Participants: John Dinzey
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000077
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00:19 Hello and welcome to Wednesday Night Bible Study,
00:22 also Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting 00:23 sometimes called. 00:25 And welcome to A Sharper Focus. 00:27 My name is John Dinzey. 00:28 Pastor Lomacang could not be with you today, 00:30 so I have the privilege of spending this hour with you. 00:34 Of course, we're asking for the Lord's blessing, 00:36 we're praying for the Lord to bless us 00:38 in this Bible Study, 00:39 and we have a wonderful group of people 00:41 that have joined us here 00:42 in Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:44 And by the way, 00:45 if you are in the Southern Illinois area, 00:47 we invite you to join us 00:49 at the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:52 Thompsonville, of course, 00:53 those who live in Southern Illinois 00:55 know it's a very small town. 00:57 It is Route 149 where you'll find 01:01 the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church 01:03 just before you get to Route 34 01:05 as you're coming from the West Frankfort area. 01:07 If you're coming from the Benton area, 01:09 of course, when you come on Route 34, 01:12 you'll have to turn right on Route 149 01:14 and drive about... 01:15 What is it, two miles or so? Less than that. 01:18 Okay, less than that, 01:19 and you'll find the church on the right hand side. 01:22 We are here on Wednesday's. 01:23 It's 7 pm for the Wednesday Night Bible Study 01:25 and Saturday morning's we join you at, 01:28 we ask you to join us here at 9:15 am 01:31 where we have song service 01:33 and we are here praising the Lord, 01:34 studying the Bible together 01:36 and you'll hear the preaching of God's Word 01:38 here at the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:41 Also, we want to encourage you to pray 01:45 for the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:47 We want to be a light to the community. 01:50 And so we want this to be 01:52 a vibrant church that ministers to you. 01:55 Today, we're going to study 01:56 a very interesting topic I believe. 01:59 I have a difficult time finding titles 02:01 but this one I entitled, "The Ultimate Sacrifice". 02:06 We're going to study the Bible together, 02:09 The Ultimate Sacrifice. 02:12 Perhaps you've made some sacrifice 02:13 that you consider ultimate, 02:15 and so today we're going to look into what happened 02:18 when God called a man to do something 02:21 that seemed like the ultimate test, 02:23 the test of faith. 02:25 But before we continue, 02:26 we'd like to tell you how you can join us. 02:29 There are some Bible studies 02:30 you can download at the website 02:33 at asf.3abn.org. 02:38 I will repeat that ASF, that's for A Sharper Focus 02:42 asf.3abn.org. 02:48 For those listening to radio, 02:49 we welcome our listeners from all over the world. 02:52 So there you can download Bible studies. 02:54 Pastor Lomacang is going through 02:56 Bible study series, and then you can download them 02:58 and join in the Bible study. 03:00 There is no handout for today. 03:02 Today we're going to... 03:04 We don't have a handout for this particular study. 03:07 However, it's a study worthy of our attention 03:10 and so we want to go to the Lord in prayer right now 03:12 and ask for His blessing as we study His Word. 03:15 Let us join in prayer. 03:18 Our loving heavenly Father, 03:21 we are grateful to You 03:23 for Your goodness and mercy to us. 03:25 Lord, we little comprehend how great is thy faithfulness, 03:30 how wonderful is thy mercy. 03:33 Many have written about it 03:35 and there is even a song that says amazing grace. 03:38 We thank You, Lord, 03:40 for You have made a great sacrifice for us, 03:44 a plan of salvation that reaches every human being 03:48 in the world. 03:49 We pray, Lord, that as we study together, 03:51 our hearts will burn within us 03:53 as Your Holy Spirit helps us 03:55 to understand the scriptures. 03:57 We pray for Your Holy Spirit to be upon 03:59 each and every one of us. 04:01 I place myself aside, Lord, 04:02 and I pray that You will be the one to speak, 04:04 You'll be the one to lead us. 04:06 And we pray, Lord, 04:07 for those who have concerns here present. 04:10 There are concerns great and small, 04:12 but we pray that You will attend to each one. 04:14 We also ask the same for our viewers 04:17 and for our listeners 04:18 that joined us during this hour. 04:20 You know their needs, some are in great stress, 04:24 waiting for an answer, Lord, 04:26 and we pray that in the time that it is best, 04:29 You will bring them the blessing they need. 04:31 Give them strength for today, 04:33 courage to go forward knowing that with You, 04:35 all things are possible. 