1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:03,040 Welcome to the Illuminate Church podcast. 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:05,600 We hope today's message is encouraging to you. 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:14,040 We are in this series of Genesis called Faith Begins, and I know 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,160 we're recognizing Mother's Day. It's an official holiday. 5 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:21,040 But what I want to know is if you celebrated what happened on 6 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:25,760 January 9th this year, January 9th is maybe not an official 7 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,600 holiday, but I want to know if you celebrated it. 8 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:31,200 It's called Quitters Day. Anybody ever heard of it? 9 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:34,240 Quitter's Day. It's not really an official 10 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:37,720 holiday, but the sad news is that there's so much statistical 11 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:41,600 evidence to what we do with our New Year's resolutions that data 12 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:44,440 analytics and therefore marketing has moved towards 13 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:46,680 calling January 9th Quitter's Day. 14 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:49,680 Because one out of 10, that's all that it is. 15 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:53,600 One out of 10 people that sets a New Year's resolution, actually 16 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,920 sees it through. And by January 9th, we already 17 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:01,080 know that stepping out is hard. And I, I believe when we step 18 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,000 out, whether it's New Year's resolutions or it's answering 19 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,640 the call of God like Abram, who we're going to be talking about 20 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,400 today, don't be confused if you hear Abram or Abraham. 21 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,200 It's the same man Pastor Tim introduced us to Abram last week 22 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:16,880 and we're going to pick up in his story. 23 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,960 But the reality is whether it's Quitters Day and New Year's 24 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:25,240 resolutions or it's Abraham stepping out in faith, it's not 25 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,360 always just the first step. That's hard. 26 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,920 How many agree with that? It's the subsequent steps that 27 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:32,920 are just as hard as the first leap. 28 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:35,400 And so today, what we're going to be talking about are the 29 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:39,280 steps that follow stepping out. And today's message is entitled 30 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,640 Faith as sight. But today, even though we're 31 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:44,720 talking about stepping out, we're not going to be talking 32 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,320 about your feet. We're going to be talking about 33 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,240 our eyes. And so as we pick up right where 34 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,160 Pastor Tim left off, we're going to pick up with the man named 35 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:55,320 Abraham. And in order to do that, you're 36 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,080 going to need your Bible. So if you've got your Bible, go 37 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:00,680 ahead and get it ready and turn to Genesis 22. 38 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:05,000 Genesis 22 if you need a Bible, you already heard me say this 39 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,280 house is built upon this word of God. 40 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:09,960 If you don't have one, we want to put one in your hands. 41 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,040 Raise your hand right now. And our ushers are going to 42 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,280 bring you a Bible, and it can be your very own. 43 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,400 It can be yours to take. It can be yours to use. 44 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,360 Today we want you to have the Word of God in your hands when 45 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:23,360 you receive it. Go ahead and open the very first 46 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,080 book of the Bible, Genesis, Mark, Genesis 22. 47 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:28,600 We got one more right here in the middle. 48 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,560 What we're going to do today is cover a lot of chapters in 49 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:36,280 Genesis, but the first ten that we're going to cover is going to 50 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,240 be like 30,000 feet flying in an airplane. 51 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:41,960 So I'm going to point out a few things along the way. 52 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:44,520 And we're going to land in Genesis 22 together. 53 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,480 We're going to read verses one through 14 so you can hold that 54 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,120 spot, Genesis 22, and you will be ready when we get there. 55 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:54,760 Everybody ready? Lord, we ask you to do what only 56 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,200 you you can do, which is to take your living, active Word of God, 57 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:03,240 highlight, illuminate, activate your word in us, your personal 58 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:07,240 revelatory word to every person. You amaze us. 59 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,680 We adore you and we want to hear from you today. 60 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,080 So take over my mouth, use my body. 61 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,280 You made it, it's yours, delivered to us by your Spirit 62 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:20,680 in Jesus name, Amen. So in Genesis 12, one we hear 63 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:22,520 the beginning of Abraham's story. 64 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,480 God says you're going to leave your father, your nation, your 65 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,520 land. And he says go and Abraham goes, 66 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:32,240 which is really incredible. But just like us with our goals 67 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,720 on January 1st, we're going to have to see did Abraham make it 68 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:37,480 past Quitters Day? Right. 69 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:40,680 As we're going to see in Abraham, we also see in 70 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:45,040 ourselves what happens between the encounters with God that get 71 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:49,640 our feet moving can sometimes cause us to detour from the 72 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:51,040 plan. Can I get an Amen? 73 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:57,040 So what happens when we step out and it doesn't go the way that 74 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,880 we expect? If you were here last week, 75 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:02,920 Pastor Tim showed us a map. I think we can get it put up 76 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:07,480 about Abraham and his journey. And you see steps 1-2 and three 77 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,160 are Abraham following God. But by the time we get to step 78 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:16,839 #4 Abraham's got some problems. There's a famine in the land. 79 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,440 And nowhere in Scripture does it tell us that God sent Abram to 80 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,080 Egypt. But Abram saw a problem, a 81 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,720 physical famine, and he said, I think I'm going to go to Egypt 82 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,960 and get some help. So what we need to know is #4 on 83 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:34,240 this map is actually Egypt was a detour due to doubt. 84 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:38,720 And I am so glad, I think you would agree that my every faith 85 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:43,160 step and my every doubt detour is not published for all of you 86 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,920 to read for perpetuity, right? So as we're reading Genesis, 87 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,560 we're going to see Abram take a lot of faith steps. 88 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,800 We're also going to see him take a lot of detours. 