Good evening. As we wrap things up tonight, I want to review what we have looked at for the last couple of weeks. We started off by looking at Genesis 12:1-9 to see how Abram responded when the future looked bright. We saw that the key for us to follow when the future looks bright is to obey Him, and expect God to show up in our lives. Abram obeyed God and did as he was told, and the future looked great for him as God showed up and made Abraham into a great nation and blessed him by giving him the gift of Isaac.
Last week we looked at Genesis 22:1-12 and got to see how we need to respond when God’s commands make no sense to us. We learned that lesson through Abraham obeying God anyway and then expecting Him to show up. God called Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son Isaac. As odd as this must have seemed to Abraham he obeyed and expected God to be there. Through his obedience, and his faith, God showed up and provided a substitution to sacrifice instead of Isaac.
Now, before we address tonight’s topic, Let’s just begin with a word of prayer
This was a very hard calling for Abraham and the reason was Isaac. If God had called Abraham to come to Moriah and simply sacrifice an animal, the walk would have been easy. The fact that the sacrifice was to be Isaac made the walk difficult. Even though this is Abraham’s walk, we must focus also on Isaac. There are 4 things I want us to take note of this evening.
First, God Gives Isaacs
As Abraham heads to sacrifice Isaac, we should consider who Isaac was. Isaac was a gift. Isaac was a promise. Isaac was Abraham’s beloved son. After the last couple of weeks we should all know the story of how God had promised to make Abraham a mighty nation. Abraham believed God but nothing ever happened. Years went by while Abraham and Sarah got older and older. Eventually, it became apparent that it was impossible for a son to be born to them. They were just too old. When they reached this point, God kept the promise and gave them Isaac.
What a joy he was to his parents that were old enough to be his great grandparents. Laughter had been brought into their life. By God’s command, they named their son Isaac, which means laughter. Imagine that first time Abraham held Isaac in his arms. Maybe it was evening and he walked outside and looked at the stars. God had promised to make Abraham’s descendants through the son he was holding as numerous as the stars. I see a very old man, holding a very young baby, worshipping an Almighty God that keeps His Word.
Has God ever given any of you an Isaac?
I think that each one of us in a multitude of ways have been given an Isaac. I consider an Isaac to be anything that God in His love has given to us. It could be a child, but it’s not limited to that. Other Isaacs can be your talents, your giftedness, and even your desires.
Often, the things that you are most passionate about are an Isaac for you. Here are some examples: Some of your children and even some of you have been given a beautiful Isaac in the form of being able to play and instrument. Others have been given a beautiful singing voice. There are people in this world that have an incredible talent for mathematics, science, construction, and even occupations like doctors, and teachers, and businessmen, and all of the other occupations that we have today.
You see, God enjoys giving Isaacs to his people. An Isaac always comes from God. No matter how hard I would try, I couldn’t walk over to that piano and play a song. It’s a gift I don’t have and I can’t create on my own. Similar to the way Abraham couldn’t create Isaac on his own. It was from God. So before we can move on, we need to all understand that God does give Isaacs to his people yet today.
(So let me ask you again, have any of you ever received and Isaac?)
Now, even though Isaacs are gifts from God, there is still a problem that is associated with Isaacs.
Point number 2, Isaacs Can Become Gods
Consider this, what did God ask Abraham to sacrifice?
I don’t read anywhere in the text that God asked Abraham to sacrifice Sarah, or sacrifice one of his servants, or sacrifice his wealth, or even sacrifice himself.
No, God asked Abraham to sacrifice the one thing that had an opportunity to become another god in his life. For Abraham, that was Isaac. It would have been very easy to do. Isaac was a special child. He was the son that was going to fulfill the promise of God. From this son, his descendants were going to multiply. It must have been so easy for Abraham to begin trusting in Isaac more than He was in God. Whenever you begin to trust in something more than you trust God, that thing whatever it may be, will become your god.
So, our gifts from God, our Isaacs can become our gods. A man in my home church was gifted with being able to play the guitar very well. But, he let that get to him and he soon became his own god when he played the guitar. Sure he started out playing for the worship band at church, but eventually he fell into the temptation to see what he could get for himself. It all went down hill from there.
So, have any of you ever turned one of your Isaacs into a god?
At some point in life, each of us has lifted something to a place that it shouldn’t have been. Often, the very things that God blessed us with turn into our own images. I look at the music industry and see this quite often. There are people today that have been given such a beautiful voice that it can only be described as coming from God: a gift, an Isaac.
