Dr. Wayne A. Lawson
Antioch Institutional Baptist Church
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Preached Sunday October 4, 2009
RevWLawson@aol.com
TITLE: IT’S ONLY A TEST
SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 22:1 / HEBREWS 11:8-11, 17-19
I am not sure that anyone this morning enjoyed taking Tests or Exams during our School Years. Even those that continuously score well on Test, don’t necessarily enjoy the experience. I remember the anxiety that I often felt while matriculating. No matter how much I prepared for a test, I was always somewhat nervous before testing time. Most of us, although we have taken many tests in school, tested out of necessity, not because we desired to do so or enjoyed the experience. I watch our young people today around their Junior and Senior year of High School experience various types of anxiety as they prepare to take the SAT or ACT in an effort to begin their Collegiate Careers. Many Colleges now understand that test results are not always a solid indicator as to how well the student will make the academic transition from High School to College. Some colleges, matter of fact, no longer require standardized test scores as a tool for Entrance.
Our passage for examination this morning begins with very interesting words: “After these things God tested Abraham.” The first question is, after what things? I believe the text is referencing all that had happened to Abraham up until this point in his life. So perhaps we should briefly summarize Abraham’s story. God instructs Abraham to leave all that he knew and all that was comfortable with and relocate to a foreign land. We find this account in Genesis 12. At the time Abraham is 75 years old. It seems a little late in life to make a family move and relocation.
• But God, of course, doesn’t just tell him to pack up and go for no reason
• The Lord has a plan and a promise for Abraham
• He promises Abraham offspring and he plans to make Abraham a great nation
• One that will be a blessing to all other nations
• Genesis 11: 30 records Sarah, his wife, is barren; both she and Abraham are well advanced in years have never had children and it is humanly impossible for them to have children during this season in their lives
• Yet what does the Lord promise? Offspring
• The Lord promises that a great nation will come from Abraham.
• We know that this nation that will be Birthed will be the nation of Israel - the People -- the Chosen – the Elect of God.
Let’s travel and visit GENESIS 17. Some years have passed since the Lord called Abraham and made him this promise. In fact 24 years have passed. Abraham is now 99 years old. Can you imagine having to wait that long for someone to fulfill their promise made directly to you? Would you wait that long or would you tend to think, I have waited long enough - I guess they must have forgotten? In our instant have it right now culture - I can’t imagine anyone having patience enough to wait anywhere close to this long.
• We don’t like waiting in Traffic
• We don’t like waiting in Line
• We don’t like waiting on Hold
• We don’t like waiting for the Water to Boil
• We don’t like waiting in the Doctor’s Office
• We don’t like waiting too long for our food at the Restaurant
• We don’t like waiting for that Ride to Pick Us Up
• We don’t like Waiting
Abraham was just like us. Run with me to GENESIS 17 Abraham and Sarah take it upon themselves to fulfill God’s promise. Sarah gives Abraham Hagar, her maid servant – and through her has ISHMAEL, his first-born son. Ishmael is the result of not trusting that God will fulfill His promises.
• We have Ishmael’s in our lives we are still dealing with – because we would not wait
• We have Ishmael’s in our lives that cause us Frustration – because of our hurriedness
• We have Ishmael’s in our lives that cause us a Whole Lot of Stress – because we would not wait on God
• We have Ishmael’s in our lives that cause us Many Restless and Sleepless Nights – because we took matters into our own Hands instead of Waiting on God
In this same chapter the Lord renews his promise of children to Abraham, and, more specifically, tells Abraham that he will have a son and he is to name him ISAAC. But Abraham doesn’t believe. He laughs in disbelief, for he is nearly 100 years old and Sarah is 90. How could they possibly have children now? Abraham then begs the Lord to bless Ishmael and asks the Lord to make him the child of the promise. The Lord agrees to bless Ishmael, but tells Abraham that he will establish his covenant with Isaac. Ishmael may receive a blessing, but ISAAC will be the child of the promise.
The joy arrives in GENESIS 21 when the child of promise is born. Sarah gives birth to Isaac. She says in VS. 6 “GOD HAS BROUGHT LAUGHTER FOR ME; EVERYONE WHO HEARS WILL LAUGH WITH ME.” The promise the Lord made to Abraham is fulfilled. And the promise is fulfilled in the face of impossible odds. A barren wife. An aged man. After years of endless waiting. The plan is afoot as they say. God will make Abraham’s name great and through this joyful, promised offspring, through this son, Isaac, A great nation will come, one that will bless the whole earth.