89 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,640 And as we read these, you have to keep in mind that we're 90 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:58,760 covering it. We could probably read, if you 91 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,680 sat down and dedicated the time, you could read all the chapters 92 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:05,360 about Abram in the Bible in about 45 minutes, but it's 93 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:11,800 covering 175 years of his life. So in order to get this and to 94 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,480 really understand the richness of the word of God, we've got a 95 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:16,680 timeline together that we're going to work with today. 96 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,040 It's going to help us follow along and figure out what 97 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,400 happens between the encounters and the doubts for Abraham and 98 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:27,440 how does it relate to us. So in this timeline, you see, 99 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,640 Abram didn't even step out until he was 75. 100 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,600 Is this good news for anyone here wondering if you're too 101 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:38,280 old, if you've missed your purpose, if you've missed the 102 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:42,560 call of God on your life? Definitively, the answer is no. 103 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:47,120 So at 75, Abram steps out, and we already said that at around 104 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:50,560 77 he's taking his first detour on the way to Egypt. 105 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:54,800 But at around 82, we see Abram encountering God again. 106 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,480 So what happened between the detour and the encounter? 107 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,600 What is God up to in Abram's life that we can learn from? 108 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:06,320 I believe God did two things here and again and again for 109 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:11,600 Abram and for us to get us back on track #1 he restored his 110 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,440 sight. He did not tell him move your 111 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:17,680 feet. He didn't say go and keep going. 112 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,840 He restored his sight. And #2 he revealed more of the 113 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:25,880 promise to keep Abraham moving on the journey of faith that God 114 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,360 called him to do. He restored his sight and he 115 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:32,520 revealed more of the promise. We see this in Genesis 13 verses 116 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,880 14 through 17. Listen to the language of God's 117 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:40,920 conversation with Abraham. Now lift up your eyes and look 118 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,000 from the place where you are, northward and southward, 119 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,840 eastward and westward, for all the land which you see. 120 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:51,760 I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. 121 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,120 And we're going to get some clues about how big this promise 122 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,960 is. In verse 16, I will make your 123 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:02,120 descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can 124 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,360 number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also 125 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:07,880 be numbered. How many have ever tried to hold 126 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,160 sand and count it or dust in your hand? 127 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:15,080 What is God saying here? He is saying what I am revealing 128 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:18,000 to you in this promise is bigger than you can imagine, and it's 129 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,320 going to be more impactful than you could ever dream or 130 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,080 understand. He's showing him sight with his 131 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:25,440 eyes and he's revealing more of the promise. 132 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,720 And then he says, arise, walk about the land through its 133 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,120 length and breadth, for I will give it to you. 134 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:38,800 God is training Abram's sight to the promise, and because of his 135 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:42,560 journey to this point, because he said yes at #1 two and three 136 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,240 and came back from the detour, he's now physically, I mean, 137 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:50,960 geographically close enough for God to say, look at that land. 138 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:55,520 So sometimes our next step cannot come until we take 2-3 139 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,160 and four. And as he's standing there, God 140 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,080 says, look at that land. And he tells them within this 141 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:03,160 promise, there are two important things. 142 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:07,160 It's going to involve land and it's going to involve 143 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:09,040 descendants. Amazing. 144 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:14,560 But there's a problem. Abram has no land and he has no 145 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:18,760 children. So we immediately have a big 146 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:22,200 problem for Abram, but it's not a problem for God. 147 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,560 Isn't that good news? So if we go back to our timeline 148 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:31,240 in Genesis 15 five, we are going to see there at 82 that God is 149 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:33,480 restoring the promise. So what does he do? 150 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,640 He restores his sight and he reminds him of the promise. 151 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:42,400 Genesis 15 five says this time God took him outside and said, 152 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:46,040 now look, is it about his feet? Say no. 153 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,360 Is it about his eyes? Yes, God said. 154 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,840 Now look toward the heavens this time and count the stars if 155 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:57,600 you're able to count them. And he said to him, so shall 156 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:01,720 your descendants be. God is up to something big, and 157 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,760 he is training Abraham's eyes to the right sight. 158 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:08,960 The promise is clear. But guess what? 159 00:09:09,560 --> 00:09:13,320 Sarai is still barren. There's still no children. 160 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:15,760 And so the problem is persisting. 161 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:18,680 And this is where we have to get real with ourselves. 162 00:09:18,680 --> 00:09:21,520 What do we do when the promise is clear? 163 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:26,200 What if the Word of God is clear, but the problems we face 164 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,520 persist? Have you ever felt like you've 165 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:33,960 heard Jesus said, My yoke is easy and my burden is light, and 166 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:35,720 I came to give you abundant life. 167 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,400 And you look at your life and you say, but I feel heavy, 168 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:44,240 burdened, broken, lonely, lost. It's not abundant. 169 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:47,640 The promise is there, but the problem is there too. 170 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,640 What about this promise? God says you are a new creation. 171 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:53,600 The old is gone, the new has come. 172 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:56,960 But I'm living out my life and I realize I got the same mouth and 173 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:01,320 my motives are still really off. So I see the promise, but I also 174 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,960 know the problems. What about when you read Psalm 175 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:08,000 23 and you read that God is your shepherd? 176 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,600 Jesus causes you to lie down and rest. 177 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:12,600 How do you rest? Because your provision is 178 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,080 completely in him. That's the promise. 