04:37 We pray, Father, 04:39 for these things in Jesus' name. 04:41 Amen. 04:43 Well today, we'll start talking about a man that God said, 04:48 take up your household 04:49 and I'll show you a land where you're gonna be. 04:53 We're talking about Abraham. 04:54 Started out with the name Abram 04:56 and the Lord changed his name to Abraham 04:59 which means "Father of many nations." 05:02 And the Lord came to Abraham one day, 05:05 and told him that he was going to have a son. 05:08 And Abraham rejoiced to know that 05:10 he was gonna have a son. 05:12 Sarah also rejoiced, his wife 05:14 but the promised blessing delayed in coming. 05:19 It was a test of faith. 05:20 The promised blessing delayed in coming. 05:22 And again the Lord repeats the promise, 05:25 "You're going to have a son." 05:27 And he will be a father of many nations. 05:32 "You're gonna be a father of many nations," 05:34 God told Abraham. 05:36 And there was a delay. 05:39 And so the time came when Abraham and Sarah decided, 05:43 perhaps the Lord will bring the blessing this way. 05:48 And Sarah suggested that Abraham take as his wife who? 05:54 Hagar. 05:56 Hagar was Sarah's servant, 05:58 her handmaid, the Bible calls her. 06:00 And says maybe through my handmaid, 06:02 the promised blessing will come. 06:05 Abraham consented to this 06:07 and of course his first born son, 06:12 which his name is Ishmael was born. 06:16 However, that was not what God had said would happen. 06:21 He said his wife Sarah would have a child. 06:24 And so, Abraham loved Ishmael 06:29 and he told God, 06:31 all that Ishmael may live before you. 06:35 And He said, "No, 06:36 it is the fruit of your loins that will be your inheritor." 06:41 And so it was that upon the set time, 06:45 the Lord visited Abraham, 06:47 three individuals came 06:49 and told him in the proper time, 06:53 in about a year from now, your wife is gonna have a son. 06:57 They were already very old. 06:59 Sarah even thought it was impossible 07:02 because the Bible says, 07:03 it cease to be with her 07:04 according to the manner of woman. 07:06 And she even laughed when she heard that. 07:08 "How can it be? 07:09 I'm already a woman that is old!" 07:11 But with God, all things are possible. 07:14 And so, her son was born, Isaac. 07:17 What a joy Isaac brought to the family. 07:21 It was the joy and pride of the home. 07:25 Abraham was very happy that 07:27 through his wife Sarah, now he really had a son. 07:30 His name, Isaac. 07:33 And unfortunately, 07:35 a little struggle showed up between Isaac and Ishmael, 07:41 because Isaac was the little one, 07:43 Ishmael the bigger one. 07:45 And unfortunately, it was such that Sarah said, 07:51 "You must send this woman away with her son." 07:55 It was a difficult thing, but Abraham did just that. 07:58 The Lord said to Abraham, "Do as your wife had said." 08:03 And when the Lord tells you do as your wife has said, 08:06 what should you do? 08:08 Do it. 08:09 There's great blessing in doing the things 08:11 that the Lord says for us to do. 08:13 But I would like to take you now 08:15 to our study for today. 08:18 We like to invite you to join me in 08:21 Genesis 22:2. 08:26 In Genesis Chapter 22, 08:29 we have there a very interesting story. 08:34 Abraham had failed God 08:39 in not waiting for the promised blessing. 08:43 And so, I'm gonna read Genesis 22:1, 08:47 it's not gonna go on the screen, 08:49 but it says, we're gonna pick it up 08:51 on the screen with verse 2. 08:53 And it says, "And it came to pass after these things, 08:57 that God did tempt Abraham," 09:02 the scripture says in verse 1. 09:04 "And said unto him, Abraham and he said, 09:06 'Behold, here I am.'" 09:09 And I would like to bring out 09:11 at this moment that it says that the Lord did tempt. 09:15 This is the King James Version that uses the word tempt. 09:17 However, it is a word that means, 09:21 tested Abraham, proved Abraham. 09:24 You may remember a scripture 09:27 in Daniel Chapter 1 09:32 where Daniel asked for a test 09:38 to be made. 09:39 He said prove us and so he was proved. 09:41 That's the same word that 09:42 is translated prove in Daniel Chapter 1. 09:45 It's the same word translated here, tempt. 09:50 So the Bible tells us in James 09:51 that the Lord does not tempt anyone. 09:55 But He does try our faith to increase our faith, 09:58 to help us understand that 10:00 we should rely and trust in Him. 10:02 And that God is faithful. 