Thankful for God's Faithfulness
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Faith in everyday things
Flying
Driving
Sitting in your pew/chair
The structural integrity of the building.
You demonstrated your faith in these things by getting on the plane, getting in your car, sitting down and walking in the building.
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight—
How much more can we rely and trust in God who is the maker of all things and is Himself faithful.
Let us now turn to our passage for this morning
Read Genesis 22:1-18
1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.
5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”
6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
14 Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven,
16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.
18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
How was Abraham able to have the faith to do what he did here?
In order to answer this question, we must first go back to the beginning of Abraham and God’s relationship.
1 Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
4 So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
#1 Abraham expressed blind faith in following God.
#1 Abraham expressed blind faith in following God.
God called Abram out to leave his country, family and relatives and travel to land that he had never been to.
God promised to make Abram a great nation, to bless him, and bless the nations through him.
Abram was 75 years old.
Sarai his wife was barren (Genesis 11:30)
30 Sarai was barren; she had no child.
As far as been revealed to us Abram has had no other personal encounter with God before this moment of being called.
He did as the Lord commanded him blindly, including with little details on how God would fulfill His promise to make him a great nation.
Continuing down Abram’s timeline...
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
“Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”
2 Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.”
4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.”
5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
CONTEXT: Abram has just rescued his nephew Lot who had been taken as a prisoner and refused to take any of the spoils of war, so that no one other than God could say that they made Abram rich.
#2 Abraham expressed blind faith in God’s promise to give him a son.
#2 Abraham expressed blind faith in God’s promise to give him a son.
God promised to give Abram a a son from his own body who would be his heir. Meaning that Sarai would produce for him and heir.
Currently one born in his house is his heir. Eliezer most likely was a servant whom Abram adopted to be his heir since he had no children.
He believed in the Lord.
Both in that he would have a son and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars.
It is this type of faith that Paul picks up in his letter to the churches in Galatia as faith that results in salvation.
6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
Continuing on...
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.
2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
10 Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.”
16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.
#3 God demonstrated that He is faithful.
#3 God demonstrated that He is faithful.
CONTEXT: Its been about 11 years since God called Abram to leave his family. (16:16)
Abram and Sarai expressed a lack of faith in God when God’s fulfillment of His promise did not happen when they thought it should happen. (16:1-2).
Since Sarai still hadn’t borne any children to Abram she decided to take matters into her own hands and gave here maid Hagar, in hopes of producing a son through her.
It worked, she conceived and Sarai treated her poorly so she fled.
God demonstrated that He is faithful by still making Ismael a great nation even though he would still fulfill His promise through a son that Sarai would bear. (16:10)
SIDE NOTE: The affects of Abram and Sarai’s lack of faith and trying to play God are still being felt today in the middle east. The conflict currently is a direct result of this moment. (16:12)
Continuing still...
1 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am God Almighty;
Walk before Me, and be blameless.
2 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you,
And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
5 “No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham;
For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.
6 “I have made you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.
7 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
8 “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
16 “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!”
19 But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
20 “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
21 “But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.”
22 When He finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
CONTEXT: So 13 years later God establishes His covenant with Abraham to provide Him with a people, a place and His presence.
God then says that Sarah will have a son, Isaac, by this season next year. (17:21)
It has been 24 years since God called Abram out of his country.
God would establish His covenant with Isaac and not Ishmael, even though He will still bless Ishmael. (17:19)
So Isaac has been promised...
10 He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing.
12 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’
14 “Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
#4 Nothing is able to keep God from being faithful.
#4 Nothing is able to keep God from being faithful.
(18:14) Nothing is too difficult for God to do and He will prove it when Sarai conceives and gives birth to Isaac.
Finally, we arrive to the birth of the promised son, Isaac...
1 Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised.
2 So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.
3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.
4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
#5 God demonstrated that He is faithful.
#5 God demonstrated that He is faithful.
Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born and Sarah would have been 90/91. (21:5)
After 25 years God made good on His promise to Abraham.
What began as blind faith was now realized in God’s fulfillment of His covenant.
so finally we return to our text...
#6 We can be thankful for God’s faithfulness because He has demonstrated that He is faithful.
#6 We can be thankful for God’s faithfulness because He has demonstrated that He is faithful.
1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.
5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”
6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
14 Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven,
16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.
18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
CONTEXT: Everything we just covered.
God tested Abraham by telling him to go and sacrifice Isaac, the promised child. (22:1-2)
Abraham without question takes his son up the mountain to sacrifice him. (22:3-6)
Isaac no older than 12 years old asks his dad
7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham responds demonstrating faith, however this time it is not a blind faith, because God has seen God demonstrate His faithfulness.
8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
God faithfully provides a replacement for Isaac on the alter.
11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
The author of Hebrews offers us insight into the faith of Abram:
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;
18 it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.”
19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.
Abraham was willing to go through with what God called him to do as odd as it was, as hard as it would have been, but he was able to because he had the faith that God would be faithful and raise his slain son from the dead in order to keep His covenant and His promise.
Only through Isaac could the covenant be kept.
Abraham knew that he would be returning back with Isaac, because he told his servants they would return, and he knew God’s faithfulness, because Isaac was a walking reminder to Him that God was faithful and nothing was too difficult for God or could keep Him from being faithful.
As spectacular as this account was it is but a type a foreshadowing of what God did for us....
God promised to send His Son into the world to save it.
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
God in His timing sent Jesus to be born of a virgin named Mary.
He lived a perfect, sinless life and took the place of His own (Isaac) on the cross.
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
And just like Abraham, God was willing to slaughter His son, because He knew He would raise Him from the dead.
This glorious act of salvation, us from our sins and the death and wrath of God that comes with it, requires only two things.
Faith and
Repentance
Faith - Recognizes that you cannot save yourself and that you are dependent and reliant on God through the work of Christ to be saved.
Repentance - Is a change of attitude toward sin. Faith and repentance produces obedience, but obedience is not a requirement for salvation, or else Christ died needlessly.
So how do we apply our text this morning:
#1 Be patient, God is faithful.
#1 Be patient, God is faithful.
If God says He will do something, nothing can stop Him from doing it.
Don’t try to hurry God or be God.
#2 Only that which God promises to do in His word is that which we can be truly confident.
#2 Only that which God promises to do in His word is that which we can be truly confident.
You need to be able to rightly interpret the Word.
God’s greatest act of faithfulness is that of Christ.
Express your gratitude towards God in your prayer time.
Express your gratitude towards God through your obedience.
Express your gratitude towards God through your sharing about Christ with others.