
So that gives me
reason to hope
in the midst
of dark circumstances.
And I hope
that it gives you
reason to hope.
I don't think you're here
by accident today
to hear this story.
When you find
that shalom shattered,
remember,
it's going to be restored.
The shalom will be restored
and it will be
never-ending peace.
Therefore,
it gives me faith
and it gives me assurance
of the things hoped for,
and that's how we keep walking.
And that's why we need each other.
And in this passage,
you see that hope,
you see that determination
in Abraham.
You see trust
and you see life.
The request is a test
but what is his response?
His response
is remarkable.
Absolutely remarkable.
I'm not going to read
all this verse
but I'll refer to it.
So when I took
Hebrew in seminary,
one of our assignments
was to translate
this chapter,
Genesis 22,
and it stuck with me.
When reading it
in the original language,
there is a tone
about commitment
and determination
and absolute heartache
all on the foundation
of unrelenting trust
in God
despite the seemingly
horrific situation.
There's something about it
you capture
when you read it
in the original language.
The faith of Abraham,
though,
it's astonishing.
You see it in his response here.
Even though all the circumstances
seem completely horrific,
go sacrifice your son.
I mean,
I don't know of a worse request.
He knew the true character
of God
and he knew the burden
that he carried
as Father Abraham.
And part of me wonders
if he even thought,
well,
maybe this is happening
as a punishment
because of the decision
I made to tweak God's plan
and have a child
with Hagar.
I wonder if he blamed himself
ever about that.
Have you ever thought that way?
Like,
something bad happens to you
because you've offended God
in some way,
even though you completely
don't believe
that's what happens
when you accept Christ?
But God
doesn't work that way.
He promises love
and blessing
and protection
for everyone
who trusts him
through faith.
That doesn't mean
that bad things
will not happen to us.
It means that bad things
are a part of the story
but that the ending
is greater
than we can possibly imagine.
Notice in verse 3,
Abraham doesn't argue.
He just gets up and goes,
at least in this account.
He rose early in the morning.
I bet he rose early in the morning.
I bet he didn't sleep
the night before.
Would you?
You know,
he rested in the restlessness.
You ever done that
where your mind
just races all night?
There's no mention
of him telling Sarah
what was going on,
what was going to happen,
but there's a tone
of that determined,
focused silence,
almost like a state of mourning.
So he saddles the horse.
He gets two of his men
to go with him.
He gets the wood
for the burnt offering
and then he and Isaac
set out for the mountain.
Mount Moriah
is what it was.
The journey took three days
and then at the base
of the mountain,
he asked his men to wait.
I don't think they knew
what was happening.
And the only person
that actually knew
the whole story
from beginning to end
at that point
would have been God the Father.
And the only person
who knew about the nature
of the request at this point
would have been Abraham.
So those two,
the only ones who knew
the big picture there.
Verse five,
you can see the faith
and the trust of Abraham.
Notice he says
to his two workers,
stay here with the donkey.
I and the boy
will go over there
to worship
and come again to you.
See,
he expected to walk out
with Isaac.
Yet,
he was willing
to fulfill the request
to the end.
We know this
because of Hebrews 11.
Let's look at that together.
And Isaac,
wait,
go to Hebrews 11,
please.
Thank you.
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
of whom it was said,
through Isaac
shall your offspring
be named.
He considered that God
was able even
to raise him
from the dead
from which,
figuratively speaking,
he did receive him back.
So,
Abraham had
a resurrection faith.
That's what we can learn
going into this,
going into this request.
And he trusted God
and he knew that
even if he had to go
the fullest degree
with this request,
he expected that God
would bring his child
back to life.
So,
are we learning
be good
and have faith
like Abraham?
Never question
or doubt?
Never wonder?
No.
That's not what,
if that's what
this passage teaches us,
it's an element of it,
have faith.
But if that's all
that we see,
we're missing the point
of this passage.
It's not intended
to be a lesson
of do better.
But we do gain
a little bit more insight
between a relationship
between faith and works,
I think.
We can look at that here
through Abraham's response.
See,
we believe that we're saved
by faith alone,
through Christ alone,
in Christ alone.
What we're taught
in James 2,
was not Abraham
our father justified
by works
when he offered up
his son Isaac
on the altar?
You see that faith
was active along
with his works
and faith was completed
by his works
and the scripture
was fulfilled
that says,
Abraham believed God
and it was counted
to him as righteousness
and he was called
a friend of God.
You see that a person
is justified by works
and not by faith alone.
And what this means
is this,
our faith in Christ
justifies us
before God.
Our works,
in the case of the word
justify in that passage,
meaning demonstrates
our faith before men.