10:04 What He says He will do, He will do. 10:08 And so the word Nasa in is the word tempt there 10:13 and it'd say, 10:14 it means to test and prove and to try. 10:20 And so this, you can see the same word 10:23 in Daniel 1:14, Daniel 1:15. 10:26 Let's take a look at that. 10:28 It's not gonna be on the screen. 10:30 For the sake of us those that are joining us, 10:32 in Daniel 1:14, 10:36 we're going to see the same word used. 10:39 As we mentioned before, in Daniel Chapter 1, 10:43 you may remember that Daniel 10:46 and his friends were taken captive 10:49 and he was given, 10:51 they were offering them food that Daniel 10:54 thought was not good for him to eat. 10:57 And so Daniel approached the eunuch and said, 10:59 "Hey, give us pulse and water to drink. 11:04 Vegetables and water to drink." 11:06 And it says there in verse 14 11:09 that he consented to them in this matter 11:12 and proved them ten days. 11:16 And if you continue reading verse 15, he says, 11:18 and at the end of ten days, 11:19 their countenance appeared fairer 11:21 and fatter in flesh, 11:23 than all the children which they eat 11:24 the portion of the king's meat. 11:26 So these were proved, 11:28 it's the same word used in Genesis 22:1, 11:32 but it used the word tempt, 11:33 but we must understand that God does not tempt people. 11:37 He tests us for our benefit. 11:41 He tries our faith for our benefits. 11:44 So now I invite you to join me 11:45 in verse 2 11:50 of Genesis Chapter 22. 11:53 Let's go to Genesis Chapter 22 again. 11:55 If you have your Bibles, we invite you to join us. 11:58 You may wanna write some of these down. 12:00 Of course, we're gonna deal 12:01 mainly with Genesis Chapter 22 and onward, 12:05 and we're gonna go other places as well. 12:08 And now, in verse 2 12:11 we have the following scripture. 12:13 And he said, "Take now thy son, 12:18 thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest," 12:22 we're reading from Genesis 22:2, 12:25 "and get thee into the land of Moriah, 12:27 and there offer him there for a burnt offering 12:32 upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee off." 12:38 Kind of similar to the same call 12:40 that God made to Abraham in the beginning. 12:42 So when you look at Genesis 22:2, 12:46 you will find something interesting. 12:48 Look at the way God talks to Abraham. 12:51 Take thy son, thine only son. 12:56 Question, did Abraham have another son? 12:59 Yes, we just talked about it. 13:00 He said he had another son named Ishmael. 13:04 But why does God tell him take now thy son, 13:07 thine only son, 13:09 and then repeat whom thou lovest. 13:13 It is because God recognized Isaac 13:17 as His firstborn son from his wife. 13:21 The other son was not recognized by God. 13:23 He was not the son of the promised. 13:26 And he used the word whom thou lovest, 13:30 he could have left that word out. 13:32 Whom thou lovest? 13:34 And God was testing Abraham's faith. 13:39 Notice that He also told him, 13:43 go to the land of Moriah, 13:46 and offer him there for a burnt offering 13:48 upon one of the mountains which I tell thee. 13:50 In other words, he's going to the mountain 13:53 but the Lord is gonna show him 13:56 when he gets there, which one is the one. 13:59 So at the present time, he could not tell anybody, 14:02 we're going to this particular spot. 14:05 The Lord was going to show him later. 14:07 So now, I would like to invite you 14:12 to enter into the experience of Abraham. 14:15 What if the Lord told you, 14:17 take whomever you love the greatest 14:21 and offer that person as a burnt offering, 14:24 as a burnt sacrifice. 14:27 What would you do? 14:29 Very difficult thing. 14:31 A very difficult thing that Abraham have to face. 14:35 And I would suggest to you, 14:37 had Abraham been faithful in the past, 14:40 he wouldn't have to go through this difficult test. 14:43 And I say this for us as well, 14:45 because there are things that happen in our lives, 14:49 where the Lord will test our faith. 14:51 Test our faithfulness that if we are victorious, 14:54 if we follow God in these things, 14:57 we may not have to face something 14:59 more difficult later 15:01 because we will go trusting the Lord, 15:03 our faith in Him will be solid, 15:05 and we may not have to encounter 15:06 something more difficult later on. 15:09 And so Abraham, he receives the message. 15:16 Do we have any evidence in the Bible that 15:19 he told anyone about what God had asked him to do? 15:23 No. 15:24 Notice verse 3, let's go to verse 3. 