Abraham Our Father

Genesis 22:1-3 "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. [2]  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.  [3] And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him."

Each one of us, when we enter this life, start a journey that will lead us to either greatness or despair, success or failure. Many view this life as the complete journey. They claw their way up the ladder of success, focusing on creating a kingdom in their own little world. Some fight for power, others for fame or money. Many of these are viewed by the world to be great because of their achievements, yet when their journey ends did it bring them what they so desperately needed?

Those who are truly successful are the ones who focus not on greatness in this life as the goal, but realize that greatness only comes by obedience to the Creator of All Life. Abraham possessed this greatness, Abraham the Father of Faith.
 

[1] God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

Abraham focused on God in his life, waited and listened for the call of his Master. When God decided to test Abraham {NACAH = To test for the purpose of determining worth, to try so as to strengthen by the test} He called and immediately Abraham answered Behold, here I am. Though Abraham failed God many times in his life, this pattern of watchfulness was one that characterized who he was. When God first called Abraham the Lord told him to:

Genesis 12:1-3 "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: [2]  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: [3]  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

Abraham was a Chaldean, and the Chaldean people were very family oriented. When God told him to Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, Abraham understood the impact of this sacrifice. He would have to leave his family and friends, lose the identity that he had so carefully cultivated among his people, and go! Abraham could have focused on his family, his own niche in the world, and refuse to do as God asked. Had he done so he would have lost the blessings of God in his life, for God conditioned Abraham's blessing on his willingness to go.

In our lives today are we focused on the world around us, on the kingdom we have built with our own hands? Or are we focused on our Creator's voice, on His calling, on His will in our lives? If you want to be blessed by God then you must be in tune with His Word, with His Will in your life. You must be willing, when God calls with that still small voice in your heart, to say "Lord, Here I am". You must be listening as He calls, or you may lose blessing in your life while focusing on the comforts around you.
 

1 Peter 1:6-7 "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: [7]  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"

James 1:2-4 "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; [3] Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. [4]  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

God told Abraham: [2] Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac. Abraham had another son, Ishmael, born by his slave Hagar. Yet Ishmael was not the child of promise, the child promised Abraham through his wife Sarah. Ishmael was the child born from faithlessness, the child born because Sarah felt that she was too old to have a child. Isaac {Laughter} was the child of promise, the child God told Abraham he would have. Ishmael was the child born while Abraham was focused on the world, but Isaac the child born while he focused on the Will of the Father.

Abraham was told to take his only son, the son of promise, and offer him for a burnt offering. Imagine the scope of what God was asking Abraham to do. Burnt offerings first of all had to be offered voluntarily by the owner. Abraham had to be willing to do this thing, not just pretend to be willing. Second, the burnt offering was killed and its blood sprinkled around the altar. Abraham had to be willing to take the life of his son, the son that he waited 100 years to have, and drain his lifeblood from him. Third, the offering had to be cut into pieces and burned (Leviticus 1.1-9). This was not an antiseptic procedure, but something the Offerer had to personally involve himself in.

Abraham was so focused on the Will of God in his life that he didn't question God, but prepared to do His will. Imagine for a moment some of the things that Abraham could have said to God:
 

1. Father, I waited a hundred years for this son. Why do you want me to do this?
2. Why not use an animal, just like we've always done?
3. Can't someone else do this? I don't want the blood of my son on my hands!

Abraham understood that when we question God, we often rob ourselves, not Him, of the victory. "Surely Father, you can't mean that you want me to teach in the Church". "Surely, Lord, there's someone else who can witness the glorious Gospel of Christ. I am too shy". "Surely, Lord, I'm good enough for Heaven as I am. I don't need to go forward today". With each rationalization we rob ourselves of God's Best Plan for our lives while staying in the rut of apathy and comfort.

Abraham also understood that our God is exceptional, not average.

There is a story of a grocery store owner who tried to weigh a prayer. A tired looking woman came into the store and asked for enough food to make a dinner for her children. The grocer asked her how much she could spend. The frail woman answered, "I have nothing to offer but a little prayer."

The storekeeper was not very sentimental nor religious, so he said, half mockingly, "Write it on paper, and I'll weigh it." So she did.

The grocer placed the prayer on the weight side of his old-fashioned scales. Then he began piling food on the other side; but to his amazement, the scale would not go down. He finally became flustered and gave the woman a large bag of food.