179 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:18,360 But we look at the problem and we say, well, God's not doing it 180 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:20,040 fast enough. So I'm going to work and I'm 181 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,520 going to strive and I'm going to do and I'm going to provide, and 182 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:24,760 all of a sudden there is no rest. 183 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:29,000 What do we do when the promise is clear but the problem 184 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,520 persists? Sarah and Abram, you know what 185 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:37,120 they did, They took a detour. If we go back to our timeline, 186 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:41,320 we're going to see that Sarah and Abram said God, you're 187 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:45,240 taking too long. And in Genesis 16, one it says 188 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:49,160 Sarah Abrams wife had borne him no children. 189 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,440 That's a big problem. And she had an Egyptian maid 190 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,760 whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram. 191 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:58,680 Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing 192 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:00,640 children, so please go into my maid. 193 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,800 Perhaps I will have a child through her. 194 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:06,320 There's a detour going on, right? 195 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,320 The promise is clear, but the problem gets too big, and so 196 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:14,320 Abram and Sarai decide to take it into their own hands. 197 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,480 Sarah and Abram did what I call the Hagard it. 198 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:22,600 Now I know it's not a verb, but the more the Word of God lives 199 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:24,720 in me, the more it activates in my life. 200 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:27,800 That if I'm going about something and I realize I am 201 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:31,200 waiting on God, that I have to be sensitive to the fact that I 202 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:34,520 could easily detour, right? I could Hagar it, I could do it 203 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,880 my own way, but that is not what God had in mind. 204 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:42,200 So when the problem got too big, too real, Abram and Sarai 205 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:45,520 detoured from the promise. Why do we do this? 206 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,760 Why do we wrestle out of God's hand, or try to wrestle out of 207 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,480 God's hand the very promise that our covenant keeping God has 208 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,720 already provided for? It's human nature, right? 209 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,880 When we're living of our own understanding, we believe that 210 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:05,080 to produce what we believe is necessary for life and success, 211 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:07,760 we have to take things our own way. 212 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:12,400 And we try to bypass God's process, His timing, and His 213 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:16,320 provision. We let the problems eclipse the 214 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:19,760 promise, and this is exactly what happened to Abram. 215 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:23,480 If we go back to our timeline, we see that at 86 years old, 216 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,440 there's a big detour. There is a sun born, but it's 217 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:32,920 not the sun born through Sarah. It's Ishmael, the sun born 218 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:37,200 outside the promise. So what was it that Abram and 219 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,400 Sarai were seeing? Where were their eyes looking? 220 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,840 They saw their aging bodies. Did I tell you that? 221 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:48,640 They were in their 80s, right? They're looking at their aging 222 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:51,760 body and they're saying the window of opportunity is 223 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,040 closing, and now they have a whole new problem. 224 00:12:55,520 --> 00:13:00,120 Through Ishmael an entire rival nation and rival son is born. 225 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,240 Through the detour we cause way more problems that then we have 226 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:05,800 to deal with. Can I get an Amen? 227 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:08,840 So what was it that God was promising? 228 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,320 He was promising descendants. And what did God see? 229 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:17,160 He saw a divine setup. If we go back to our timeline we 230 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:21,800 can go from 86 to 99 years old. How many people think 13 years 231 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:25,320 is a long time? Come on y'all, are you there? 232 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:31,120 13 years is a long time and in that waiting what happened to 233 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:33,960 Abram? Well at 99 he had an encounter 234 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:35,920 with God and the Lord does 2 things. 235 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,360 You know what they are. He restored his sight and he 236 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:44,520 adds to the promise. Genesis 1715 It says then God 237 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,440 said to Abraham, As for Sarah your wife, you shall not call 238 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:52,880 her Sarah, but Sarah shall be her name and I will bless her, 239 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:56,320 and indeed I will give you a son by her. 240 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,760 Then I will bless her and she will be a mother of nations, 241 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,720 kings of peoples will come from her. 242 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:08,360 So the first part of the promise is your descendants are like the 243 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:11,480 dust. There are as many as the count 244 00:14:11,680 --> 00:14:15,240 of the stars in the sky. And this time he's saying not 245 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,160 only is it you, Abraham, it's Sarah. 246 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,440 And I'm going to make her a mother of nations and kings are 247 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:21,760 going to come from her. How many kids do you have to 248 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:23,280 have in order for that to come true? 249 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,440 A lot. How many kids does Sarah have at 250 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:28,680 this point? Say it loud. 251 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,880 OK. Is anybody ready to blame 252 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:35,920 Abraham and Sarah at this point for staring at their 90 plus 253 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:37,880 year old body and having some doubts? 254 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:42,080 Is anybody feeling like Abraham and Sarah got nothing to worry 255 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,680 about? No, but if we look at this 256 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:47,240 timeline, if we look at it again, you see all of the 257 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:50,360 encounters and the detours, The encounters and the detours, The 258 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:54,360 encounters and the detours. Isn't that just like us in the 259 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,880 waiting seasons? Aren't we so prone to detour? 260 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:03,000 But do you think it's possible that God could change something 261 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,840 so that we could move from encounter to encounter to 262 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,800 encounter to encounter to encounter to encounter on this 263 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:12,920 faith filled journey and skip the detours all together? 264 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:14,840 If that were possible, would you want it? 265 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:18,640 How many people have lived the pain of detour enough that you 266 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:20,920 don't want to do the detours anymore? 267 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,000 If you believe that, raise your hand because the rest of the 268 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:28,440 promise is about to unfold. Because beyond the aging body 269 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:32,040 and the impossible situation that is going on for Abraham and 270 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:36,760 Sarah, there is a giant arrow over all of this story pointing 271 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:39,000 all of creation to the coming Messiah. 