15:27 "And Abraham rose up early in the morning," 15:31 that's Genesis 22:3, 15:34 "and saddled his ass or donkey, 15:37 and took two of his young men with him, 15:39 and Isaac his son, 15:41 and clave the wood for the burnt offering, 15:44 and rose up, 15:46 and went unto the place of which God had told him." 15:51 So there was no communication with Sarah. 15:55 Imagine if he had told Sarah, 15:57 "Sarah, God has asked something difficult. 16:03 He has asked me to go and sacrifice Isaac." 16:07 Oh! 16:08 What would Sarah do? 16:10 What would Sarah say? 16:12 I could hear her say, "No! 16:15 Not my son!" 16:18 It would've been something that would break her heart. 16:22 Now imagine this for a moment, it would've been difficult, 16:27 sad, a terror for Abraham and Sarah to hear that 16:32 their son was out in taking care of the flock 16:35 and some people came and killed him. 16:41 It would've been very sad. 16:43 Or even that Isaac was out there 16:46 doing some things and some animal came 16:48 and tore him to pieces and killed him. 16:51 It would've broken their heart. 16:55 But now, God is asking Abraham, take thy son, thine only son, 16:59 and offer him for burnt sacrifice. 17:01 What did Abraham have to do in order to offer him 17:04 as a burnt sacrifice? 17:06 He had to take a knife and kill his son. 17:11 So it was heartbreaking to even consider 17:15 what he had to do. 17:17 But we see Abraham as we read, he rose up early, 17:22 and went with his son. 17:25 I can see Abraham going to his son Isaac, 17:27 "Isaac get up son. 17:30 We need to go 17:31 and offer sacrifice to the Lord." 17:35 You can see by the reading which will come to later 17:37 that Abraham did not tell his son Isaac, 17:41 "By the way Isaac, 17:42 you are gonna be the one to be sacrificed." 17:46 That came later. 17:48 Abraham couldn't bear the thought. 17:50 So let's go to see 17:52 what happened next as Abraham went. 17:55 And so in Genesis 22, 17:58 now we go to verse 4 and the screen may say verse1, 18:02 but it's verse 4, and the king took past 18:06 after these things, I'm sorry... 18:11 verse 4, sorry. 18:13 "Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes 18:17 and saw the place afar off." 18:19 So how many days, on what day? 18:22 On the third day. 18:24 But wait, what happened the first day? 18:27 What happened the second day? 18:30 It was a long journey. 18:33 And it was calculated for Abraham 18:38 to think about what he was about to do. 18:42 He had plenty of time, minutes seem like hours. 18:47 Hours seem like days. 18:51 It was a long anguish and suffering that 18:55 Abraham was going through. 18:57 Each step, he came closer to the moment 19:00 when he would have to sacrifice his son. 19:04 Difficult, very difficult. 19:07 I imagine that, okay, 19:09 let's go to sleep that first night, 19:11 do you think that Abraham slept? 19:14 No, I seriously doubt. 19:18 He slept probably when he couldn't stay 19:21 awake any longer, he fell asleep. 19:23 I see Abraham praying, "Lord, does it have to be this way?" 19:28 I can see, remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, 19:31 "Lord, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. 19:37 Nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt?" 19:41 I can see Abraham struggling perhaps 19:44 not at the same magnitude as Christ, 19:47 but he struggled with this thing. 19:50 Cried at the thought 19:53 that his son will be dead, first day. 19:57 Second day, the long journey ahead, 20:00 getting closer and closer to that moment 20:03 where he has to sacrifice his son. 20:07 Very difficult. 20:08 And so here the scripture takes us to the third day. 20:12 It doesn't tell us what happened, 20:14 but I'm sure Abraham struggled every moment 20:18 he got closer to the place where the Lord said, 20:21 "There is where you will sacrifice." 20:23 And as we read in verse 3, 20:25 he lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. 20:30 What do you think happened when he saw the place? 20:32 Somehow the Lord gave him a sign, 20:34 perhaps the cloud, a bright cloud. 20:38 Patriarchs and Prophets says there was a bright cloud. 20:42 And so he saw the place, I can imagine, 20:46 I don't know how it is about you 20:48 when you see someone you haven't seen for long time, 20:50 it's like your heart rejoices but when he saw this cloud, 20:53 when he saw the actual place, his heart sank, 20:58 "Oh, no, there it is." 21:02 Let's go to the next verse and see what happened. 21:08 In Genesis 22:6, 21:14 "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering," 21:17 I'm sorry we skipped a couple of verses here. 21:20 Let's go to verse 5, 21:21 you may not see this on the screen, 21:23 but let's go to verse 5. 