WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:07.519 My wife and I have decided this whole year we're gonna try to just take a Bible character every single weekend and unpack their life. 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:14.800 It's an overview, we can't go into depth on everything, but Abraham is such a big Bible character, we had to give him two weeks. 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:21.440 So if you weren't here last week, go back on YouTube and rewatch it or watch it for the first time. 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:25.920 And it was dedicated to everybody who's impatient. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:32.320 And I know that's some of y'all, even if you try to act like you're not, like we are impatient people. 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:39.759 And how many of you uh you do not have the gift to pick the right line at the grocery store? 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:40.880 Raise your hand. 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:43.520 Oh my why is this so difficult? 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:50.240 I do not have the gift, I have favor in every area of my life except that one area. 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:55.280 Because I will study a line like I'm making a stock investment. 00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:58.079 I'm like that lady, she only has three items. 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:00.719 I'm gonna leave my line and go over there. 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:02.159 And as soon, you know what happens? 00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:08.319 As soon as you go over there, then this lady starts arguing about coupons she wants to use from 1998. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:12.319 She's trying to find exact change in the bottom of her purse. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:13.359 And you know what you do? 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:14.159 You know what you do. 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:17.840 You're standing there, you look back at the line you could have been in. 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:25.519 And this line, they all these people, people that were both, they came after you. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:35.040 They've already gone through the line, they've graduated college, moved to another city, like it's it's and you're still stuck here. 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:37.519 I hate waiting. 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:41.920 And that's Abraham's most of his story is him waiting. 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:47.519 He got a prophecy, a promise, when he was 75 years old, you're gonna have a son. 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:50.400 And they thought, well, boom, nine months, we're gonna have a baby. 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:51.840 It was 25 years. 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:55.599 So how do you hold on to a promise that God gave you for that long? 00:01:55.920 --> 00:02:03.840 Well, they finally have a son, and we're picking up from last week, so I'm not gonna go into much detail on last week, but they finally have a son. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:07.599 They name this boy Isaac, and you know what his name means? 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:09.120 He laughs. 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:12.080 This is hilarious for several reasons. 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:19.919 Because Abraham and Sarah both laughed in doubt when God gave him the promise. 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:27.919 And now here's God turning it around, and he says, Oh, I'm gonna name your child after your doubt. 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:30.879 Are you seeing this? 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:33.439 Like he redeemed the laughter. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:39.840 Isaac's very existence was God's punchline to human impossibility. 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:45.599 Every time they said, Isaac, clean your room, they had to remind themselves, oh yeah. 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:48.400 We laughed one time and didn't believe this was gonna happen. 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:50.639 How many know God always has a last laugh? 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:55.520 So 25 years of waiting. 00:02:55.680 --> 00:03:01.120 The brother's a hundred years old when he finally has this first, I mean, this covenant child. 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:03.039 A hundred, let that sink in, everybody. 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:05.919 We crash out after a month if God done answer. 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:11.840 You've been praying for a month, you're like, I don't even know if God, if he knows where I am. 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:14.240 Twenty-five years? 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:33.439 Like, this is we hate delay, but I found it's somewhere in this mushy middle of promise and fulfillment where God begins to do something in us to actually prepare us to get us to the point where we're ready to receive the promise. 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:39.439 Because James 1, the half brother of Jesus in the New Testament says, Count it all joy, my brothers. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:46.400 Joy when you face tests of many kinds, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:51.599 So let patience have its perfect work so that you'll be mature and complete and lack nothing. 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:55.120 How many know we all want to be mature and complete and lack nothing? 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:56.319 We don't want to test. 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:02.879 And James is like, trials, that's the only way that you get this. 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:09.520 You have to you have to go through the test in order to become mature in faith and in God. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:16.399 Some of you watching online and in this room, you're going through a test right now and you're wondering, where's God? 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:24.800 But if you remember anything about school, teachers were always quiet during a test. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:30.720 Maybe this is the season. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:37.519 God's preparing you to get you ready for something that if you received right now, you couldn't handle it. 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:39.439 It's like people who win the lottery. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:42.639 They win the lottery, get excited, and it destroys their life. 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:43.040 Why? 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:44.319 Too much too soon. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:49.040 So next time you're like God, why are you taking so long? 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:50.959 Don't ask, why are you taking so long? 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:53.199 Ask God, what do you still need to do in me? 