TIME FOR A TEST!
ACT 1 – THE TEST
Genesis 22: 1-2
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to
him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied. 2 Then God
said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the
region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt
offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
Purpose: To prove the validity of Abraham’s faith
Pressure: Did Abraham love the gift of God or God Himself?
ACT II – THE TRUST
Genesis 22: 3-5
3
Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him
two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the
burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the
distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here
with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we
will come back to you."
Abraham responded with SWIFT OBEDIENCE to God’s command.
Vs. 5 is a great testimony to Abraham’s faith: “We…… We”
* Hebrews 11: 17-19 –
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.
ACT III – The TRIAL
Genesis 22: 6-9
6
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the
two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said
to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?"
Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but
where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 8
Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt
offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. 9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham
built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and
laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
- Isaac was NOT a little boy!
- He did not run or fight, or plead or complain or wrestle.
- The incredible, quiet faith of ISAAC often goes unnoticed
Application: We must give our children to God and trust Him to provide.
ACT IV – The TRIUMPH
Genesis 22: 10-14
10
Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called
out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I
am," he replied. 12 "Do not lay a hand on the
boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear
God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram
caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt
offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that
place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain
of the LORD it will be provided."
Abraham PASSED the test!
ACT V – The TAPISTRY
Moriah à Jerusalem
à
Ram à The LAMB of GOD!
God RELEASED His Son to us
Jesus RELEASED Himself to the Father’s will
The Holy Spirit ASKS - Where is the Lamb of God in your life or mine?
Corrie Ten Boom: “ I have learned in my years that we must always hold things loosely.”
WHAT THINGS? Our POSSESSIONS
Our DREAMS
Our RELATIONSHIPS
How do you do this? SURRENDER to Christ
SORT out life’s priorities
SUSTAIN a living and vital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