Address—Ted Allan
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Well, I've really been enjoying the life of Abraham, and as those from the Cago Falls assembly know, we've been taking up the life of Abraham in the adult Sunday school class. And it's just really been a blessing to me personally over the last number of months as I've kind of delved into his life. And I thought that we could take up some lessons from his life. There's really five primary aspects that I want to touch on tonight.
It seems like an overwhelming task to really think about his entire life and to.
Kind of pick out five different aspects, you know, that I feel would be a help. But with the Lord's help tonight, that is what we're going to do. I was really struck, you know, last night. And I feel in many ways the compliments what her brother Josh brought out last night with respect to Moses because for both of these men, the word endurance is mentioned in Hebrews Chapter 11.
It's mentioned with respect to Moses and the Hebrews chapter 6. It's mentioned with respect to Abraham because it says after he patiently endured.
He obtained the promise. So continuance and endurance in the Christian life is something that is of the utmost importance and characterized some of the patriarchs that we've considered already as part of this camp. I'm going to start our message tonight by reading through a number of verses. I'm just going to read through them quickly and umm, we'll kind of set, you might say, umm.
The subject matter before is umm this evening, so let's start by turning to Genesis Chapter 11.
We're just going to touch on some high points through his life.
So we're going to start in Genesis Chapter 11. We'll read through these quickly.
Verse 31 it says, And Tara took Abraham his son, and Lot the son of Heron his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law his son Abram's wife. And they went forth with them from Irv the Caldes to go into the land of Canaan, and they came unto Heron, and dwelt there.
And the days of terror were 205 years, and terror died in Heron chapter 12, verse one. Now the Lord had said to Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee.
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, 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. So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was 75 years old when he departed out of Heron. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and loved his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten inherent, and they went forth to go into.
Land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan they came.
Chapter 13.
Verse 8.
And Abraham said unto, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen, for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee for me. If thou will take the left hand, then I will go to the right.
Or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes. And behold all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
And let's turn over to Genesis chapter 17.
Verse one it says, And when Abram was 90 and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am the Almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect.
And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and I will multiply thee exceedingly. Verse nine. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shall keep my covenant. Therefore thou and thy seed after thee, and their generations, this is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee. Every man child among you shall be circumcised. Verse 23. And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with money, every male among the men of Abraham.
James house and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin and the self same day as God had said unto him, Chapter 18 verse one And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of memory as And he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day, and he lifted up his eyes and looked and lo, three men stood by him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself toward the ground and said, My Lord, if now I found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee from.
00:05:01
Servant, let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.
Verse 16 And the men rose up from fence and looked towards Sodom, and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him, For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him.
And they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he had spoken of him.
Chapter 21.
Verse One. And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. And Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bore bore to him Isaac.
And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac, being eight days old, as God had commanded him. Chapter 22 and verse one. 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. 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.
We'll tell the uh.
Maybe skip down to verse 15. And the Angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said by myself, have I sworn, saith the Lord, Because for because thou has done this thing, it is not withheld, thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sandwiches upon the seashore, and thy seed shall possess.
The gate of his enemies.
And one more verse just I'll read verse 18 an end. I see all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice.
You know, this is a big topic, as I said. And you know, as I think about the life of Abraham, there's one verse that comes to mind. You can see it on the screen here. It says in Romans chapter 4. Now it was not written for his sake alone.
That's it. This is being righteousness was imputed to Him, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification.
I apologize, I'm trying to.
Not finding the right one. Well, anyway, umm, I guess what I was going to say, just a few quick facts about Abraham. So just for the children, a few things we know about Abraham. He lived 175 years of age was a very long time. He was originally from ER, that called these, which is in, uh, southern Iraq.
We know that Abraham came from a family where they worshiped idols. We know that from Joshua chapter 24.
And you know, at that time on the earth, this was after the Flood. It was after the Tower of Babel, and things on the earth had degraded to such a point that idolatry came back in. Men and women on the earth wanted to make a name for themselves.
And this was the scene in which Abraham grew up. He grew up in a family where they worshipped idols. You can look, I looked it up today or, or just, you know, the other week as to the area where he grew up. You can actually go visit that area today.