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:55.839 Look at me, everybody. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:58.000 Delay is not denial, it's development. 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:00.319 Woo! Write that down. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:03.839 Delay is not just denial, it's it's development. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:05.519 God's getting you ready for something. 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:16.720 So in Abraham's life, as we see from last week and to this week, we see the call, and then we see the promise of God, and then we see a delay, and then the delivery. 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:20.639 There's a delay before the delivery. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:26.079 We have been duped into believing that God always offers same-day deliveries. 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:28.319 It's not always the case. 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:32.240 Matter of fact, why do we have more faith in Amazon than we do God? 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:40.480 You know how you if your package doesn't come on one day, you don't you don't quit in life. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:45.920 You don't give up believing that Amazon exists. 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:50.000 You're out there the next day looking again. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:51.759 Can I encourage somebody? 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:53.279 Let's put some faith back in God. 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:59.040 If it doesn't happen on the day you want it, show up the next day, look again. 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:07.759 So Isaac, the covenant child, is born, and just when you think the story is about to start settling down, we open at Genesis chapter 22. 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:16.079 And Genesis 22 is one of the most misunderstood but yet most powerful passages in the entire Bible. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:24.399 And what God is about to do does not make sense to us, but he's going to work a miracle that I want you to understand. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:29.199 At first glance, it looks like all that's happening is God's going to test Abraham. 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:32.560 Because God asks Abraham, hey, I want you to sacrifice your son. 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:34.560 You're like, wait a second, what in the world? 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:37.279 If you're new to church, you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on? 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:41.439 Stay with me, I'll explain it all and make it all make sense in a minute. 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:45.439 But at first glance, it looks like all God's doing is just testing Abraham. 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:52.639 When you slow this passage down, you begin to realize this is not just about what Abraham was willing to do. 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:55.199 This is about what God was already planning to do. 00:06:56.639 --> 00:06:57.199 Watch. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:59.519 Go to Genesis chapter 22. 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:02.639 Sometime later, God, what's the word, everybody? 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:04.319 Tested Abraham. 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:06.879 He said to him, Abraham, here I am, he replied. 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:13.040 Then God said, Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region Moriah. 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:18.480 Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on the mountain that I will show you. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:21.600 Okay, this is where it starts to get real heavy. 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:27.839 Because the promise God gave, God now asks Abraham to lay that down. 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:31.360 I'm talking about something he's been waiting for for 25 years. 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:33.680 God now says, I want you to lay that down. 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:37.040 This is where we see the depth of Abraham's faith. 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:40.639 Verse 3, early the next morning. 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:43.040 So watch, he didn't wait and delay. 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:51.199 The next morning, Abraham got up, loaded his donkey, he took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:57.199 When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God told him about. 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:01.759 On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:07.279 He said to his servants, Stay here with the donkey while the while I and the boy go over there. 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:12.079 We, watch, we will worship, and then we will come back. 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:15.360 Notice the faith, even, I don't know what God's gonna do. 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:26.560 Verse 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and who's carrying the knife? 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:30.319 Okay, just packed that away and we'll deal with in just a second. 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:32.320 As two of them, they went off together. 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:34.559 So they're climbing up the mountain together. 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:37.679 Isaac's carrying the wood, Isaac's carrying the knife. 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:42.399 And then the Bible says, Isaac spoke up and said to his father, This is a good question to ask. 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:47.600 Hey dad, um, I see the wood, I see the fire, but where's the lamp? 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:54.960 Are you saying this? 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:57.759 Abraham answered. 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:07.360 God himself will provide the lamb to your son for the burnt offering to my son. 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:09.679 And the two of them went off together. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:13.200 He's asking the question where's the lamp? 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:15.120 Where's the sacrifice? 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:16.799 Look at this. 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:21.840 When they reached the place God had told them about Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:26.480 He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:30.559 Then he reached out his hand and he took the knife to slay his son. 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:32.480 Who was carrying the knife? 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:35.039 Isaac was carrying the knife. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:40.879 Isaac turned around and gave his dad the knife. 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:53.759 And then said, The angel of the Lord at that moment called out from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham, here I am, he replied, sweat, probably dripping, shaking, adrenaline. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:55.679 Do not lay a hand on the boy. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:57.360 Don't touch him. 00:09:57.600 --> 00:09:59.440 He said, Don't do anything to him. 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:04.960 Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:14.720 Then Abraham lifted his eyes, looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:19.679 So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering. 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:23.360 Watch, instead of his son. 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:24.320 Stay with me. 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:28.000 So Abraham called that place, the Lord will provide. 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:32.480 And to this day it is said, On the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided. 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:37.840 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, I swear by myself. 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:42.159 Now he's re-establishing the covenant that he's given Abraham 25 years before. 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:43.919 No, actually, more than that. 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:56.480 And he said, This, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. 00:10:56.639 --> 00:11:08.799 Your descendants will take possession of the cities and of their enemies, and through your offspring, all the nations on the earth will be blessed because you've obeyed me. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:11.519 Can we clap our hands for the reading of God's word? 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:15.919 Okay, let's unpack this. 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:17.279 We got a lot of work to do, all right? 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:18.159 Try to keep up. 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:22.639 First of all, the same God who gave it can be trusted when he asks for it back. 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:26.320 Just like the tithe. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:29.679 Leviticus, Malachi talks about the tithe. 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:32.159 The first 10% of what we earn belongs to the Lord. 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:33.440 A lot of people struggle with this. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:40.879 Jesus would even come in Matthew 23, 23 and reiterate yes, you should still tithe, but don't forget the other stuff either. 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:45.759 But this tithe is a trust issue. 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:54.879 When my wife and I tithe, I've been tithing since I was in sixth grade, because I had my first job picking up horse poop at Dunsmere House and Gardens down below the zoo in Oakland. 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:59.600 I get my little$30 check and I'm like, all right,$3 goes to God. 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:01.360 It is a trust issue. 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:09.919 But what my wife and I found over the years is that when God blesses us, He can be trusted when He asks for it back. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:21.039 And I need I'm gonna need some help from all the tithers in the room and online if you know this to be true, that our 90% with God's blessing goes a lot further than 100% without God's blessing. 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:26.000 If that's you've been your story, can you clap your hands and testify to everybody else? 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:38.480 So Abraham picks up a knife, he arches his back, getting ready to follow through with what God told him to do, and immediately the angel of the Lord says, Stop, don't do it. 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:44.960 And then in that moment, he didn't just stop the sacrifice from happening. 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:46.559 This is what you need to see. 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:51.919 He turned around and there was a ram stuck in the thicket. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:13:01.440 All the thorns, the ram was stuck in the thicket, and the Bible says Abraham lifted up his eyes and the ram was behind him. 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:07.120 Have you ever walked into a room and then you don't see something right away? 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:08.799 And then all of a sudden you turn around. 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:10.559 Oh, I didn't see you. 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:13.200 That's what's happening here. 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:16.240 Abraham is so focused on what's in front of him. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:23.519 Like he had been looking forward, he's focusing on the command, and yet the provision of God was there the entire time. 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:25.440 It was just out of his line of sight. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:26.720 Can I tell you? 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:30.159 Sometimes provision is not absent, it's behind you. 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:39.360 And waiting for the moment for God to open up your eyes to see his provision at just the right time. 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:43.840 You're so focused on the problem, you're so focused on what happens, what if. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:47.919 God may already have the provision for you, it just might be behind you. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:49.600 Write this down. 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:54.480 God's provision often appears only after your surrender is complete. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:00.799 God is waiting for your surrender to actually reveal his provision. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:05.600 So notice, notice, the ram wasn't created in the last second. 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:08.240 In our text, we just read it. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:23.200 Here we are, Abraham's about to take the life of his son, and then it was revealed that there was a ram available at the right time, at the right time of his surrender, that's when it was revealed. 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:23.919 Okay, watch. 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:32.639 That ram didn't just magically appear, it was caught and held for just the right moment. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:43.120 So the provision was restrained by heaven the whole time, waiting for the moment of Abraham's complete surrender. 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:44.000 Think about this. 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:48.799 While Abraham was walking in obedience to God, God was already securing the provision. 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:54.960 Like the ram wasn't late, it was being held for him. 00:14:55.679 --> 00:14:58.720 Sometimes that's exactly what God's doing in our lives. 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:03.360 He's holding provision for us until the moment that we're ready to receive it. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:05.519 God's not scrambling for provision. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:08.799 He's not freaking out in heaven like, how am I gonna provide for my kids? 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:10.399 He secures it. 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:17.519 So, could it be that your provision is being held for you right now? 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:32.559 For some of you, that job you've been praying for, that breakthrough in the business plan, come on, church, that relationship, that open door, maybe it's not missing, maybe it's just waiting for the right timing of your total surrender to God. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:40.159 Watch, because God's not just interested in giving you something, he's interested in shaping you to become something. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:46.879 Your provision is tied to your obedience to God's word. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:51.519 So, Abraham, watch, he did not find the provision in the beginning of the climb. 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:55.039 We want the provision before we start. 00:15:55.360 --> 00:16:00.399 The provision was not revealed at the beginning of the climb, it was revealed at the place of his total surrender. 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:04.159 So, what God has for you, it's not delayed, it's just being held. 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:06.799 Let me tell you a story. 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:09.440 Long time ago, I wanted this jacket. 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:11.519 Looked online, out of stock. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:16.720 Started calling different places, all the stores, out of stock, out of stock, out of stock. 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:20.960 Finally, I came to one particular store in the Bay Area, about an hour drive. 00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:23.440 They said, We have one in your size. 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:25.279 I said, Man, I'm I'm on my way. 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:28.720 He said, All right, if you come right now, I'll hold it for you. 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:30.240 So now I'm nervous. 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:32.720 That how many know that's a long drive? 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:35.679 Because you're thinking, all right, it's out of stock. 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:42.639 This is the last one in the entire Bay Area, and all these things start going through your mind, like, what if somebody else buys it before I get there? 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:45.600 What it what if he doesn't really hold it for me? 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:48.080 Does he even believe I'm on my way? 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:54.399 Because you some of you, you know what that feeling's like when you sell something on Facebook Marketplace and they tell you, I'm on my way right now. 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:59.440 And three days later, you have not seen them. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:01.759 So all this is going through my mind. 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:07.359 I finally get there, and when I arrived, the salesperson looked at me, smiled, and said, Oh, you made it. 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:10.000 And then they said, This. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:15.279 A couple people tried to take it, but I held it for you. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:17.440 I put your name on it. 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:30.319 The whole time I was driving, someone I could not even see was working on my behalf for something I didn't even have in my hands yet. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:33.200 That's the picture of how God works sometimes. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:37.039 While you're still on the way, God's holding provision for you. 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:39.279 And I know you might not see it right now. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:42.400 I know you're worried that it might get sold out from underneath you. 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:45.359 I know you're worried that the devil might try to come and steal it. 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:49.200 I'm here to tell you, heaven is telling you it's already spoken for. 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:52.720 God's put your name on it, He's holding it for you. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:58.319 Like what God has for you, He's not gonna let that go. 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:00.960 Your provision has been reserved for you. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:05.839 God knows how to hold what's yours until the time you're ready to receive it. 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:11.359 So, don't worry about the provision, just focus on your surrender. 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:14.400 Are you getting this, church? 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:18.400 We don't need to focus on the provision, worry about the provision. 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:20.400 Just focus on my level of surrender. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:24.480 God, what is it in me that I have not laid down for you yet? 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:28.640 Focus on the provider, focus on God, because how many know? 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:30.000 God is faithful. 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:31.680 I say, God is faithful. 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:42.160 Philippians 1 6 says, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you, he also will carry it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:43.839 So, church, listen to me. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:50.960 Don't panic when you don't see provision right away, because what seems late to you is actually being held for you. 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:54.559 Can somebody clap your hands and thank God today? 00:18:55.039 --> 00:19:01.599 He's holding it, and in that day, a new name of God is unlocked. 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:05.039 A new name of God is revealed. 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:09.359 He is Jehovah Jirah, which means the Lord will provide. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:14.319 I don't know who this sermon is for, but you need to know you serve a God who still can provide. 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:17.599 And then you're saying, well, why the sacrifice? 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:18.720 What's up with the sacrifices? 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:19.519 It's weird. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:26.079 Yeah, it might be a little weird, but this is how God established a sacrificial system in the Old Testament. 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:27.359 And he was letting us know. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:33.119 It'll later be described in Leviticus, and we'll go through Moses and how all of this was instituted. 