272 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:43,240 An anointed time. There is an announced time for 273 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,120 this child to be born and there is an appointed time. 274 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,160 Does this sound familiar? There's a specific mother. 275 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:52,920 It has to come through Sarah, and it has to come in a 276 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:54,680 miraculous way. Why? 277 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,480 Because the giant arrow on Abraham and Sarah's life is 278 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:02,360 pointing to another miraculous birth and another appointed 279 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:06,160 mother, Mary, the mother of Jesus and her cousin Elizabeth. 280 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,840 If you remember anything about Elizabeth, Elizabeth was also 281 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,520 well along in her years beyond childbearing years. 282 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:15,240 And there's another miraculous birth. 283 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,440 There's another mother, another method, and another way that is 284 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,240 pointing to the miraculous way of Jesus. 285 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:25,120 And when Mary received her news about what would come in her 286 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,920 body, that would require more faith than any human had ever 287 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:31,560 been required. She need to look only to her 288 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:36,520 cousin Elizabeth who was in her 90s bearing pregnant body signs 289 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:38,440 with a baby moving inside of her. 290 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:42,480 Because God was pointing from Abraham and Sarah to Mary and 291 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:48,680 Elizabeth to the Messiah Jesus. And So what do we learn if God 292 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:54,400 could solve the biggest problem, the chasm of us separated from 293 00:16:54,400 --> 00:17:00,320 God due to sin through Jesus Christ, What problem can He not 294 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:06,760 solve in your life? God is a God who solves big 295 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:10,240 problems, and we're going to see this ultimately in Jesus. 296 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,040 And for right now, let's go back to Abraham and his promise. 297 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:17,319 Let's go back to our timeline. We're picking up now and we have 298 00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:22,760 Abraham at 100 years old and at 100 years old we see God come 299 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:27,880 through in Genesis 21 one. Then the Lord took note of Sarah 300 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:33,240 as he had promised, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had 301 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,440 promised. Are we getting the message? 302 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:40,640 So, as he had promised, God came through in every way. 303 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:44,680 Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had 304 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,920 spoken to him, and Abraham called the name of his son who 305 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,080 was born to him, whom Sarah born to him. 306 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,280 Do you love the intentionality of Scripture? 307 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:57,360 Do you love the intentionality of Scripture inspired by the 308 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:00,280 Holy Spirit? It doesn't just say Abraham got 309 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:03,160 the right son. It says it was Sarah that did 310 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:05,720 it. It was the promise of God that 311 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:08,440 did it. Let us not miss this miracle. 312 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:10,880 In fact, I don't know why you're not rejoicing right now. 313 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:12,360 You should be standing to your feet. 314 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:14,920 I'm asking you right now, let's stand to your feet. 315 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:16,440 We're actually going to have a dance break. 316 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:17,920 Come on. You can do this. 317 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:20,080 You can do it. You can do it. 318 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:31,760 Come on. 100 years, 100. Come on. 319 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:43,760 You're not dancing. I don't know what this is, but 320 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:51,960 do it. Yeah. 321 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:57,400 Let's just praise the Lord. Right arm, left arm, Father. 322 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:05,240 Yeah, OK, that was fun, wasn't it? 323 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:12,280 That's a shameless plug for VBS. You can serve on the team. 324 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:14,560 You can bring your kids. You can invite your neighbors. 325 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,000 But in all seriousness, you might know that song because 326 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,040 someone taught it to you as a child, right? 327 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:24,600 The truth and the richness of the word of God is in that song, 328 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:29,160 that God fulfilled his promise. And I hope you love that song 329 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,800 because it's going to be stuck in your head like for a while. 330 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:37,400 But I also love that it's timeless. 331 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:40,360 I also love that it transcends cultures. 332 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,720 I love that God is building a multicultural family here. 333 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:46,840 And I hope you heard something in your own language today, if 334 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:48,480 English is not your first language. 335 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:50,800 Because we celebrate what God is doing. 336 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:56,640 We celebrate because this is a long-awaited son of promise. 337 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:00,600 And if we go back to our timeline, let's take a look at 338 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:05,360 Abraham's life. You see all the encounters and 339 00:20:05,360 --> 00:20:10,320 you see all the detours. Most of what I'm going to say is 340 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:13,360 not even filled in to the detail that what I'm about to say. 341 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:15,560 But you need to listen and watch that timeline. 342 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:20,920 Because Abraham, the same man that detoured to Egypt away from 343 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:24,680 the targeted destination in the land of Canaan that lied about 344 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,920 his wife 2 times saying she was his sister because he was 345 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:31,360 afraid. The same man that birthed an 346 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:34,800 illegitimate air, that birthed A rival nation, who tried to 347 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:39,440 accomplish the mission his own way, is the same man who left 348 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,880 when God told him to go, who fell on his face and asked God 349 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:46,360 to redirect him, who returned to the altar where he had met with 350 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:49,000 God. He is the same man that knew 351 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:53,480 God's holiness, that carried by faith through all generations 352 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:59,120 the redemption to our Messiah. This is the same man, and all 353 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:04,160 along we see God. Don't you see God revealing, 354 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:08,000 restoring, reminding, redirecting, getting Abraham 355 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:11,400 back on course? So when we look at the sum total 356 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,800 of the Bible, what does the Bible record about Abraham? 357 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,400 In Genesis 15-6 we read these treasured words. 358 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:25,320 Abram believed the Lord and it was credited to him as 359 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:30,600 righteousness, the righteousness that we enjoy now because we 360 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:34,760 know about Jesus. Abram enjoyed because of his 361 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:40,360 faith that Jesus would come. Galatians 39 says though. 