In southern Iraq and there is a temple, a cigarette they call it, that dates all the way back to the time of Abraham. And I wonder perhaps, perhaps his own father even went there.
This was a world that was filled, you might say, with idolatry and wickedness, and God had his sights on one man and through the whole world that he was going to choose.
To call out and pour out through him, blessing to the entire.
World. And that was Abraham, and that is the man that we're going to talk about tonight.
And we are introduced to Abraham from Genesis Chapter 11.
00:10:07
When he received that call, it's clear from Acts Chapter 7 that God appeared to him back when he lived in that area in southern Iraq.
We know that.
There because it was says there that was before he went to Heron.
And so he appeared to Abraham and he basically said, I want you to leave your country, your kindred and your father's house. And I want you to go a land that to a land that I'm going to show you. Now, I don't know what conversations happen between Abraham and his father and his family.
I'm sure that they had questions.
But it says there in Genesis Chapter 11 what they left, that there were those who went with him.
In fact, it says that Tara took Abraham. He's referred to as Abraham in the OR Abraham in these early days, but it says there that.
Uh yeah. In verse 31 of Chapter 11. And Tara took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Heron, uh his son's son, and they went forth.
Perhaps his father just simply, you know, said if you're going to go, I'd like to go with you. And of course, his nephew decided to go with him as well. So there were clearly others who were influenced by that decision to go. And we know that they traveled up the area of Umm through the Euphrates River along the basin. Let me see if I can get a picture here.
OK, well I'm going to show you this map 1St.
This shows the general direction of where they traveled. As I said, they started out from err and they headed northwest up along the, uh, Euphrates River and they traveled all the way up to Heron. It's my understanding that this is just across the border into modern day Turkey and it says that they dwelled there, they stayed there and it doesn't appear that they had any intention of leaving.
Until something sad happened and that was Abrams father died.
And it really wasn't until that time that they left that place, Umm and Abraham took a lot with him and traveled down into the area of Canaan where God really had intended for him to go.
So what does this mean to all of us?
As believers, we are also called by God.
It says that we are called out of darkness into his marvelous light. Like Abram, we are called to.
And for Abraham, unfortunately, there were in those early days things that detracted from his purpose to follow God's call fully, and that was from his own family.
For whatever reason, he, you know, was content to stay there, inherent until his father passed away, and it was only then that he left that place. And sometimes in our life too.
Perhaps it is family, it could be other things, relationships that detract us from really fulfilling the purpose that God has for us in our own life. And so sorrows had to come in really to prompt Abraham to leave that place. And we know that that is what he did as he continued down in the area of Umm Canaan.
And so as I think about this first lesson in Abraham's life, it's really.
A lesson in obedience.
When God first appeared to him, he said I'm going to show you a land. He didn't know exactly the final destination, but when he finally got to Canaan.
It says there in chapter 12 That the Lord then told him.
That he was going to give this land to him. Let me read it here, chapter 12, verse seven. It says, and the Lord appeared unto Abram and said unto thy seed, will I give this land. And they are billed that he and altar unto the Lord who appeared unto him. And so it really wasn't until he fulfilled what God wanted him to do that further revelation was given.
And young people, that's how it is in our own life. To the extent that we are obedient in our own life and do what the Lord has asked us to do, then He'll give us further knowledge of him. You know, something that Josh brought out there is a maturity. There's a growing aspect, you might say. And the Lord began to further reveal himself to Abraham, but he had to complete really what God had asked him to do first.
00:15:29
And so the Lord made it clear to him.
That he was going to give this land to his seed. We know that he was 75 years old.
Uh, when he left here and came into Canaan.
And when he came into Canaan, here we are introduced to what is commonly referred to in his life, and that is his tent and his altar.
Remember that his tense and his altar and these things really bring before us his Pilgrim journey.
And the altar really signifies worship.
And the question is really for us, is the life that we now live in this life characterize by a Pilgrim journey or do we settle down and get our roots, you know, deep? Sometimes we talk about our tent pegs getting deep in this life.
And as our life characterized by worship, this is something my wife and I have had many conversations about and something that we're concerned about.
When we come together to gather in Lord's Day morning, do you come as a worshipper? I don't say that just to the men, I say that to the women. When is the last time you truly worship?