So,
Abraham was fully faithful
and God knew his heart.
God didn't need him
to show him.
Okay?
But other people
don't know his faith
and God certainly
knew his heart,
as I said,
but who needed
to see his faith?
We did.
Today.
And Abraham needed
to see the faithfulness
of his God,
our God.
And we need to see
each other's faith.
And we need to see
and hear how God
has sustained you
and me
and provided.
That's why he's
given us the church.
One of the many reasons
that's why he's
given us his word.
And when we live out
our faith
through our lives,
we tell a much larger
story of gospel redemption.
We extend the comfort
that God has given us
to those around us
by reminding them
that they're not alone.
And when we let others,
especially in our church community,
know us,
really know us,
the hard parts
and our stories,
our brokenness,
we can receive God's comfort
through them.
God is faithful
to provide what you need
when you need it.
And as the story continues
in Genesis 22,
verse 7,
Abraham gives the wood
to Isaac to carry.
He takes the knife
and the flint.
As they're traveling,
we read one of the most
sobering verses
in the Bible,
I think.
When we hear Isaac
ask his dad,
my father,
and he said,
here I am,
my son.
Behold the fire
and the wood,
but where's the lamb?
I don't even
have a category
in my mind
for that conversation.
And I cannot imagine
what was going
through the mind
of either one of them.
As the narrative continues,
they reach the place
for sacrifice.
And Abraham's faithful
to the instructions.
He binds his son,
he lifts up his arm
to fulfill
his sacrificial duties.
And then,
our hero,
the trustworthy God,
the one who will
provide for you
and me
and has provided.
What happens?
The one who gives
life and love,
he rushes from the stance
and he speaks
through his angel
from the sky
and resurrection light
enters our dark scene
of brokenness.
You see this,
the resurrection
is real.
And if we are not
talking about the resurrection
or understanding it,
why do we have faith
at all?
It's what Jesus came
to save us from,
the resurrection
of the dead
to death.
He saves us
a resurrection
to life.
This is what
the gospel
is all about.
What an amazing
true story
we see here.
Verse 13,
you can see
God provides
a ram
caught in a thicket
of thorns
by its horns.
The ram
is provided
as a substitute
for his son.
Abraham's faith
then is ratified
and it's credited
to him
as righteousness.
The mountain
is named
Jehovah-Jireh,
which means
the Lord
will provide.
Verse 15,
you see God
reestablishes
his covenant
from Genesis 15
where he says
that he will
bless you
with descendants
more numerous
than the stars.
Well,
he takes it
even further
and he says
they're going
to be more numerous
than the sand
on the seashore.
And as the words
of that song
that owned me
at the beginning
say,
sometimes I think
of Abraham,
how one star
he saw
had been lit
for me.
He was a stranger
in this land
and I am that
no less than he
and on this road
to righteousness
sometimes the climb
can be so steep
I may falter
in my steps
but never beyond
your reach.
God,
you are my God.
during the loss
of our brother
and our mother
we would go
to the beach
sometimes down
there on 30A
if you've ever
been there
and there's this
beautiful sand
dune lake
and I would just
walk
and just listen
to that song
and just step.
So all I had to do
was just keep walking
and I don't know
where you are
and what you may
be going through
just keep walking
and keep looking
up at those stars
and remembering
that one of those stars
is lit
for you.
Abraham had
a resurrection faith
and he trusted God
but what does that
really mean?
It doesn't mean
just be good.
The meaning of the passage
is this
the Lord provides
a lamb
for a burnt offering
so that Isaac
who becomes Israel
may live
so that we
may live.
If you read
Matthew 1
verse 1
we learn that
from all of this
came Jesus Christ
the book of the genealogy
of Jesus Christ
the son of David
the son of Abraham
and it goes into
great detail.
The Lord provides
a lamb
for a burnt offering
so that Isaac
so that Israel
may live
so that we
may live.
The ram you see
is a type of Christ
the lamb who was slain
for his people
are you one of his people?