21:27 "And Abraham said unto his young men, 21:30 'Abide ye here with the donkeys, 21:34 and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, 21:38 and come again unto you.'" 21:40 So these two individuals did not know 21:42 what Abraham was to do. 21:46 In verse 6, "And Abraham took... 21:49 I'm sorry, verse 5. 21:52 And Abraham said unto his young men, 21:53 I'm sorry, we read verse 5, 21:55 they're gonna go yonder and worship. 21:58 We must understand that Abraham and his household, 22:01 they worshipped God. 22:03 For some reason he's telling them, 22:05 "You guys stay here." 22:07 What do you think that was? 22:11 Say, very good. 22:13 Jesus told His disciples, 22:14 He told some of them to stay here 22:16 and we're gonna go pray over there, 22:18 very interesting parallel there. 22:25 But Jesus chose three of His closest disciples 22:28 but not even them could see Him struggling as He did. 22:31 It's a very powerful study in the book, 22:33 in the Garden of Gethsemane. 22:35 And so there he goes with his son. 22:39 And an interesting conversation takes place 22:43 as Abraham and his son go together. 22:50 Let's go to verse 6, "And Abraham took the wood 22:53 of the burnt offering, 22:54 and laid it upon Isaac his son." 22:57 Isaac was very strong. 22:59 It's Genesis 22:6, 23:01 "And he took the fire in his hand, 23:04 and a knife, and they went both of them together. 23:10 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, 23:14 'My father,' and he said, 'Here am I, my son.'" 23:19 Wow, let's talk about that in a moment. 23:22 "And he said, 'Behold the fire and the wood: 23:24 but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?'" 23:29 Where's the lamb, Dad? 23:35 Where is the lamb, Dad? 23:37 We have a fire, we have the wood, 23:40 we have the knife, but where is the lamb, Father? 23:45 If that sounding of the word father, 23:51 it could echo his eyes. 23:54 The question came, he's bright, 23:55 he is a young man, he's a teenager already. 23:57 Abraham is about 120 years old. 24:02 And I will tell you that if Isaac wanted to, 24:05 being a strong, he could've resisted the idea. 24:11 But what does Abraham say to his son? 24:17 Genesis 22:8 tells us, "And Abraham said, 24:21 'My son, God will provide himself 24:26 a lamb for a burnt offering,' 24:29 so they went both of them together.'" 24:35 There's no evidence that Isaac said, "What? 24:38 The Lord is gonna provide one for us? 24:41 Praise the Lord!" 24:44 So they walked together and again consider every step 24:50 was a moment closer to the time 24:52 he had to sacrifice his son. 24:55 He could turn back, he could say, 24:57 "I can't go through with this. 25:00 I can't do it, this is my son, my only son, I love him, 25:04 I can't do this." 25:08 But Abraham went forward to sacrifice his son. 25:16 They walked together, it says, when we continue the reading, 25:22 it doesn't tell us that Abraham told his son. 25:26 But he had to tell his son. 25:28 "Son, I have some bad news for you. 25:34 It breaks my heart to tell you. 25:37 God told me that 25:39 you are the burnt sacrifice." 25:44 I can imagine his voice breaking 25:46 with sorrow and tears, 25:48 tears flowing down his face as he tells his son, 25:51 "Son, you are the burnt sacrifice." 25:57 Now Abraham had taught Isaac to worship God, 26:02 to love God with all of his heart, 26:04 with all of his soul, with all of his mind, 26:07 with all of his strength. 26:08 There is no indication that Isaac resisted the idea, 26:14 that he rejected the thought. 26:17 There is no indication that Isaac said, 26:20 "Wait a minute father! 26:21 My whole life is before me. 26:24 I'm not even married! 26:25 I would like to get married and have children, 26:28 I have my whole life before me and you want to cut it short. 26:31 Are you sure, Father?" 26:34 There is no questioning like this. 26:37 Abraham loved his son. 26:40 Isaac loved his father. 26:43 Abraham loved God with all of his heart, 26:47 with all of his mind, with all of his strength. 26:52 Isaac must have loved God with all of his heart, 26:56 with all of his mind, 26:57 with all of his strength to yield to the idea to say, 27:01 "Okay, Father, if this is what God wants, 27:05 let's do that, I am willing." 27:08 Difficult and we see the description here, 27:13 let's read it in Genesis 22:9, 27:16 "And they came to the place which God had told him of," 27:19 Genesis 22:9, 27:20 "and Abraham built an altar there, 27:22 and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, 27:27 and laid him on the altar upon the wood." 27:30 I would tell you that Isaac helped him build that altar. 