So often, I think there's lack of worship in our assembly meetings. Why? Because we're taken up with the things of this world.
And have we spent time alone with the Lord in our own life? If we're taken up with the things of this life and don't spend time alone with the Lord, then it's no surprise. It should be no surprise when we come in Lord's Day morning that we have nothing to offer.
And again, I say that's to the men as well as the women. And I realize for the women it's, you know, that they are there silently, but their hearts can be poured out and worship to the Lord too.
And how is it that sometimes we seem so disengaged?
Think about these things.
Abraham was characterized by his altar and his tent.
Well, Abraham made mistakes too. He headed down into Egypt. There was a famine in the land and he got himself into trouble.
He told half truths which was really a lie concerning his wife because he was afraid.
And it was only God's goodness that delivered him there and brought him back into the land of Canaan.
I think for the believer as we think about the path of obedience.
There can be famines in our own life, perhaps the spiritual famine and the tendency is.
To really think about what makes the most logical sense according to human reasoning.
OK.
But would we be like Isaac, who a little bit later in Genesis chapter 26, when there was a famine, he was told to sojourn in the land? And you know what it says about Isaac? He reaped 100 whole.
Is there a famine in your own life? Is there perhaps you've seen or feel that there's a famine spiritually, perhaps within the assembly, and there are those who leave and say it's no use to continue going on.
This was a mistake that Abraham made and I think that we all make in our own life at times where we take it upon ourselves to do things that seem reasonable or seem right in our own eyes, but they're not right in the eyes of God, and we pay a price.
And Abraham paid a price for taking his family down into Egypt.
00:20:09
When he came back into Canaan.
He came back to a place that was between Bethel and AI and we know that Bethel represents or stands for the House of God and AI stands for ruins or heap of ruins. And it has been said, I know I've listened to several talks by Gordon Hajo on this. And he, I don't, you know, take this, you know, I, I learned it from him. And he, he pointed out, you know, where does the sun set? It sets in the West.
We think of it as to where we're going. We're going home to the Father's house. We're leaving this world a heap of ruins behind.
But for Abraham, he had to come full circle really to get back to that place where he was really where the Lord had intended him to be. We don't read of the altar. We don't read of the tent in Egypt. In fact, the alter intent are only referenced when he was really walking where the Lord would have him to walk.
And so I just say this path or this lesson in obedience is important to each one of us. To the extent that we're obedient to the Lord in our own lives, He will give further revelation of Himself to us.
Give further instruction for the next step.
And that's really all we need to know is just what's the next step?
So the next lesson I want to touch on, I know that time is moving along, Is blessings and privileges connected with a separated life.
There came a time when there was trouble between.
The servants of Abraham and Lot.
And it was felt best that they had to separate.
And Abraham basically said to Lot, if you go to the left hand, I'll go to the right, If you go to the right, I'll go to the left. He was content to let locked aside. Or we could say to let the Lord establish the path as to where he would ultimately go.
And that was probably a difficult time for Abram to separate from him.
But really it was, you might say, the final straw. When the Lord had told him to leave his country, his kindred, his father's house. This was really the last piece, you might say, that connected him to his father's house, and he probably felt discouraged. But what do we see happened when they separated?
It says there.
Verse Chapter 13. Verse 14. Chapter 13. Verse 14. And the Lord said unto Abram, after that, that Lot was separated from him. Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward, southward, and eastward, and westward, for all the land which thou see us. To thee will I give it, and should I seed forever.
Lot lifted up his own eyes, but the Lord directed Abram as to where his eyes.
Where to go? And he said, look all around you, all the land that you see, walk through it. This is the land that I'm going to give you. And he encouraged Abraham after he separated from Lot.
So as the story continues on with Abraham.
We won't. We don't know. We didn't touch on Chapter 14. I'm not going to refer to it.
But in chapter 15.
It starts that chapter by saying, After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abraham in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
And uh.
Apologize, I'm looking uh, for the verse that I'm trying to find.
I'm sorry it's over in chapter 17, I'm not going to read it, but in chapter 17.
In connected with a separated life.
We're at the beginning of this chapter. He was told to walk before God and be perfect. He was told to be circumcised in the males that were in his household.
00:25:00
Now there should be a reminder, but if it's not.
I'll just say that circumcision brings before us.