This is not a story
about being good
it's not a story
about doing better
it's not a story
about a distant God
who doesn't understand
this is about
Jehovah Jireh
the God who provides
a sacrifice
for his chosen people
who does not spare
his son
as he did for Isaac
but a loving father
who gives his only son
to die in our place
as a substitute
on the cross
made of wood
so that we may live
for God so loved
the world
that he gave
his one and only son
that whoever believes
in him
shall not perish
but have eternal life
Abraham looked ahead
to the Christ
who would save the world
God would provide
God did provide
God is still providing today
we receive that eternal life
through faith
in Jesus' perfect life
atoning death
and glorious resurrection
Jesus is that ram
caught in the thicket
of thorns
to be sacrificed for us
in our place
on a cross
on a cross made of wood
wearing a crown
made of thorns
on his head
and as Abraham
and Isaac
journeyed
to Mount Moriah
this is amazing
is on that same mountain
over a thousand years later
that our lamb
our Lord Jesus Christ
would be sacrificed
as Isaac carried
the wood
for the sacrifice
so our Lord
would carry the cross
to the place
of his sacrifice
on our behalf
for those three days
on the journey
Father Abraham mourned
but through his resurrection faith
Isaac's life was spared
and in that sense
he was raised to life
off of the sacrificial altar
three days after
Jesus Christ
bled to death
for us
on the cross
made of wood
with the crown of thorns
on his head
he was raised to life
and he promises
that those who look to him
in resurrection faith
will have their lives
spared in eternity
because his was not
spared on earth
but on the third day
he rose again
from the dead
and he promises
that if we believe in him
we will not face death
in eternity
but we will receive
life forever
what then shall we say
to these things
as we said earlier
if God is for us
who can be against us
in all these things
we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us
I'm sure that neither death
nor life
nor angels
nor rulers
nor things present
nor things to come
nor powers
nor height
nor depth
nor anything else
in all creation
will be able to separate us
from the love of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord
the Lord provides a lamb
for a burnt offering
so that Isaac may live
so that Israel may exist
so that Jesus Christ
may be provided
and may be sacrificed
for us
so that we may live
the ram's a type of Christ
who was slain
for God's people
the lamb who was slain
are you one of his people
because you can be
through faith
you can be adopted
into his family
as sons and daughters
of God
I was talking with a child
this morning
who just put their faith
in Christ
and we talked about this
you're in the family now
you're adopted
as a child of God
see what kind of love
the Father has given us
that we should be called
children of God
but what's the ending
of the story
of those who are adopted
into God's family
through faith in Christ
what's the finish line
that he carries us across
it's nothing less
than victory over death
let's read the end
of our story
then I saw a new heaven
and a new earth
for the first heaven
and the first earth
had passed away
and the sea was no more
and I saw the holy city
new Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven
from God
prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband
I heard a loud voice
from the throne saying
behold the dwelling place
of God is with man
he will dwell with them
and they will be his people
and God himself
will be with them
as their God
he will wipe away
every tear from their eyes
and death shall be no more
neither shall there be mourning
nor crying
nor pain
anymore
for the former things
have passed away
and he who was seated
on the throne
said behold
I'm making all things new
also he said
write this down
for these words
are trustworthy and true
and he said to me
it is done
I am the alpha
and the omega
the beginning and the end
to the thirsty
I will give
from the spring of water
of life without payment
and the one who conquers
will have this heritage
and I will be his God
and he will be my son
are you here today
stuck in the struggle
to trust God
this is the beautiful promise
for you
are you here questioning
whether you're ready
to take that step
to put your faith in Christ
for maybe the first time
or maybe recommitment
maybe you've lost your way
this is the beautiful promise
for you
Jesus is the truth
that will set you free
God has provided for you
remember
this provision
through faith in Christ
you will be equipped
whatever you're called to
whatever test you're called to
you're equipped as his saint
to do the work of ministry
this means sharing your story
letting yourself be known to him
and trusted others
holding his hand
renovating this world
one relationship at a time
until he walks you
across the ultimate finish line
when he returns for you
and makes it all brand new
forever
that day when our hero
our dad
takes us home
and we live
happily ever after
let's pray
Father in heaven
may you be glorified
magnified
and receive praise
thank you for providing
the sacrifice
of your son for us
when we don't deserve it
Lord Jesus
thank you so much
Father
for the truth of the resurrection
may we never forget
its reality
every time we take
the Lord's Supper
may we remember
for the reality of you
being raised to life
sitting on the throne of grace
where we may receive mercy
and help in our time of need
and I pray that anyone
in this congregation
here today
that's hurting
they would find their need
in you
they would find
the balm for their soul
Lord Jesus
and that they would run to you
they would experience your grace
and that the people
in this congregation here
would envelop them
with love
and that that love
would envelop this community
Father
and this world
thank you for the truth
of scripture
thank you for providing
and it's in Jesus name we pray
Amen
For more information
visit us online
at southwood.org
we hope to find out
next week
안내와
to the first reveille
Queen
week
dia
to the unknown
to the last
he chi
home
or the other
orr
to the woman
vist
to the people
in let
of the gave
vaccinated
so
despite
having
this
as
Krank
a
dream
one
who
Wow
had
create
food
comida