362 00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:45,320 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham. 363 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:47,240 And look at these last two words. 364 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,160 The believer. Does Scripture record a 365 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:54,080 remembrance of the up and down journeys of Abraham? 366 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,120 No, it says Abraham was the believer. 367 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:01,480 Isn't this great news for all of us stepping out in faith and 368 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:05,280 following Jesus? The sum total of Abraham's life 369 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,640 wasn't his failures, it was his faith. 370 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,720 And this is this is the same good news that we have. 371 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:17,840 But Abraham is about to face the biggest test of his life. 372 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:24,040 So if the 100 years and the waiting between 75 and 100 were 373 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:29,360 not a challenge enough, we're about to land in our tarmac 374 00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:31,800 place today in Scripture, in Genesis 22. 375 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:33,960 If you have your Bibles open, will you join me there? 376 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:42,800 We're going to read verses one through 14 together and we're 377 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:46,920 going to walk with Abraham through this test verse one. 378 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:50,360 It says now it came about after these things that God tested 379 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:54,280 Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, here I am. 380 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:59,360 And God said, take now your son, your only son whom you love, 381 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:03,680 Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a 382 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:07,040 burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell 383 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,240 you. Do you hear the like record 384 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:15,000 screeching off the track? This is the sun that I waited 25 385 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,000 years to have. This is the son of which the 386 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,200 promise is coming through. And maybe you're here today 387 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:23,800 meeting God, and you're very early on in your relationship, 388 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:27,320 and you're like, could someone please notify me if this God 389 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,440 we're following requires human sacrifice, Right? 390 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,400 That's a genuine question. If you read this passage in 391 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:35,960 isolation, you might question the character of God. 392 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:37,800 It's why we have to read the whole. 393 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,080 Because when you read the whole Bible, you see that God detests 394 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:44,240 any child, adult human sacrifice. 395 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:48,120 In fact, he spends so much time talking about how wrong it is, 396 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:51,040 how detestable it is, and tries to eliminate it. 397 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:54,040 So no, this is not a normal situation. 398 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:57,880 Something else is going on here. You also need to know at this 399 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,720 point, Isaac's not a little kid. Scholars estimate it's a big 400 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:04,880 range, but somewhere between 15 and 37 years old. 401 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:08,000 So it's not like he's a little boy that's just along for the 402 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,200 ride. This is a man, I've got a 13 403 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:18,320 year old, he could take me. And Abraham is 115 years old. 404 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:22,880 So keep that in mind as we read, picking up in verse 3. 405 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:26,160 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, 406 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,520 took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son, and he 407 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:33,080 split wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to 408 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:34,960 the place of which God had told him. 409 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:38,000 At this point we should be asking ourselves, how in the 410 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:42,240 world is Abraham doing this? How is he obeying in this 411 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,160 direction? I believe that Abraham is now 412 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:49,320 flexing a muscle that God has been developing in him all of 413 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:52,000 these years. All the detours, all the 414 00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:55,400 encounters, all the miracles that God has fulfilled have been 415 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:59,520 developing in Abraham an ability to see anew. 416 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,880 And I would say it this way, his sight has changed. 417 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:09,240 On the third day, Abraham raised his eyes. 418 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:11,640 Do you hear the language? But this time it's not God 419 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:14,040 telling him to look. It's Abraham doing it on his 420 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,680 own. He raised his eyes and he saw 421 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:20,720 the place from a distance. He saw the problem, right. 422 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:23,520 There's a mountain climb. I've got to do something I don't 423 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,760 understand. He saw the problem. 424 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:30,080 But in verse 5, we learned that Abraham said to his young men, 425 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,560 stay here with the donkey and I and the lad will go over there. 426 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:35,160 We will worship and return to you. 427 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,760 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on 428 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,920 Isaac, his son. And he took in his hand the fire 429 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,440 and the knife. And so the two of them walked on 430 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:48,280 together. Verse 7, Isaac spoke to Abraham 431 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:52,160 his father, and said, my father. And he said, here I am my son. 432 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:55,560 And he said, behold the fire and the wood. 433 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,480 But where is the lamb for the burnt offering? 434 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,440 If you're a parent, you know kids ask some hard questions, 435 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:05,920 right? Where do babies come from? 436 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:10,000 Oh, I'd love to answer that one. My personal favorite. 437 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,280 Every day from about 8:00 AM through about 5:00 PM. 438 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:14,840 What's for dinner, What's for dinner, What's for dinner, 439 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:15,920 What's for dinner, What's for dinner? 440 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:17,680 Did I tell you I have a 13 year old? 441 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,520 He eats 5 dinners between 4:00 and 10:00. 442 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:22,600 So it's what's for dinner now what's for 2nd dinner? 443 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:23,720 What's for 3rd dinner? Right. 444 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,960 And the tried and tested true. Why why, why, why, why? 445 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,920 Kids ask us some hard questions, but I don't think anything I've 446 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:37,680 ever been asked has compared to what Isaac is now asking 447 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,560 Abraham. Dad, I see what's going on. 448 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:42,520 I know what's supposed to happen up there. 449 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,800 I see the fire and I see the knife, but where's the lamb? 450 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:54,160 Parenting questions, verse 8. Abraham said God will provide 451 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:57,200 for himself the lamb, for the burnt offering, my son. 452 00:26:57,440 --> 00:26:59,240 So the two of them walked on together. 