MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(PowerPoints used with this message are available at no charge. Just email me at mnewland@sstelco.com and request PP #408.)
TEXT: Genesis 22:1 14; Matthew 6:33; Luke 4:12; Malachi 3:10; Deuteronomy 6:16
Turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis 22:1-2. It says, “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied.
“Then God said, ‘Take your son, you only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.’”
ILL. A college professor I had told us that he would give a test every week. He warned us that every day we should come to class ready to take a test. He said, "You will never know on which day the test will be given. It might be on Tues., or Wed., or Thurs., or Fri., so therefore, you should always be prepared for the test."
I am convinced that he really delighted in saying, with a gleam in his eye, "Please take out a clean sheet of paper & a pencil. Today is test day!"
A. Personally, I believe that life is full of tests.
When I finished my college years I rejoiced, thinking that at last I would be free of tests that I would never have to take another one. But I discovered, after graduating, that I was really just starting a time of testing.
1. In every stage of life there are tests. There are tests as children there are tests as adults. You get married & there are more tests that you face.
When you have children, a whole new set of tests arise. No matter which way we turn, we find ourselves being tested. And many are failing these tests.
2. Succeeding, passing a test, almost always brings a sense of satisfaction. But when we fail the test, when we don't measure up, there invariably is a bit of sadness, or despair, & maybe, deep down inside, even some shame.
I have read the first two verses this morning of the 22nd chapter of Genesis to set the stage. I wanted you to see that God said to Abraham, "I am going to give you a test."
B. Now, I don't know how you feel about that. I know that I would rather see God in a different light than as a "test-giver."
But as I read my Bible I find repeatedly that God does test people & I'm convinced that He is also testing me practically every day of my life.
1. So, I ask you this question, "If God should come & say to us, 'Today is test day.' How would you do?"
I'm sure that some would pass & some would fail. But please realize that I am not talking about a test of Bible knowledge. Rather, I'm talking about a test more like the one that Abraham took - a test of commitment, a test of faith.
2. Many of you are familiar with the story that is found in Genesis 22. God spoke to Abraham & said, "I am going to give you a test. Take your son, your only son by your wife Sara, the son whom you love take him to Mt. Moriah & there offer him to me as a burnt sacrifice."
Despite the shock of God’s command, vs. 3 tells us that Abraham obeyed. Early that next morning he started loading up the donkey he summoned two servants to go with him he took with him some firewood & a fire & they started their journey.
Finally, Mt. Moriah was on the horizon. Once Abraham reached it, he told the two servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” (Genesis 22:5)
So they continued on just Abraham & Isaac. Then in vs. 7 Isaac asks a very difficult question for Abraham to answer.
Isaac asks, "The fire and wood are here…but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham answers, "God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." (Genesis 22:8)
So they go on to the top of the mountain. Abraham builds the altar places the wood on top of it ties the hands & feet of his son & places him on the altar takes his knife & raises it in the air.
With a breaking heart he is ready to take the life of his son & offer it to God when suddenly, in vs’s 11-14, an angel of God calls out & says, “‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ Abraham replied. ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said.
‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.’
“Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
“So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” (Genesis 22:11-14)
Well, that is basically the story. But I want you to realize that in this story Abraham faced three separate tests.
I. A TEST OF OBEDIENCE.
The first one is a test of obedience. Now right after God told Abraham to go to Moriah & sacrifice his son, the very next verse, Vs. 3 begins with these words, "So Abraham rose early in the morning & saddled his donkey..."
Now if I had been Abraham & God had told me, "I want you to sacrifice your son," I would have tried to think of every possible reason not to have to do what God had commanded.
I’m sure Abraham had some good arguments that he could have used. He could have said, "God, have you forgotten? Remember, I was 100 years old when Isaac was born, & Sara was 90.
”God, you promised that through my seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Isaac is still a boy. He has no children. Have you forgotten your promise?"
Abraham could have used some very strong arguments to try to change God's mind, but he didn't. He simply saddled the donkey & started to obey God.
That is hard to understand in this day of optional obedience. We have a difficult time with that word "obedience." Every time someone issues a command, we immediately start to think of reasons why we don't have to obey that command.
In this day when rioters burn & destroy & aren't arrested; when criminals commit crimes & aren't punished when children disobeying teachers can't be punished when parents are so lenient with their children & don't punish them we tend to feel that we have optional obedience. We don't have to obey if we don't want to!
The bottom line is this: We try to convince ourselves that God is just like us, & therefore, God doesn't punish either.
So God says, "Do what I say!" & we answer, "Well, maybe I will, & maybe I won't, because if I don't, there is no real punishment." But you see, that is contrary to everything that God's Word teaches.
There are volumes spoken about the wrath of God & the punishment of God when we disobey Him. And we have not done well in the obedience department.
ILL. God spoke to Adam & Eve & said, "Don't eat of the fruit of the tree." But they disobeyed. God gave 10 commandments to Israel, & said, "Do what I say!" but they disobeyed, & so have we.
Jesus came saying, "I give you a new commandment Love God & love one another with all your heart & soul & mind & strength." And we have not done well in the obedience department.
So I ask you, if God were testing your obedience, how would you do? Abraham got an "A" on that test. Without questioning or rebellion, Abraham did exactly what God asked him to do.