The cutting off of the flesh.
In her own life. There's a verse in the New Testament that says make no provision for the flesh and a separated life for Abraham.
A life that was connected or lived in holiness before God required circumcision.
And really, young people, if there is to be blessing in your life and in mine.
There needs to be the dealing with the flesh in our own life.
Not just the outward manifestation, we might say how the flesh is manifested, where that's lying or cheating or stealing or whatever it may be, but it's also that which is in Word and comes from within. There needs to be a dealing of those things in our own life.
And so it's referred to in the New Testament as a circumcision of the heart.
That is a very important aspect if we are really to enjoy the blessings and the privileges that God wants for us. And I don't say that as somebody who's perfect. I say that before you as somebody who's failed and failed miserably. But if you continue your life.
Living a life in the flesh.
We can't expect God's blessing in our own life.
We live in a society where the enemy is extremely aggressive at these things. He knows what young men want. He knows what you want, men and women. And he targets the carnal desires of our flesh aggressively. And if we let these things seep into our life, it's going to rob us of the joy and the blessings that God has intended for us.
Another aspect of a separated life was to the very simple fact that his lot settled down in the area of Sodom. Abraham was off in the mountains, in the wilderness, in his tent and with his altar.
Do you think that that was easy for him?
It was probably lonely in many respects. He probably thought lots down there in the cities got a very active social life.
Got lots of friends and I'm not saying it was only Abraham and Sarah there. We know that there were others with them.
Because we know that he gathered a fairly substantial army when he had to go fight against those kings, those 5 kings. But the point is that he lived a life of separation out there into the wilderness in his tent.
And we have to be thoughtful as to what this means in the day in which we live. What does it mean to live a separated life?
I think we touched on it this morning. I briefly made mention of it in my remarks.
But think about the contrast as a lot He was vexed by the things that he saw and the things that he heard.
And I think if we find herself in the situation, we're vexed by the things continually, day after day, by the things that we see and we hear.
Then maybe we have to evaluate are we where the we are we really where the Lord would have us to be? These are soul searching questions.
But you know, the world has crept so much into the church, if I can say that way.
And I say that to myself first and foremost.
Sometimes we can be critical.
And think about.
Our fathers and our grandparents and how they live their life.
But I think they understood in a much fuller way what it meant to be separate from the world than we do today.
These things come in gradually.
So I know that time is moving on. What were the blessings associated with this? They're, they're really wonderful to consider. I'll go over them quickly if they're really in chapter 18.
So one of the things was he was sitting there in his tent door in the heat of the day, and the Lord showed up with two angels with him, three men.
00:30:05
Abraham got to enjoy out there in the wilderness the very presence of the Lord and that heavenly those 3 individuals that came to his tent and he was able to invite them in and serve them food and refresh them and to bring water so they could wash their feet. He was able to wash the feet of the one.
Who would later wash the feet of others in humility?
Who had the greater privilege? The one who lived in Sodom.
Or Abraham out there in his tent.
I want to read a verse in John chapter 14.
Converse.
I got to find it one minute.
Verse 21.
He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father.
And I will love him and will manifest myself to him.
One of the blessings that we can enjoy as believers.
Are there for those who keeps his commandments.
And if we love him, it says that he will make himself manifest to us.
I believe that that is one of the blessings that Abraham enjoyed.
Dear young person.
How long has it been since you really felt?
The Lord reveal himself to you.
This is a reality that God wants for your life.
And it can be had today.
This isn't pie in the sky fantasy. Things the Lord can reveal himself to us in unimaginable.
Wonderful ways and we can enjoy communion with him. What else did Abraham enjoy? God revealed to him his plans, he said in that chapter later, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I shall do? He gave him insights as to what was going to happen.
And he also later in the chapter.
He reaffirmed.
Or said I should say that he would bear a child and he made it clear it was a son in verse 14. So he revealed his thoughts and intentions to Abraham more clearly.
And then at the end of the chapter we see him and interceding with God directly for Sodom.
And the Lord listened to Abraham.
In Isaiah chapter 41, it says that God referred to Abraham as a friend. And so when Abraham was concerned about Lot and he pleaded with God if he would, you know, deliver those in the city for the sake of 50 that were righteous, and he, you know, continued on all the way down, as we know, the Lord listened.