453 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,640 You see, the confidence that Abraham gives Isaac in the way 454 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:06,040 that he's leading him to the top of the mountain is not 455 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:11,800 deception, it's faith. He says, we will go up and we 456 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:15,040 will come down, and God will provide. 457 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:18,600 Verse 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him, 458 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:22,040 and Abraham built the altar there, arranged the wood, and 459 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:25,920 bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 460 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:29,680 Abraham stretched out his hand, took the knife to slay his son, 461 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:32,440 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 462 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,240 Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am, He said, 463 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,320 do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing 464 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:43,120 to him for now. I know that you fear God, since 465 00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:47,560 you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. 466 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,800 Then Abraham raised his eyes. Here it is again. 467 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:54,800 It's all about his sight. He raised his eyes, and you know 468 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:59,320 what he saw when he looked? He saw a ram caught in a thicket 469 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:03,480 by his thorns horns, and Abraham went and took the ram, offered 470 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:08,280 him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son, and 471 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:11,720 Abraham called the name of the that place the Lord will 472 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:14,280 provide, as it is said to this day. 473 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:17,280 In the mount of the Lord, it will be provided. 474 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,280 If you've ever heard someone say Jehovah Jireh or heard someone 475 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,800 sing the song called Jehovah Jireh, my provider, this is 476 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:26,600 where that name of God comes from. 477 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:30,240 You know, there are some names that God says, this is who I am. 478 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:33,360 And then there are some names where people have a real living 479 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:36,800 encounter with God and they say, this is who you are. 480 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:40,680 Do you understand the depths of those words? 481 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:45,920 Jehovah Jireh, You are my provider as the knife was raised 482 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:50,320 over his Son, God provided. If you don't believe, God can 483 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:54,040 provide in the very most critical moments. 484 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:58,800 Let this speak to you. Jehovah Jireh is who met Abraham 485 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:03,280 on that day, and there was an act of faith and obedience 486 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:07,560 required by Abraham to choose to see by faith what his natural 487 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,440 eyes could not see. But the good news is that God 488 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:13,720 had been training him, developing him all along. 489 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:16,600 And here's the training. And this is for us today. 490 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:19,280 We have to move from this posture. 491 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:24,360 I fit my circumstances together to form my understanding of God. 492 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:30,120 I fit my circumstances together to form my understanding of God. 493 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:32,760 This is Abram. When there's a famine. 494 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:36,120 Oh, God's not coming through. I better go over here, right? 495 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:37,560 God's not providing. He's not good. 496 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,440 But where we see Abram on the mount of Moriah is that he has 497 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:46,640 learned instead this I agree with who God says he is and what 498 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:50,560 he says he will do. And from there, I understand my 499 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:54,360 circumstances. So we move from all of this. 500 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:59,920 Yuck informs who God is to God is unchanging, everlasting. 501 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:02,600 I can count on him. He's my provider, He's my 502 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,200 healer, my savior, He's my rescuer. 503 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:08,840 So no matter what's going on down here, I've got to see this 504 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:12,160 above this, right? Because what we believe directs 505 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,280 our actions. And the truth about this test is 506 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:19,120 that this test is both for Abraham and it's for us. 507 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:24,200 For Abraham, he was tested to let what is truly in him come to 508 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:27,440 full strength. It's like when you're weight 509 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,200 lifting and you're lifting maybe 80 lbs again and again and 510 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:32,360 again, and somebody says, what's your Max Rep? 511 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:37,080 You can't do 100 and 1550 times if you can only do 80 once, 512 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:39,840 right? But a Max Rep, this is what's 513 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,560 tested inside of Abraham's face. All of the things he had been 514 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:47,720 doing leading up till now is now being applied to this incredibly 515 00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:52,040 impossible task. And on verse 4, we see that 516 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:55,280 Abraham, remember he raised his eyes and he saw the place from a 517 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,480 distance. And when he looked up with his 518 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:01,360 natural eyes, he saw the spot, the climb and the destination. 519 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:05,360 But only with this spiritual sight could he say, we will go 520 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:09,520 up, we will come down. And not only that, but get this, 521 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:13,000 he says to Isaac, whatever takes place up on that, that mountain 522 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:14,840 is going to be an act of worship. 523 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,880 He says whatever God is going to do up there is going to be an 524 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:26,440 act of worship. This is faith as sight to see. 525 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,200 What we can't actually see, we see it by faith. 526 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:32,280 And this act of faith, remember I said there was a giant arrow 527 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,880 pointing to Jesus? We're about to unpack that 528 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:37,960 because there are three and there's probably more. 529 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:39,840 Three. We're going to highlight today 3 530 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:43,000 intentional things God is doing in this moment, thousands of 531 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:44,960 years before Jesus comes on the scene. 532 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:49,320 And part of this is to point us to the validity of Jesus when he 533 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:54,320 actually shows up #1 the location God said go to Mount 534 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:56,400 Moriah. At that time there was nothing 535 00:31:56,400 --> 00:32:00,960 there other than mountain, but today that's the site of the 536 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,400 Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the sacrificial system was 537 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,800 carried out in the Temple period of the Jews. 538 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:12,600 The very site that Abraham took Isaac on the Mount of Moriah is 539 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:17,120 where now the Dome of the Rock on top of the Jerusalem Temple 540 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:19,120 where all the sacrifices took place. 