27:35 Isaac helped him prepare everything 27:38 and said, "Okay, Father, let's go to the next step." 27:42 They gave themselves the last embrace saying, 27:48 "Goodbye son, 27:49 I love you but this is what God wants." 27:53 Difficult. 27:55 I'm not gonna ask for raising of hand, 27:56 how many of you would be willing to do this 27:58 because this is a very difficult test. 28:00 This is why we call it, "The Ultimate Sacrifice." 28:06 And so the moment came when Abraham had to take 28:12 the knife in his hand. 28:14 Let's go to Genesis 22:10, 28:21 "And Abraham stretched forth his hand, 28:23 and took the knife to slay his son." 28:28 Wow, I would say this is great faith. 28:34 This is why Abraham is called the "Father of the faithful." 28:39 I would say that if you take a 1000 men, 28:42 a 1000 women and offer the same test, 28:45 how many would take the knife 28:49 and go through with what Abraham did? 28:53 Very few in number. 28:59 Abraham did not question God, 29:01 it was something completely new, 29:04 never heard of this before, 29:05 never heard of God asking this 29:08 from anyone else in history, 29:10 and Abraham said, "Yes, Lord, I will obey." 29:19 Let's go to Genesis 22:11, 29:25 I'm sorry, let's go to the moment here. 29:28 There's something interesting that happens here 29:31 because Abraham is taking his knife, 29:32 and he is about to kill his son. 29:34 Hebrews Chapter 11 shows us something interesting 29:38 about this experience. 29:39 So if you turn in your Bibles to Hebrews Chapter 11, 29:43 and we're going to read 29:44 verses 17 through 19, Hebrews 11:17-19, 29:49 and this is what the Bible tells us. 29:52 If you found the same, okay, 29:54 we have two witnesses so we'll go forward, 29:56 "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, 30:00 offered up Isaac." 30:03 What this is saying he did? He offered up Isaac. 30:07 "And he that had received the promises offered up 30:11 his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 30:15 that in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 30:20 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, 30:26 even from the dead, 30:28 from whence also he received him in a figure." 30:34 Do you see what the scriptures here are trying to tell us? 30:37 In his mind, Abraham went through it, 30:41 he saw himself... 30:43 Have you ever been involved in something 30:46 and you see yourself doing what you're going to be doing? 30:49 Abraham saw himself killing his son, 30:52 in his mind, he was going through with it, 30:54 nobody's gonna stop me from doing it, 30:57 until the angel called out. 31:01 And so, we see here 31:03 that apparently Abraham reasoned, 31:06 wait a minute, God promised that 31:10 through my son, the blessing would come. 31:15 That my seed will multiply as the stars of heaven. 31:19 Remember the Lord show him the stars of heaven, 31:20 this is gonna be the amount of children 31:23 you will have as the stars of heaven. 31:27 And according to the scripture, it is as if Abraham understood, 31:31 God said he promised that through Isaac, 31:33 he's gonna be and if I have to slay him, 31:37 sacrifice him, God can bring him back 31:42 from the dead to fulfill His promise. 31:45 He believed God complete, so I praise the Lord for that. 31:51 Let's go back. I'm sorry. 31:54 So we see here that in Genesis 31:58 this is not gonna be on the screen. 31:59 Genesis 22:11, 32:04 and so we'll pick up the story there 32:06 as to what happened next. 32:09 Genesis 22:11, if you found it, say amen. 32:14 Okay, praise the Lord. 32:15 "And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, 32:18 and said, Abraham, Abraham, and he said, here am I. 32:23 And he said, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, 32:26 neither do thou anything unto him, 32:29 for now I know that thou fearest God, 32:33 seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, 32:37 thine only son from me." 32:41 Verse 13, "And Abraham lifted up his eyes, 32:44 and looked, and behold behind him 32:47 a ram caught in a thicket by his horns, 32:49 and Abraham went and took the ram, 32:52 and offered him up for a burnt offering 32:53 in the stead of his son." 32:57 "And Abraham called the name of that place," 32:59 verse 14, "Jehovahjireh: 33:02 as it is said to this day, 33:03 in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen, 33:06 the Lord provided." 33:10 Not a lamb, a ram. 33:14 Now it says that Abraham went to get him, 33:15 because Isaac was bound, Isaac was tied up. 33:20 So when you read the scriptures and it says, "Now I know." 33:24 Did God know at that moment or did God know before? 