And so for those who, as I say.
We're not making provision for the flesh, we're putting it to death, and we live a life that separated holy to the Lord.
Our prayer life will have power.
The Lord listened to him.
One of the things I enjoyed in this chapter and Reggie mentioned that earlier today.
In verse 19. I just appreciate this verse.
He said, For I know him Abraham, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he had spoken of him.
00:35:03
He knew him. He knew that he would raise his children for the Lord.
He is acquainted with all of our ways.
What a blessing and privilege it is.
For parents to raise their children up in the nurture and admission of the Lord.
I want to move on to waiting for the promise. A lesson in patience. As I said at the outset of the meeting, he was marked by endurance.
He was 75 when he left Heron, and the blessing was to him and to his seed.
And how old was he when he had finally had Abraham, or sorry, when he finally had Isaac? Is one of the children, no?
He was 100 years old. How many years was that that he waited?
That's 25 years that he waited.
And of course we know that, you know, the Lord had appeared to him back in her, but when he got to Canaan, he made it clear it was to his seed that he would give it.
And for 25 long years he waited for the promise of the Lord as two seeds. And we don't have time to trace it through.
But eleven years into that, at age 86?
Sarah said Look.
Take Hagar, go into her. She was tired of waiting. She thought, well, maybe God intended if you go have a child through Hagar, that that's what God intended. But did God instruct him to do that? He did not.
And so he, or the two of them, it says he hearkened to the voice of his wife.
You might say they took man made measures.
To deal with what they were anxiously waiting for. But they went ahead of what the Lord had wanted.
And it was to their sorrow, and to the sorrow really, of the nations that would be formed as a result of the birth of Ishmael.
The other thing I'll just mention in passing, I mentioned there was a price to be paid with going down into Egypt. Where was Hagar from?
She was from Egypt. I would take it that they had acquired Hagar when they were there.
What was another price that they paid?
I know Brother Gordon mentioned this in his talk from years ago.
Perhaps it was when they went down into Egypt that lot acquired a taste for the things of the world, because we know that Egypt represents the world.
What a solemn thing it is to think about that That action that they took those years earlier really resulted in sorrow later on.
It's not my intention to dwell on that. My intention is this was a long time of waiting and I get it.
There are those in this room right now who've been praying a very long time for something specifically. And you know what it is? I don't know what it is. There's things in my life right now. I've been praying for years and I haven't seen fulfillment of it. And so it's very easy to say, look, they made a mistake. But how often do we do that in our own life?
Where we don't wait God's time.
And so they waited 25 years until that child was born. But one of the things I appreciate along the way.
Is how the Lord encouraged him a little by little along the way. He said, I am thy shield. I am thy exceeding great reward. He said I am the almighty God.
It's not like he left him in dead silence for 25 years.
And so there's a little encouragement along the way. I've experienced them in my own life. In one of those times where I was in a very dark place in my life, I received a text that random from my brother. I've never received a text from.
Or since and he said that things, and I'm not quoting the verse exactly that God is doing now. You don't. You won't know now, but you'll know later and that's all it said.
There's another time where my wife and I were in prayer together in the following morning. I very clearly sense the Lord saying thy prayer has been heard and so the Lord doesn't leave us.
00:40:04
Without encouragement along the way, the Lord gave encouragement to Abraham and part of it is he wanted to show Abraham what he was in himself. I am thy shield. I am the Almighty God. And if there's one thing I would encourage you, young people and older ones too, in times of discouragement, get out a piece of paper and write down the attributes of God and think about them.
Meditate them on them. Think about the goodness.
Of God. He is for you, He is not against you.
Why did God wait that long?
He waited that long, I believe in part in Scripture makes it clear that he wanted it to be clear that all natural hope was gone.
He fathered a child when he was 86, but it's clear from, you know, Hebrews Chapter 11, it referred to Abraham as good as dead.
Another place that says that, uh, Sarah, her womb was, you know, basically dead. I mean, what were the chances of somebody conceiving a child at age 99?
God wanted to show really to get them to the point that when this child was conceived, it could only be said that God allowed this to happen.