II. A TEST OF SELF DENIAL.
Test #2 is a test of self-denial. This is also a hard thing for us to accept today. Abraham listened to God & God was very explicit.
He said, "Abraham, take your son, your only son, the son whom you love, Isaac..." Three times God told him what son. "Take Isaac, the son you love, your only son..." He said, "...& offer him as a sacrifice."
Isaac was the son that God had promised him, the son of Abraham & Sara’s old age, & Abraham loved him with a greater love than anyone can even have for himself.
Fathers sometimes say, in a macho way, "I would willingly suffer for my family." Most of us would, if there were no way around it. But it is a different thing when we are asked to watch our families suffer.
And God is asking Abraham to do the hardest thing possible. He says, "Take your son, your flesh & blood that son whom you love - & offer him to me. Give him back to me!"
We live in a push button society where all the conveniences are at our fingertips, & we like it that way. We don't want to sacrifice. We don't want to have to hurt for God.
So the whole idea of self denial is foreign. We don't really know what it is to sacrifice. We live in a very self indulgent society.
Yet God said to Abraham, "I want you to take the most precious possession in your life & give it to me." And Abraham passed that test, too.
III. A TEST OF FAITH IN GOD
The third test is a test of Abraham’s faith in God. Notice what Abraham says to the 2 servants in vs. 5. He says, "We will worship", then "We will return."
Now, I like that. Abraham didn't know what was going to happen. Abraham knew that God had given him a specific command & that command was to sacrifice his son. So he said, "I will do it. I will obey." And he knew exactly what the command to sacrifice meant.
He knew that God’s command meant that he would have to offer Isaac, & yet, in faith he said, "We will go worship, & we will return."
Abraham didn't know what was going to happen on that mountain, but the one thing he knew for sure was this, "The Lord would provide." He knew that!
That is a child like faith no questions asked. "The Lord will provide" whatever the circumstances whatever happens even if Isaac is dead God is still going to provide. "We will return."
I would like to have that kind of faith - a faith that never questions what God is doing that never argues with God, but is always obedient to Him. God help me to mean it with all my heart when I pray to Him, “Not my will but thine be done.”
IV. WHAT ABOUT TESTING GOD?
A. Now what about testing God? Time & time again we read in the scriptures about the children of Israel “testing” God in the wilderness after He freed them from their slavery in Egypt. But their kind of “testing” was not a good thing.
You see, they tested His patience, they tested His anger, they tested His mercy & His forgiveness. They were constantly complaining, & disobeying His commands.
So we hear Moses saying to the people, “Why do you put the Lord to the test?” (Exodus 17:2) & “Do not test the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 6:16).
And we hear those words again from the lips of Jesus when Satan comes to tempt Him in the wilderness after His baptism. Three times Satan tries to get Jesus to sin, to take the easy way out. But Jesus rebuked him & said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” (Luke 4:12)
B. But there is one way in which we are told to put God to the test. We are to test His promises. For example, in Malachi 3:10 God Himself says, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty,
‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’”
C. And how about some of the promises that Jesus made? He said, "Come to me, all you who are weary & burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) Have you tried that?
He also said, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33) Have you tried that?
You see, God always keeps His promises. Just as Abraham passed the test, God has always passed the test. You can trust Him to keep His word.
Now how about us? Are we passing the tests of obedience & self denial, & faith? How we are doing in the most important school on the face of the earth? Graduation time for some of us can't be very far away. I pray that we are ready.
You see, that's the point of this message. Regardless of the immediate outcome, when we do what is right & are faithful to Him, He will be faithful to us.
ILL. Christopher Parkening is regarded as the world’s greatest classical guitarist, & he’s played guitar with orchestras the world over, including for several presidents in the White House. He’s also a world-class fly-fishing champion.
He writes, "By age 30, I’d achieved all my dreams in the musical world, but I was tired of hotel rooms, performances & recording sessions. It was time to go fishing, so with the money I had earned, I found my dream stream on a ranch in Montana.
"I bought the ranch, called my management group at Colombia, & told them I had no desire to play anymore. I had earned enough money that I didn’t need to work anyway.
"So for several years, I did what I wanted, but as time went by, my life became more empty. I found that when you have everything you thought would make you happy, & it doesn’t – you start asking questions like: What’s missing?
"While in California visiting friends, I attended a church where I heard a sermon entitled, "Examine yourself whether you are in the faith." The preacher said that you could know all about Christ, the Bible, even pray to God, & Jesus could still say, ’Depart from me, you worker of iniquity, I never knew you.’ I was convinced that if I had died that night, Jesus would have spoken those words to me.
"So I walked down the aisle, surrendered my life to Christ, & was baptized. I read the Bible when I was a kid, but I never wanted a Lord to obey uncondition-ally. I went home that day broken over my selfish ways.
"That night, I couldn’t sleep, so I got up & started reading the Bible, & I developed a great hunger for the Word. Soon I came across 1 Cor. 10:31 that said, "Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." I realized there were only two things I knew how to do: fly-fishing & playing the guitar.
"I am playing the guitar today for God’s glory, & that’s what I tell my students at Pepperdine, where I teach. I now have peace & joy unspeakable that I never had before. My life has purpose & I’ve learned the true secret of genuine happiness! Have you?" (Gene Edwards on Sermon Central, "Who Does God Bless?")
INVITATION