33:28 God knew before. 33:29 But Abraham didn't. 33:31 And so God tests us knowing what is gonna be the outcome. 33:36 It was for the benefit of Isaac, 33:38 of Abraham that God said, 33:40 "Now I know that you will not withhold thy son, 33:45 thine only son from Me." 33:47 And so Abraham is called the "Father of the faithful." 33:52 And he offered up his son, 33:54 accounting that God was able to raise him 33:57 from the dead to fulfill his promise. 34:00 Would you say amen to that? Amen. 34:04 But I wanna talk to you about another father, 34:07 who also had to make an ultimate sacrifice. 34:10 So I take you to the cross, 34:13 and there is another son, Jesus Christ. 34:17 Because the Bible says, we'll put it on the screen, 34:20 John 3:16, you know this by memory, 34:22 "For God so loved the world 34:26 that He gave His only begotten Son, 34:30 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 34:35 but have everlasting life." 34:38 Interesting. 34:40 Abraham was told take now thy son, thine only son, 34:43 whom thou lovest. 34:45 Question, did God, the Father loved the son? 34:48 Yes. 34:49 And He had to take His Son, His only Son, whom He loved 34:53 and offer him up as a sacrifice for us. 34:58 Why? 35:01 Scripture tells us so that whosoever believes in Him 35:07 shall not perish, but have everlasting life. 35:11 So I would like to take you to the cross, 35:12 let's look to see what happened there, 35:16 just as Abraham had to take 35:20 a knife to kill his son, 35:24 the Father had to do something a little similar, 35:27 and there's a hint given to us in Zechariah 13:7, 35:36 it's one of those little books sometimes hard to find, 35:39 Zechariah 13:7. 35:42 We have it on the screen for you, 35:43 just in case you don't find it. 35:46 Zechariah 13:7, it says, 35:48 "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, 35:53 and against the man that is my fellow, 35:56 saith the Lord of hosts, smite the shepherd, 35:59 and the sheep shall be scattered, 36:01 and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones." 36:04 So you see the scripture that says, awake, 36:07 O sword, against my shepherd. 36:11 Did Jesus say, I am the good shepherd 36:15 and I give my life for the sheep? 36:20 So this scripture's giving us a hint 36:22 that God, the Father, has to strike the shepherd, 36:27 smite the shepherd, why? 36:31 It is because Jesus Christ took our sins upon Him. 36:37 And it is either you, me 36:42 or Christ that has to die? 36:44 Christ became our substitute, many of you know this. 36:48 Christ became our substitute, 36:50 took our sins upon Him and died in our place. 36:55 And being in that condition, in that category now, 37:01 the punishment that I deserved, now he is supposed to get. 37:07 He suffered what I was supposed to suffer. 37:11 And so, because He is now in my place, 37:13 the Bible says that the wages of sin is death, 37:16 God, the Father has to exercise justice 37:21 and He is the one that has to do this. 37:24 Let's look at some scriptures that will help us with that. 37:28 In Matthew 26:31, 37:32 Jesus eludes to this scripture 37:35 we just read in Zechariah, and notice what he says. 37:39 Matthew 26:31, "Then saith Jesus unto them, 37:43 All ye shall be offended because of me this night, 37:47 for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, 37:51 and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad." 37:56 So Jesus said this is the prophecy about me. 38:01 So the father have to do that which was difficult to do. 38:06 Just as it was difficult for Abraham, 38:07 it was difficult for God, 38:09 the Father to do, exercise justice. 38:13 So we see here Jesus lived a perfect life, 38:17 never sinned. 38:19 The Bible says that 38:20 He was in all points tempted like us 38:22 we are yet without sin. 38:26 Jesus had perfect hatred for sin. 38:32 Perfect hatred for sin. 38:34 Never sinned. 38:36 And He has to then open Himself up, 38:39 to take that which He hated, sin upon Himself. 38:43 Why? 38:45 Because He loved us so much. 38:48 Let's go to Isaiah Chapter 53. 38:51 We're talking about the Father having to sacrifice His Son, 38:55 having to Himself exercise punishment 38:59 or punish his son in our behalf. 39:03 In Isaiah 53, 39:04 we're gonna begin and reading verse 3, 39:07 Isaiah 53:3, so if you found it, say amen. 39:12 Ready? 39:13 "He is despised and rejected of men, 39:18 a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, 39:22 and we hid as it were our faces from him, 39:26 he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 39:29 Surely, he had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, 39:33 yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of whom? 39:39 Smitten of God, and afflicted." 