And so sometimes the Lord has to do that in her own lives to get us to a point, to try us until we reach the point where he comes in and he he does the impossible to show that he's the God of the impossible and that it wasn't according to natural means.
That's why I believe that he waited that long for Abram, for Abraham.
A lesson in patience.
Don't take steps to go ahead of the Lord. It's so easy to act according to our own reasoning instead of awaiting God's perfect time.
Mount Moriah.
A test of faith.
I know that this chapter was taken up at Carrollton.
And I don't intend to say a whole lot about it.
But after they had the chance to see that little boy being born.
And I actually do want to read the verses quickly. I think time will permit.
In verse chapter 21. I just think this is so important before we reference chapter 22.
And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken, for Sarah conceived and bare Abraham his son in his old age.
At the set time of which God had spoken to him, and Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac, and Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac being eight days old as God had commanded him. What God said was going to happen, happened at the time that God wanted it to happen.
But now we reach a point. You might say that the pinnacle, the most difficult time in Abraham's life.
Or he was going to be asked to offer that which God had waited 25 years to give him.
I cannot comprehend.
How Abraham could just willingly without questioning?
Say here I am and not say anything. It was just willing to get up and do it.
What did he think was going to happen? We know from other scriptures.
He knew that the seed was to be through his own child. It was to be through Isaac.
And so the trial of his faith was such that he truly believed that God was going to raise up his son from the dead. He thought he would have to carry out this act.
His faith was that strong.
You know, I thought, I thought about, you know, the significance of this trial. It's, it's, it's almost incomprehensible to me.
Yes.
00:45:03
You know I have one living son.
I love dearly and I can't imagine that the Lord would ask me to offer him up. I just I, I, I don't know how Abraham could do that. But you know, my is actually my son Ben, who said to me the other day, and I really appreciate it. So thank you, Ben.
He said one of the things that he believed gave him the confidence was what we had just read in chapter 21, that God had done what he said he was going to do.
God was going to be true to His word, and because he saw that God fulfilled what he had promised to him, surely he was going to be faithful with respect to the act of raising up His Son. And so he carried it out. He had three days as he traveled with his Father to that place.
To contemplate what was going to happen.
And he went to the top of that mountain, and as he lifted that knife, the Lord stayed his hand.
A trial, a test of faith. I don't think anyone of us will be called to have our faith tested like Abraham did. But you think of the immeasurable blessing that is important out to this entire world as a result of Abraham.
But even though his hand was going to be stayed, there was a hand that would not be stayed later on.
And this last piece I just want to touch on in the last 10 minutes is the remaining chapters in Abraham's life are beautiful because they give us a glimpse into God's purposes for man to the glory of God himself.
It shows the perfection of scripture.
One of the things I'll just say in passing is in chapter 15, you can divide Abraham's life up into three sections. In chapter 15, it says after these things. At the start of chapter 22, it says after these things. In chapter 15, I believe it divides that first period of Abraham's life because those were the trials that he went through in the sight of man.
His successes and his failures, but from chapter 15 up to chapter 22.
We really see the inner workings of Abraham before God as his soul was exercised as to what God had intended for him. And now in chapter 22, in chapter 23, in chapter 24, we now see God's purposes for the blessing of man. Chapter 22, we see that it was God intent, God's intent to.
To deliver up his son, to have him to be that perfect sacrifice by which?
We are blessed immeasurably through the death of his Son. At the end of that chapter, we see a glimpse into Rebecca mentioned, which I'll get to in a moment. In chapter 23, we see Sarah passes away and Sarah represents Israel. And we see in that chapter God's really intent was not intent, but rather that Israel would be set aside because of the because they crucified their Messiah.
And they've been dead spiritually now for 2000 years as a nation after 70 AD when Titus came in and destroyed Jerusalem as a country. I mean, they basically dissolved.
And today, even though, you know, the the country was reformed and 1948, they're still dead spiritually, they've been set aside. And then finally in chapter 23, we see Abraham asking his servant to go to get a bride for his son Isaac.
Which really represents God's intention to have a bride for his Son, the calling out of his, his bride, the Church out of this world.
And I know I said all that in just a few minutes, but those 3 chapters represent this side of the cross really God's intention to this world. You know, I, I was, it just moved me to tears. The other week I was driving home from work and I was thinking, here we are in 2023.