God has given it to them to be a blessing and to be used for His glory. Yet, they never choose to acknowledge God and appear to worship their own voices. Their voice is their ticket to money, power, and fame. Their voice is what allows them to do whatever they want. They trust in their voice.
On another side, there are people that put their trust in their children that God has blessed them with. Thank God for my children, I’m important now. These people will do anything to make that child happy. If the child doesn’t want to go to church, they don’t go to church. If the child wants a new bike, they get him a new bike. They obey their child’s every command when it should be the other way around. The Isaac that God has blessed them with has become their object of worship. So I ask again, is there something that God has blessed your life with that you have elevated to the point of God?
For a person that wants to walk with God, there is only one option when an Isaac begins to take the place of God. And the third point for tonight is that The Isaac Must Die
The old man, his son, and the servants were 3 days into the journey when they stopped. Abraham gave orders for camp to be set up. The servants began their work. This was one of the last stops. Could he obey God and do what had been commanded? He looked at his son Isaac. Perhaps he had put to much trust in him. After all it was God that had given Isaac to him. As he made the final preparations for Isaac and him to go on alone, he was sure in his heart. He would sacrifice his son to God. God would be given the rightful place as first in his heart.
A quite voice of faith came out of his lips. He probably thought to himself, “If God has promised me descendants through my son Isaac then God will simply have to raise Isaac from the dead after I sacrifice him.”
Whenever we have an Isaac that we have lifted up, God will eventually ask that we sacrifice it. We cannot serve 2 masters. I tell you the truth, it’s not easy. Your Isaac will often be the thing you trust in dearly and it’s hard to be asked to willingly give it up. God comes though and asks us to trust in Him, not in the gifts He’s given us. Sometimes we don’t realize how tough it was for Abraham to give up his son. He was going to kill everything that God had promised and given to him. Yet, he was still willing to trust God. Can we have that same kind of faith? Will you allow God to point out the Isaacs in your life that need to be sacrificed? More importantly, will you obey Him?
The best part of this story comes with the end of the passage, after Abraham was willing to give up his Isaac. This week we get to wrap things up. It’s like Paul Harvey says, “And here’s the rest of the story.” Turn with me to Genesis 22:13-18 and we will see how we need to react when God shows up.
Point number 4, The Lord Provides
Now I’m sure that there are people who read this story and walk away thinking that God is some kind of beast that requires human sacrifice. But, God never wanted to see Isaac physically sacrificed. He wanted Isaac to be sacrificed in Abraham’s heart. Once God knew that Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, God steeped in and stopped it.
Truly, the sacrifice had already been made. God steps in though and provides a ram to be offered in place of Isaac. And then Abraham names the place “Jehovah Jireh,” which means “The Lord Will Provide.”
What has been a time when you trusted God, and He provided something for you?
You see, God wants to bring us to the place of sacrifice with our Isaacs as well. The things that we have been blessed with that have become what we bless. God wants us to sacrifice them. God knows when you have truly made the sacrifice. For Abraham, God saw that the sacrifice had been made in his heart. You may be required to go farther. You may have to kill your Isaac. Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac because he believed God could raise him from the dead. If God has called you to sacrifice a gift He has given you, do it and trust that God can bring that gift back to life.
There is something wonderful about sacrifice. It makes us trust in God more. Has God stirred something in you today? Has He shown you an Isaac in your life? Is there something that you have been given that you are placing above God right now? Well, it’s time for it to be sacrificed to God. It’s time to put God back in His proper place.
Then as the passage wraps up, in verses 14 and 15 is found a blessing. Because Abraham was faithful in attempting to carry out God’s request, he was to be given a great nation by his children. His offspring was to be so numerous that they were as the stars and the sand, and could not be counted.
Verse 18 then tells that his seed shall bless all nations. The blessing spoken of here is a future reference to the blessing of eternal life given to all by 1 of Abraham’s descendants, Jesus Christ.
As I close tonight, is there any reflection over what we have looked at tonight, or over the past few weeks?
Well, in closing, in James 1:12 it says, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
It’s possible that the blessing that we will receive from trusting in God may not come until we are secured in Heaven, but it will all be worth it in the end. So, “How do you respond to God when He calls you name?” Hopefully as we have all become familiar with the story of Abraham and Isaac, we can all say, “Obey Him no matter what, expect Him to show up, and realize that when He does show up the future looks bright and everything makes perfect sense.”
Let’s Pray |