541 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:25,640 That's incredible #2 the method. Isaac carries the wood, just 542 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:28,720 like Jesus. Isaac is said again and again, 543 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:33,640 the one and only Son, just like who say loud. 544 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:38,160 So the location, the method, there's no coincidence here. 545 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:43,920 And finally #3 the provision. God provides the atoning 546 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:48,720 sacrifice via the ram caught in the thicket of thorns, just like 547 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:52,120 the crown of thorns that will be placed on Jesus head. 548 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:58,720 God did provide, we know it. He provided his one and only son 549 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:01,520 and when it came to Jesus, there wasn't anyone else that could 550 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:05,120 stand in his place. He fulfilled, God fulfilled the 551 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:09,160 once and for all sacrifice for the salvation of our souls to 552 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:11,280 restore us to relationship with God. 553 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:16,760 So if I could tell you one thing that we learned from Abraham in 554 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:21,200 all of this, it's this. All of our lives, all of your 555 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:23,880 life, is intended to build your faith. 556 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:30,440 Train your muscles so that the life you live points people 557 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:36,280 directly to the gospel of Jesus. Your entire life, every test, 558 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,600 every encounter, even every detour and correction, every 559 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:44,960 faith building, it is for your life to be lived in such a way 560 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:48,200 that your life points directly to the gospel of Jesus. 561 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:51,320 That's what Abraham did on the Mount of Moriah. 562 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:54,760 So how did he do this? Because this is what we've got 563 00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:58,720 to learn as we close today. If you'll turn to Hebrews 564 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:01,280 Chapter 11, if you've got your Bible, we're going to go to 565 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:04,360 Hebrews Chapter 11. This chapter of Hebrews is 566 00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:08,520 called the Hall of Faith. Everybody say Hall of Faith, and 567 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,840 what you read, if you read this chapter in entirety, is you read 568 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:14,040 by faith. So and so did this, by faith so 569 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:16,560 and so did this by faith So and so did this. 570 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:20,040 And it's like this visual retelling that the baton of 571 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:23,639 faith must have passed through all of these people in order to 572 00:34:23,639 --> 00:34:26,320 keep it going. And the end of Hebrews Chapter 573 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:29,760 11 says everything that everybody's been waiting on that 574 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:31,520 promise. It's not going to be fulfilled 575 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:35,159 until we're all together. You know, Abraham didn't see the 576 00:34:35,159 --> 00:34:37,719 land and the descendants. He didn't. 577 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:41,719 He was part of the promise. He wasn't the fulfillment, but 578 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:46,040 God is saving for us when we all come together, the final 579 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:48,159 fulfillment of all of his promises. 580 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:52,040 But in Hebrews Chapter 11, we learn how Abraham did this. 581 00:34:52,639 --> 00:34:56,719 And if we start in verse 8, it says by faith, Abraham, when 582 00:34:56,719 --> 00:34:59,480 called to go to a place he would later receive as his 583 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:04,120 inheritance, he obeyed and went, even though he did not know 584 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:07,560 where he was going. By faith he made us home in the 585 00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:10,040 promised land like a stranger in a foreign country. 586 00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:14,120 He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with 587 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:18,840 him of the same promise. And here is the site, verse 10. 588 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:24,360 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations whose 589 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:29,520 architect and builder is God. What city is he talking about? 590 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:34,640 Is he talking about Jerusalem? No, he's not any longer talking 591 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,120 about an earthly geographical city. 592 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:41,000 He's talking about what Abraham could see was the Kingdom of 593 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:45,480 heaven coming to earth, and he was able to fit everything he 594 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:49,120 was doing under the truth of God and not the other way around. 595 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:51,760 By faith. This is what Abraham did. 596 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:57,320 Abraham learned to fix his eyes on whatever God was building. 597 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:01,640 He no longer saw the problems. He had learned to see the 598 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:04,640 promise. The same happened for Sarah 599 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,640 verse 11. By faith even Sarah herself 600 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:11,280 received ability to conceive even beyond the proper time of 601 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:15,640 life, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 602 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:20,280 Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good, as 603 00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:23,400 dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of 604 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:27,120 heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is 605 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:32,040 by the seashore. You know all those descendants? 606 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:35,880 That's us. Did you know you're the sand, 607 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:38,520 you're the stars, you're the recipient? 608 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:41,400 If you're following Jesus and He's your Savior, you've been 609 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:45,680 grafted in to the family tree. You are a child of Father 610 00:36:45,680 --> 00:36:48,920 Abraham. This is good news. 611 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:55,240 So my question to you today is, what are you looking at and 612 00:36:55,240 --> 00:37:00,640 saying that's as good as dead? What promise are you discounting 613 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:03,440 giving up on? Detouring and saying no, that's 614 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:05,800 dead. Healing joy, I'll never have 615 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:07,680 that again. Financial freedom, I'll never 616 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:10,480 have that again. I don't think God could save me 617 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:11,920 or love me. You don't know what I've done. 618 00:37:12,680 --> 00:37:17,000 What are you calling as good as dead that God is saying let me 619 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:21,760 resurrect it because by faith. Verse 17 says when Abraham was 620 00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:26,400 tested, he offered up Isaac and he who had received the promises 621 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:29,800 was offering up his only begotten son. 622 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:34,320 Does that sound familiar? It was he to whom it was said in 623 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:36,440 Isaac your descendant shall be called. 624 00:37:36,720 --> 00:37:42,120 And verse 19 gives us the key. Abraham considered that God is 625 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:46,800 able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also 626 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:50,840 received him back as a type. When Abraham went to the top of 627 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:54,040 the mountain willing to sacrifice his son, he believed 628 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:56,280 that the promise had to come through Isaac. 629 00:37:56,440 --> 00:38:00,280 So if God was going to require him to die, he must be about to 630 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:03,360 resurrect him because the promise is coming through him, 631 00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:06,640 because the promise was bigger than the problem. 