• The confidence Abraham is learning to place in God is now clearly justified
• Clearly the Lord keeps his promises
• He can be trusted
• I wonder if Abraham wiped his brow and breathed a sigh of relief when Sarah finally gave birth to a healthy baby boy
Our text takes an interesting turn at this point. The next thing our passage says is that “AFTER THESE THINGS GOD TESTED ABRAHAM.”
• Would you agree with me that A Test is used to prove something
• A Driver’s License test proves your ability to safely operate a vehicle
• History tests in school prove or disprove your knowledge of history
• A Screen Test proves your ability to act
• Every test is meant to prove something
• What is this test of Abraham meant to prove?
• His test was meant to prove that he trusts God in every situation and that he is committed to God above all other things.
God decides to test Abraham’s faith, and how does he test Abraham? The Lord calls Abraham to offer his son – this son of promise – Isaac, as a burnt offering. Now let’s think about this for a moment. Who is Isaac and what does it mean for God to ask Abraham to offer him as a sacrifice?
• We already know that Isaac is the child of the promise of God
• It is through Isaac that the Lord has promised to make of Abraham a great nation that will bless all other nations
• We already know that Abraham has waited more than 25 years for this promise to be fulfilled
• We already know that this promise could only be kept by God since there was no way Abraham and Sarah would have children otherwise
• We already know that Isaac is the hinge on which the promise of God Swings.
And yet God asks Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering. This means the Lord is asking Abraham:
• To give up the very source of hope
• The very means of the promise of a great nation being fulfilled
• The Lord is asking Abraham if he will Trust and Obey,
• Even if it means giving up the very thing for which he has been waiting for all these years
• The Lord is asking Abraham to do the seemingly unthinkable
We do wonder what Abraham must have been feeling while making the journey to Mt. Moriah. And we wonder what Isaac must have felt, too, especially when Abraham began tying him down on the altar. But we are given no clues to their emotional or psychological states. The story is sparse on detail when it comes to their thoughts and feelings. The story does, however, tell us some things. First of all, we know that:
• Abraham trusted the Lord
• Obedience is a sign of trust, it is trust in action
• Despite the fact that Isaac was the son of promise, Abraham continued to trust that the Lord would still fulfill the promise somehow even if he doesn’t know exactly how
When Isaac asks where the lamb for the burnt offering is, Abraham simply tells him that the Lord will provide a lamb. One scholar comments that “By this point Abraham stays on course because he trusts that God will act to save Isaac. He conveys to Isaac what he believes to be the truth about his future: “God will Provide.”” The Lord does provide of course. And Abraham calls the place “The Lord Will Provide.” Abraham, even with what the Lord is asking him to do, he still trusts the Lord. I stopped by to let you know this morning –It’s Only a Test.
We, of course, know that God is testing Abraham. We’re told this at the beginning of the text. Abraham is not privy to this information that the Author elects to share with us. It wouldn’t be much of a test if he did. This is a piece of information we have. Being told that this is a test may be the author’s way of telling us that God does not intend to let Abraham go through with this sacrifice. This reminds me of those alerts that would be on TV years ago. Back in the day every now and then the TV announcer would interrupt saying -- This is a test of the emergency Broadcast System - ” When it says it is a test, there is no real emergency -- there is no real danger -It’s Only A Test.
But there is a Purpose to the test. The Lord wanted Abraham to be willing to sacrifice Isaac. As far as Abraham is concerned, the Lord might very well make him go through with this. He might, this very day, lose his only son, the son of promise, the son he and Sarah never thought they could have. This narrative is a variation of Abraham’s call in Genesis 12. The Lord is asking him:
• Do you trust me?
• Do you trust that whatever happens I will fulfill my promise?
• Do you trust that the Storm will not Destroy You?
• Will you obey me even when it doesn’t seem to make sense?
• Will you go where I ask you to go?
• Will you do what I ask you to do?
• Will you say what I ask you to Say?
I am sure that most of us are familiar with and have read Rick Warren’s book entitled “The Purpose Driven Live.” In his book he states that – “ALL OF LIFE IS A TEST.” Life indeed is full of tests, from the Cradle to the Grave, but LIFE ITSELF IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TEST:
• How do you choose to live your life?
• As one of faith and trust and obedience?
