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17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had
received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” 19He considered that God is
able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also
received him back as a type.
A. His Challenge vs. 17, 18
1. Consider the Price;
Hebrews 11:17a “ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, . . .”
(a) Abraham is preparing to slaughter
his son! His Mission was
Impossible by all human standards. His
obedience is remarkable. See Genesis 22:2-14 “ . . .Take now thy son, thine
only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into
the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of
the mountains which I will tell thee of.
3And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two
of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the
burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told
him. Oh, how he trusted GOD!
(b) Sarah is not
mentioned in this account. She would have been beside herself had she
known. Could it be that Abraham spared her of the agonizing thought that
she may very well lose her miracle child?. See Hebrews 11:11;
By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the
proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. She laughed at the whole idea!
Genesis 18:12 12Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have
pleasure, my lord being old also?” Later she would laugh happily at the joy of
motherhood! Genesis 22:1,2,5 & 6; 1And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he
had spoken. 2For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time
of which God had spoken to him. — 5And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 6And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh
with me.
What a Mother’s Day that would have
been!
 
2. Consider the Significance
(a) His
Only Begotten Son
Hebrews 1:17b “and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;” This is so vitally important to a Jewish family and
seemed contrary to any system of logic.
(b) His
Only Son of Promise
Hebrews 1:18 18it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” How could
God’s promise to Abraham ever be fulfilled if he sacrificed his only
begotten son? This seemed to
be Mission Impossible from every vantage point.
B. His Courage; Genesis 22:3-5
1. A Courageous Journey; vs.
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.
2. A Courageous Faith; vs.
4,5; 4On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.5Abraham 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.”
Not only did he find the place designated by the Lord;
he told the young men he would return with Isaac.
He knew that somehow God would provide!
C. His Conviction; Hebrews 11:19
19He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.
We shall see how wonderfully God works this all out and
by it He demonstrates His grace to Abraham’s Seed.
1. God’s Providence Attested
(a) A
Curios Question;
Genesis 22:7 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?”
(b) A
Prophetic Answer; Genesis
22:7 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt
offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
Indeed, as it turned out, God did provide HIMSELF a LAMB!
What a precious gem in this simple statement!
2. God’s Providence Affirmed;
Genesis 22:9-13
(a) The Sacrifice:
9,10; 9Then 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. 10Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
(b) The Substitute:
11-13; 11But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham,
Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12He 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.” 13Then 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. Who can doubt that God revealed His perfect plan to
substitute His only Son in our place?
John 1:29;
“Behold,
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
1st Peter 2:24,25;
24and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die
to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to
the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
Hallelujah!
Have
you returned to the Great Shepherd?
This is God’s message of hope.
You can become acceptable to God!
Acknowledge
your sin, repent (turn away from) and trust Christ for His redemptive work
on the cross for you.
Hebrews
5:9 “ . . . He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal
salvation,”
Friend,
He is the only source of salvation. Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for
there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which
we must be saved.” Acts 16:31 says,
“Believe
in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
If
you never have, why not trust Him to save you today?
Without
Christ in your life you'll have to answer to God; there is no hiding
place. The good news is that today you can
find a secure hiding place in the person of
Jesus Christ. How would you answer the question below?
Have you been
connected to the family of God through the gracious provision of Jesus
Christ?
Do
you have a cheering squad in your life? Do you have that kind
of support? People at GFBC do. Why not visit us THIS SUNDAY at
10:30 AM at
the Byrd, Young & Prill Funeral Chapels on 1170 SW Bayshore Boulevard
in Port Saint Lucie?
Bayshore Boulevard construction is finally
finished so even getting there is a pleasure!!
Please contact
us if you sense your need to come to Him. We can help. (Just
click on "contact us.")
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