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:35.759 But what God is letting us know is sin has a cost. 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:38.400 It demands payment. 00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:43.440 And if you want reconciliation with God, it means a life paid for a life. 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:45.839 So he's setting all this up right here. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:51.680 And then something else I find interesting is the location of all this matters. 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:52.960 This is so interesting. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:54.000 You're gonna love this. 00:19:54.319 --> 00:20:10.720 Mount Moriah, where Abraham would get ready to sacrifice his son, later, centuries later, becomes the very place where Solomon would build the temple in 2 Chronicles chapter 3, verse 1. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:20.079 So the place of Abraham, of substitutionary sacrifice, would turn around and become the center of Israel's worship to this day. 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:34.160 The place where Abraham said, the Lord will provide, became the place where animals were sacrificed all the time until the day where the perfect lamb would be finally offered. 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:36.559 And who's the perfect lamb, every lamb, everybody? 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:48.799 I'm glad you asked, because John 1.29 says the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:52.480 It was pointing to Jesus the entire time. 00:20:53.759 --> 00:21:05.039 It became the place where God does for humanity what humanity could not do for themselves, and that is offer complete forgiveness and atonement and payment for sins. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:08.000 Our new song, Behold the Lamb. 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:14.480 It's it's given to the nations today, as this week as we release it from FC Music. 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:14.960 Why? 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:17.359 We're trying to get people, look at him. 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:23.839 I know some people they have a wrong view of God, and they're like, oh, I they don't follow God. 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:24.799 I'm like, no, no, no. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:26.160 Look at look at him. 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:27.279 You're not seeing him right. 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:31.119 You need to see a God who loved us to the depths. 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:35.200 Behold, he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:44.000 And from that day forward, no, never again would God require an animal sacrifice because it was all just a picture to show us our need for him. 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:46.400 Are you seeing this? 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:54.559 Here's something else somebody else miss people miss a lot, and that is God never intended Isaac to die. 00:21:56.640 --> 00:21:59.759 Watch, he stops him at the last minute. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.920 And provides a ram. 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:06.799 But did you notice where the ram was located? 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:16.640 The ram is caught in a thicket of thorns wrapped around its head. 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:21.839 That's not accidental imagery. 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:24.240 This is a prophetic picture. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:26.799 Because thorns represented sin in the Bible. 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:27.759 Where is that, John? 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:29.920 Adam and Eve and the serpent. 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:32.079 Cursed is the ground because of you. 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:38.400 It will produce the substitute. 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:41.920 The ram was caught in the curse. 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:44.240 So Isaac could go free. 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:48.720 Now you and I get to go free. 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:55.119 Jesus is being crucified on the cross to mock him. 00:22:55.519 --> 00:23:00.240 They twisted together a crown of and put it on his. 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:03.039 Oh my God. 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:09.519 This is not a random detail, church. 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:11.759 This is symbolic. 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:13.279 Straight to Jesus. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:16.880 Isaac was spared because a substitute was caught in the curse. 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:19.759 You and I are spared because Jesus became a curse. 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:26.559 And listen, listen, when Abraham experienced what he experienced, it was all just a foreshadow of what would come one day. 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:31.119 In the same region where Jesus Christ would become the sacrificial lamb. 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:38.720 It's like it's like watching a movie trailer, and you just get glimpses of what's going to take place, and then years later, you see the full movie. 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:40.000 Yeah. 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:45.839 The mountain, it's not just a test site, it was a preview. 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:50.480 Abraham's day, Genesis 22, was the trailer. 00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:53.759 You fast forward to the cross, that's the full release. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:00.720 So God revealed the ending before the story was ever even finished. 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:03.359 It's magnificent, isn't it? 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:05.920 Let's go deeper. 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:07.680 Most people miss this too. 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:10.079 Isaac's not a little child in this story. 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:15.519 That's what in our minds we picture a little elementary kid. 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:18.559 He's about 25 to 37 years old. 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:20.079 Okay, watch. 00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:21.039 That changes everything. 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:28.640 Because no longer in our minds is it some little kid being dragged up against his will, going to be sacrificed on an altar. 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:29.200 Nope. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:35.039 He was a willing son, walking with his father. 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:46.799 Why this is significant is because obviously it's pointing to the most famous verse in the Bible for God the Father so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:48.400 Okay, watch. 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:50.880 You flip over to John chapter 10, verse 17. 