632 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:10,440 He reasoned under the banner of God's complete reliability and 633 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:12,560 goodness. And here's the message for us 634 00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:15,440 today. As you sit here today, we've all 635 00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:17,480 got promises and we've all got problems. 636 00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:21,000 Amen. But whatever part gets more 637 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:25,400 attention is up to us. We have constant choices every 638 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:28,480 day to see it this way. The promise is bigger than the 639 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:31,560 problem. Or we can see it this way, the 640 00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:34,320 problems. We're bigger than the promise, 641 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:37,920 but it's up to us. Because you see, faith starts 642 00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:43,000 when we step out, but it's sustained as we abide. 643 00:38:44,120 --> 00:38:47,760 And the advantage that we have over Abraham is we don't go from 644 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:51,200 86 to 99 to have an encounter with God. 645 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:54,320 You have the indwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit, 646 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:56,360 and this is what God is offering you. 647 00:38:56,360 --> 00:39:00,080 He wants to close the gaps in your encounters with Him and 648 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:03,480 leave no room for doubt. Let me say that again. 649 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:08,400 He wants to close the gaps by living a day-to-day relationship 650 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:10,720 with you in such a way that you're encountering him. 651 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:13,800 And the thing that we call that here at Illuminate Church is 652 00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:17,800 called lifesteps. Everybody say lifesteps in life 653 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:19,960 steps. We don't invite you to love the 654 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:22,640 church. We teach you how to follow Jesus 655 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:26,280 in a way that your steps get synced up every day. 656 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:28,400 Your steps get synced up with the Spirit. 657 00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:34,400 It's what Galatians said in 525. Since we live by the Spirit, let 658 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:39,080 us keep in step with the Spirit. If you're going to step out with 659 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:42,560 God, you can do it on your own, or you can sync up with the 660 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:47,040 Spirit, close the gaps, leave no room for doubt, and live a faith 661 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:50,280 filled encounter to encounter. Encounter him in the Word. 662 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:53,560 Encounter Him in worship. Encounter him here on Sunday. 663 00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:56,480 Encounter Him at home. Encounter Him around your dining 664 00:39:56,480 --> 00:39:58,560 table. Encounter Him on a walk in 665 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,200 creation. Encounter Him with the Word 666 00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:06,600 living inside of you. Because what we're inviting you 667 00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:11,760 to do is to transform whatever relationship you've got right 668 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:16,560 now to a day-to-day relationship that transforms you to take the 669 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:19,800 mountain climb in obedience instead of the detour. 670 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:23,200 The kind of faith building relationship that comes from 671 00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:29,640 constant nearness to God that actually becomes what Isaiah 41, 672 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:31,920 eight says about God and Abraham. 673 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:36,960 At the end of Isaiah 41 and verse 8 it says that Israel is a 674 00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:39,680 descendant of Abraham. But the important part of the 675 00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:45,160 last two words, will you say it was it say my friend, did you 676 00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:51,760 know God is not a legalistic distant, follow the rules or 677 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:55,600 don't hang out with me God. I used to believe that I used to 678 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:58,800 literally get offended when we were on the worship team about 679 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:00,920 20 years ago in our church in Ocala. 680 00:41:00,920 --> 00:41:04,480 I got offended when we sang a song that called us the friend 681 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:06,720 of God. And I thought how in the world 682 00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:09,800 that's so offensive, we're nowhere near worthy to be 683 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:13,480 friends with God until God transformed my legalistic 684 00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:16,560 performance based heart and said, hey, would you be my 685 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:18,000 friend? It's pretty enjoyable. 686 00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:22,120 And once I started experiencing it, now all I want to do is make 687 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:27,120 sure you have it because Abraham had a friendship with God. 688 00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:29,760 And here is how I would love to close. 689 00:41:30,320 --> 00:41:33,640 By the time Abraham boldly marches up to the mountaintop in 690 00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:36,560 faith, did you notice he was able to lead his son there? 691 00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:39,680 That's what we mean in life steps when we say you meet with 692 00:41:39,680 --> 00:41:43,280 God, you discover who you are in Christ, you become like Him, and 693 00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:47,320 you lead others to do the same. Abram took the first step in 694 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:51,000 faith, but then he passed the baton to Isaac, who passed the 695 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:55,240 baton to Jacob, who passed the baton to you and to me. 696 00:41:55,240 --> 00:41:59,120 And today we are the people of faith and we have a race to run. 697 00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:03,480 In Hebrews chapter 12, we read these closing verses. 698 00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:09,160 The admonition is to say, therefore, since we have such a 699 00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:12,560 great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay 700 00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:16,720 aside every encumbrance, the sin that so easily entangles us. 701 00:42:16,720 --> 00:42:19,720 Those are the detours, and here's the invitation to you and 702 00:42:19,720 --> 00:42:22,040 to me. Let us run with endurance the 703 00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:26,800 race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the 704 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:30,560 Author and Perfector of faith, who for the joy set before him 705 00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:34,480 endured the cross, despising the shame, has sat down at the right 706 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:38,640 hand of the throne of God. And consider Him who has endured 707 00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:42,720 such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you and 708 00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:46,400 I will not grow weary and detour and lose heart. 709 00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:50,400 We have a race to run. We have a friendship with God. 710 00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:53,800 And so the two invitations I have for you today as we close 711 00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:59,080 is, if you don't know Him yet as Savior, why wait another day? 712 00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:03,240 If you've believed the pain has been at the hand of a God that 713 00:43:03,240 --> 00:43:07,280 you can't trust, I want you to see if the Holy Spirit would 714 00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:09,640 introduce you to the true heart of the Father. 715 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:11,520 It doesn't mean your pain isn't real. 716 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:16,080 It means God is. Thanks for joining us today. 717 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:19,160 We hope God is speaking to your heart through this message. 718 00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:22,160 If you'd like to connect with us, you can text connect to 719 00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:28,680 407-588-0115 or visit Illuminate dot church. 720 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:30,360 Have a great week.