The grocer never saw the woman again, but he treasures the slip of paper upon which the woman's prayer had been written; "Please, Lord, give us this day our daily bread."

Our Father is unique, not like the other false gods in the world today. Abraham believed that if God asked him to do this thing, then God had a perfectly good reason for it. Our exceptional God will always provide if we give Him the opportunity.

Genesis 22:4-8 "Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. [5]  And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. [6]  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. [7]  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? [8]  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

When Abraham arrived at the place of sacrifice we see a glimpse of his great faith. He gave the reins of the donkey to his servants and told them, I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. Notice those last five words: and come again to you. Abraham was confident that after he sacrificed his child, that God would resurrect him again. He was so confident that, though he knew he was going to do a terrible thing, he told his servants "we'll be back". With these words he put the wood of the altar on Isaac's back, took a burning brand in his hands and a knife, and the two proceeded to the place of sacrifice.

Many children's Bible illustrations portray Isaac as a small boy accompanying his father on this sacrificial journey, yet the Scripture suggests that Isaac was probably a young man at this time. Sarah had Isaac when she was 90 years old, and died shortly after this event (Genesis 23.1) when she was 127 years old. This leads most theologians to speculate that Isaac was a young man. What reinforces this position is the fact that he carried the wood of his own sacrifice. Considering the fact that it would take several pounds of wood to burn a sacrifice (perhaps 75 pounds or more), this was no little child carrying this weight. Isaac could have easily overpowered his old father had he decided he wasn't going to participate in this event. Yet Isaac, just as was his father, was focused on God's Will, not his own. Isaac asked:

[7]  ... Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

Perhaps Isaac was a little frightened when he asked this question, but when Abraham told him that God would provide he willingly continued the journey. The world asks this question today, where is the lamb for a burnt offering?. The world asks the right question, but looks in the wrong location for the lamb of salvation. Perhaps you came to Church today looking for the Lamb of Salvation. The Lamb is not found in education, in money, nor in power. The Lamb is not found in Baptism for Baptism's sake, nor in Church Membership for Church Membership's sake. Salvation is not found in your own works of righteousness, but you, just as Abraham and Isaac did, must look to God for the Lamb of your salvation.

Genesis 22:9-13 "And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. [10]  And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. [11] And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. [12] And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. [13]  And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son."

Abraham asked Isaac to lay down on the altar, and Isaac submitted to the will of God. He was bound and tied to the wood, and as Abraham stretched out the terrible knife of death, focusing on the Will of God, the Lord stopped him by calling his name twice Abraham, Abraham. Abraham's son was spared, for God, our exceptional God, provided the Lamb of Salvation.
 

Abraham passed the test, and his son was spared. But this would not be the only time in history that a Child would be offered as a sacrifice for sin. Many years later a young Man would walk down a lonely road on the way to His own hilltop. This Man would carry the wood of His sacrifice on His bloody shoulders halfway to Golgotha then, as His strength failed Him, the burden would be shouldered by Simon the Cyrenian (Matthew 27.32). When this Man arrived at Golgotha, a mountainous garbage pit outside of Jerusalem, He would willingly lay down on the wood of sacrifice just as did Isaac. Yet when the nails were poised over His hands and feet there would be no ram caught in the thicket to take His place. Unlike Isaac the Messiah Jesus would not be spared the agony of death. Unlike Abraham God the Father would not be spared the torment of watching His only Son, whom He loved, die.

Where is the lamb of salvation? Where is the lamb of the burnt offering?

1 Peter 1:18-20 "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; [19]  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: [20]  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you"

Perhaps you've come here today fully trusting in the lambs that the world has provided. But let me ask you this: Are you happy? Do you have a peace within, knowing that if you depart this life in the next moment you will be face to face with a Loving God? Or are you uncertain?

I could stand here and answer all your questions this morning, but if you question God at this moment of your calling you'll rob yourselves of the victory.

Romans 10:9-10 ".. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation."

Is God calling you to salvation? You can only know peace with God through His Son Jesus Christ. If you are being called to salvation, now is the acceptable time. Put away your questions, and just trust in the Saviour.

Is God calling you to service? Do not be afraid, but do answer the call. If Abraham had stood questioning God's calling, the lineage of Christ would have never come through his progeny. If God is calling you to work in His Church today, now is the time to commit to that work, in the name of Jesus. If you do not have a Church home, all you need to do is step forward and you'll be welcomed with open arms. The Spirit says, "Come". The Bride says, "Come".
 

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