• These are the questions that in some form were facing Abraham here and throughout his life
• These are the same challenges and Tests that we face in our everyday living
• Do you realize today that It’s Only a Test
Whatever we might say about Abraham’s degree of trust in the Lord, and how he thought the Lord would provide, he was still human. He didn’t know for sure how God would provide. He didn’t know for sure whether or not he would have to sacrifice Isaac or if he did whether God might raise him from the dead. When the Lord asks us to do something – and we know that He is doing so deep in our soul and in our heart – then He simply wants us to do it.
• Like our passage, the clear meaning of what the Lord asks us to do or to sacrifice may escape our reason and our logic
• Therefore, we are not always called to understand but we are always called to obey His Voice
• Sometimes it seems as though it Defies Logic – but God’s Ways Are Not Our Ways – God’s Thoughts are Higher Than Our Thoughts
The fact is that the Lord Tests Each of Us. I am reminded when Jesus told the Rich Young Man - in order to follow Him, the cost would be great. To sell everything he owned and give it to the needy. That was too much for the young man, since his heart of hearts was on his earthly wealth, not his heavenly sanctification. Jesus also told us that in order to follow Him, the cost would be to place Him as more of a priority in our lives than we even put our sons, daughters, or parents. In other words, the price to follow Jesus, is to make Him your all in all. It’s Only A Test - Can we Pass this Test this morning?
• There will be times in our Christian life when it will be very difficult to Trust and Obey God
• There will be times in our life when the things that are happening will seem to make no sense
• There will be times when the direction God is taking you seems to be the wrong way
• There will be times when the things that God is telling you to do or to give up will be very costly and demanding
• It will require great trust and commitment
• It will be very difficult to trust and obey God during these times
• It is during these times that we should understand – It’s Only A Test.
The testing of Abraham is also about Worship. The whole narrative is about worship. The Lord asks Abraham to worship him by presenting Isaac as a burnt offering. That’s what burnt offerings were for. Abraham tells his servants we “WILL GO OVER THERE; WE WILL WORSHIP.” And after the Lord intervened just before Abraham brought down the knife, the Lord provided a ram and Abraham sacrificed it and worshipped. It’s almost as though the Lord is asking Abraham: “Will you worship me no matter what circumstances you face?
• Will you Worship me When You Can’t Hear My Voice?
• Will you Worship me When All You See is Confusion
• Will you Worship me When Your Soul is Heavy?
• Will you Worship me When You Don’t Feel My Presence?
Because Abraham trusted and obeyed, he also worshipped. Trust lived out in obedience is a form of worship. This tells us that a lack of trust and obedience impedes our worship of the Lord. How can we truly worship God unless we trust him and obey him? If we do not trust, does that not stand as a barrier to worship? If I do not obey the Lord, does that not make it much more difficult, if not impossible, to worship him? But when we trust and obey, like Abraham, we make possible a life of worship.
Abraham’s story is one that reminds us that even the most faithful and obedient followers of God experience doubt and disbelief. Abraham doubted at times, and even laughed at the Lord’s promises. He was impatient, and allowed Sarah to convince him to have a child through their slave girl to speed up the promise. None of us is ever 100% perfect in our faith or in our obedience. We all waver. We all wonder at times. But our assurance is that our trust and obedience, our faith, even our doubts and faithlessness, take place in the context of a relationship with a personal God who reveals himself as one who loves us, and who tests us precisely because he loves us.
We can all see this drama that unfolds before us as A major defining moment, or test of faith, in the life of Abraham.
-This man loved his son as any father loves his children, but he was willing to do as the Lord had commanded; he was ready to offer his only son as an offering.
- I once heard a person ask what kind of Vicious Father would offer his son as an offering?
-I don’t know what kind of vicious Father -- but I know a Loving Father
-I know a Father that Loved the World So Much that He Sacrificed His Only Begotten Son ON AN OLD RUGGED CROSS
-I know a Father who designed a Plan that Could only be Carried out by the Sacrifice of His Only Son
-I know a Father who peeked into the portals of time and realized that I need a Savior
-I know a Father who would Sacrifice His Son and Send Him from judgment hall to judgment hall
-I know a Father who loved the world so much that HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTON SON
-I know a Father Who says:
-- Although you act like you don’t trust me
-- Although you don’t always Follow Me
-- Although you don’t always look like Christians
-- I will Sacrifice My Son for the Remission of Your Sins
BECAUSE JESUS DIED FOR MY SINS AND YOURS – I’M SO GLAD TODAY – It’s Only A Test