2000 years since the time of the cross. If you go back 2000 years prior to the cross, who lived at that time? Abraham. We stand almost equidistant, if I can use that expression from the cross as Abraham lived and we're given a glimpse into the 2000 years since the cross is to what God's really intention is for man.
00:50:01
One of the things I'll just mention briefly that I really enjoyed in Chapter 23.
As the servant went there to get Rebecca and she's asked that question that sometimes is mentioned at weddings. Wilt thou go with this man?
It's often mentioned in reference to the Lord Jesus himself, but really the servant represents the Spirit of God in this world.
And I would like to basically paint a very brief picture to you.
That really what is intended by that is really for us to compare to, for us to comprise the Church, the heavenly Bride.
That we are to follow the leading of the Spirit of God through this scene and through this life.
That's following a servant. It's going with that man.
Isaac was told our I'm sorry, rather the Abraham made it very clear to the servant.
That he was not to bring Isaac to where Rebecca was, or to where his bride was.
But rather, Rebecca was to come to where Isaac was.
And that really represents before us the bride traveling home to Christ himself. It's mentioned only as part of a very brief day. In fact, it seems if you look at, even though we know it's impossible that they left in the morning and arrived at night, because it says Isaac lift up his eyes and he saw them at even ties. It almost makes it seem like it's a very brief moment in time. But I think in God's economy and God's view.
This 2000 years that he's been waiting earnestly for the his bride.
Umm is short, but he is very much longing and desires to see his bride.
I just have a couple brief remarks here before we close.
First, here it says, therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace to the end. The promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.
And I just wanted to put this one verse in here too that says by the obedience of one.
Show many be made righteous.
We are blessed immeasurably because of this man Abraham and his faith.
It says He believed God, it was appeared unto him for righteousness, but we are not made righteous because of the faith of Abraham, but by the obedience of one. It says here the Lord Jesus Christ, so many he made righteous.
There was only one man that walked in this world and perfect obedience to his Father that went to the cross and allowed those people to spit in his face.
To lift him up on that cross and nail him there.
I appreciated the thought that Michael shared Wednesday night. I'm sure he won't mind me, mind me repeating it, but I appreciate it. We were taking up in the book of Mark the crucifixion of the Lord and we're talking about.
Barnabas.
Umm, Barabbas, I'm sorry Barnes. And he made the suggestion that.
Part of the reason of that account of Barabbas was that the whole crowd would be united in their desire to choose Barabbas over Christ.
And to cry out those words, crucify him.
That it was really that which made them all guilty, because it was that account that caused them all to cry out. And so this world stands guilty before God.
But it was by the obedience of one that many shall be made righteous. And what about you, dear young person, tonight?
This verse is the last verse and what I want to touch on tonight. It says now it was not written for his sake alone. And I said this at the beginning that it righteousness was imputed to him. That's Abraham, but for us also to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. And so I ask you tonight, where do you stand before the Lord? This isn't just about for Abraham. It's really for all of us.
00:55:06
We cannot take it for granted anymore, and I hope it was never taken for granted that a child growing up in a Christian home is a true child of God. I've seen far too many times, and I'm sure you have to, that children raised in a Christian home.
Have gone off into a lifestyle and made choices that are worse you might say, even though then the world makes.
And are really shown by their actions that they're not a child of God.
And so where do you stand before Christ tonight?
Choose Life.
It is on the basis of faith, the principle of faith, that really any one of us.
Have come to saving faith in Christ. It was really on the principle of grace that God could look down on this world and have his sights set on one man who lived in a household where they worshipped idols and say I'm going to choose that man.
And through him, the entire world will be blessed.
And so he calls us today out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Let's walk in the good of it. The life of faith is a life worth living. It's a happy walk. It's not an easy walk, but we can enjoy the blessings and the privileges that Abraham enjoyed too.
It's going to cost us things in this life, but it will be a life lived in devotion and service to the one who lived and died and gave himself for us.
Faith is really looking beyond the life that we now live to the light or to really the life that's to come. And I'll read these verses without comment, and then we'll pray in Hebrews.
Chapter.
Six and verse 18, it says that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both shore and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.
Whether the forerunner is for us entered even Jesus, made in high priests forever after the order of Melchizedek.