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:54.319 Jesus says, No man takes my life, I lay it down willingly. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:24:59.359 And then watch this. 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:01.039 Can I give you some more? 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:08.960 Isaac carried the wood up the hill. 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:20.640 Jesus carried a wooden cross up the hill in the same region as a willing son. 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:33.599 So on that mountain, Abraham's not just speaking faith, he was declaring the gospel centuries before it ever happened. 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:40.240 That one day now on this side of the cross, we understand God the Father made him Jesus who had no sin. 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:44.319 Jesus was sinless, holy. 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:53.920 He became sin for us, substitute, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:25:55.200 --> 00:26:02.000 Isn't it funny how sometimes somebody will speak faith and they have no idea the weight of what their words are saying? 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:03.279 That's Abraham. 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:11.599 Something else people miss is that the name Jehovah Jirah means the Lord will provide, but literally it means the Lord will see to it. 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:15.759 You have a God who will see to it. 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:19.359 His word will not return void to him. 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:21.759 He'll see to it. 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:26.319 So before Abraham ever climbed on the mountain, God already saw the ram. 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:31.839 So next time that you you can't see provision, come on, church, trust the God who can. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:33.440 He'll see to it. 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:35.920 His word will not return void. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:45.359 So as we unpack this a little further, the whole story is not just based on whether Abraham really loved Isaac or not. 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:46.960 Here's the bigger issue. 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:56.160 The bigger issue in our text is does Abraham trust God more than the promise God has given him? 00:26:57.359 --> 00:26:59.759 Because he's waited for 25 years for this thing. 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:02.240 And then God's like, I want you to lay your son down. 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:07.119 So did Abraham trust God's promise more than God's gift? 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:12.880 Because Isaac represented everything that God promised. 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:16.640 I'm talking about descendants, future, blessing, covenant. 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:22.400 And Abraham had to decide, do I trust the promise giver more than the promise itself? 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:25.359 What are we looking to? 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:34.799 Because what listen, what God may ask you to place on the altar, sometimes he asks you to place the very thing that he gave you. 00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:39.519 Watch, sometimes not to remove it, just to prove it doesn't own you. 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:44.400 You don't serve it, you serve him. 00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:52.640 Because God will never let the promise replace him as the promise giver. 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:55.759 Come on, he's worthy of it all. 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:06.079 Something that's very interesting also is how Abraham responded to God. 00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:09.279 There was no arguing, there's no bargaining, bargaining. 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:15.039 The Bible says, the next day he got up, saddled his donkey. 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:21.279 How much time do we spend debating with God? 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:26.480 We read something in the word and we don't apply it right away. 00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:29.119 We just we start bargaining, we're debating with God. 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:33.680 Listen, maturity, maturity looks like this settled trust. 00:28:35.279 --> 00:28:38.400 I know we're not all there yet, we're still working on all this, but here's the goal. 00:28:38.559 --> 00:28:42.000 The goal is to move from debating with God to just walking with God. 00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:44.880 Look at this verse. 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:47.279 Your father Abraham. 00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:49.039 He's all of our fathers. 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:51.839 He had many sons, and many sons had fathering. 00:28:54.079 --> 00:28:55.359 And so are you. 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:57.759 So let's just pray to the Lord. 00:28:57.920 --> 00:28:58.240 Right on. 00:28:58.559 --> 00:29:04.559 Okay, for those of you that didn't grow up in church, what all of us are singing, embarrassed, it's an embarrassing song. 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:06.720 It's like the Christian hokey pokey. 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:12.000 They taught it to us as kids, and it sticks with us. 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:13.920 We can't get it out of our mind. 00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:24.000 Your father Abraham rejoiced to watch at the thought that Jesus is talking about sing my day. 00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:27.359 He saw it. 00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:33.200 On that mountain, Mariah holding that knife. 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:38.880 God gave him a picture, a picture centuries later, to Jesus on the cross. 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:43.119 And Jesus said he saw it and he was glad. 00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:47.680 You look at all the parallels, parallels. 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:51.759 A father, Abraham, a father offers his beloved son. 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:54.160 The son carries the wood up the mountain. 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:56.240 The sacrifice happened on Mount Moriah. 00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:58.240 That's the future place of Jerusalem. 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:02.720 The substitute was provided, a a ram in the thicket and the thorns. 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:05.359 And then he declares, the Lord will provide. 00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:06.799 Fast forward now to the cross. 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:08.960 God the Father would offer his beloved Son. 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:10.319 Jesus is the beloved son. 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:13.759 He would carry the wooden cross up a hill in the same region. 00:30:13.920 --> 00:30:15.359