39:44 So who smite or smite at Jesus? 39:49 The Father struck him. 39:52 Why? 39:53 Because He took our place. 39:59 It is interesting that 40:00 in different parts of the scriptures 40:02 in Psalms and Isaiah, Jeremiah, different places, 40:05 it shows you little bit of the experience 40:08 of what Jesus went through. 40:10 One of them is Psalms 22, one of them is Psalms 69, 40:14 but we're gonna look at Lamentations Chapter 3 40:16 because it communicates something interesting to us, 40:19 and I think you can see something 40:22 of the experience of Christ in this scripture 40:26 we're about to look at. 40:27 Lamentations 1:12, 40:32 he's there on the cross, as He's on the cross, 40:37 He's being mocked by people and this experience 40:43 mentioned in Lamentations 1:12 speaks to us about this. 40:46 Notice, "Is it nothing to you, 40:51 all ye that pass by? 40:53 Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, 40:58 which is done unto me, 41:01 where with the Lord hath afflicted me 41:04 in the day of his fierce anger." 41:08 By taking our sins upon Him, Jesus Christ placed Himself 41:14 in our place to suffer 41:15 what we were supposed to suffer. 41:18 So I am grateful for that. 41:23 Are you? 41:25 I hope you are. 41:27 Let's go back to Isaiah 53, 41:30 hope those are at home as well are grateful 41:35 for what God has done for us. 41:36 Isaiah 53, now we go to verse 5, 41:39 Isaiah 53:5 it says, "But He, that is Christ, 41:45 was wounded for our transgressions, 41:47 He was bruised for our iniquities, 41:51 the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, 41:54 and with His stripes we are healed. 41:58 All we like sheep have gone astray, 42:01 we have turned everyone to his own way, 42:03 and the Lord hath laid on Him 42:08 the iniquity of us all." 42:15 Just like Isaac did not resist, 42:18 Christ did not resist. 42:22 He took all that suffering, took our sins upon him, 42:27 at any moment he could escape. 42:29 But there they tied him and whipped him, 42:33 viciously, drew blood. 42:37 They were little bones and metal stuck on those whips. 42:40 Sometimes they would attach bones, 42:42 sometimes they would attach little pieces of metal, 42:44 so when they strike him, 42:45 it would break into the flesh and pull the flesh out. 42:51 At any moment he could say, "Wait, wait, this is enough." 42:55 But he went through all that for us. 42:59 He could've escaped at any moment. 43:01 You remember sometimes 43:02 they wanted to push him off a cliff, 43:03 and the Bible says 43:05 and going through the midst of them. 43:07 He went His way. 43:10 Even Jesus said Himself at Garden of Gethsemane, 43:12 I could call angels to come to my... 43:17 But He willingly took all that suffering 43:21 because of His great love for us. 43:25 Let's go to Isaiah 53:7. 43:29 It says, "He was oppressed, 43:33 and He was afflicted, 43:35 yet He opened not His mouth." 43:40 This is trying to tell us that He's not complaining about it. 43:44 He is willing to take this for us, 43:46 "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, 43:53 and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, 43:56 so He opened not his mouth." 43:58 No complaints. 44:01 He had given Himself totally so that we could be saved. 44:07 To this I say, thank you Lord. 44:11 Thank you Lord. 44:14 Let's look at verse 10 of Isaiah 53, Isaiah 53:10, 44:18 notice the words, 44:21 "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him, 44:26 He hath put Him to grief: 44:29 when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, 44:33 He shall see His seed, He shall prolong his days, 44:37 and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." 44:41 So this scripture tells us, 44:44 that it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. 44:49 In what way? 44:51 I would say to you, 44:52 this is one of those bitter sweet phase. 44:56 It was bitter that he had to punish His Son, 45:01 bitter the father suffered, as His Son was suffering. 45:09 The pleasing or the joy is remember the scriptures say, 45:13 there's more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents. 45:17 This is the pleasing aspect 45:19 of finally the moment comes 45:24 when the plan of salvation will open the door 45:28 to the whole world to be saved. 45:31 Unfortunately, not all accept and that is sad. 45:39 I would like to invite you to go to Hebrews 12:2 45:43 for the Father, it was one of those bitter, 45:45 sweet experience, 45:48 bitter because His son had to die, 45:50 bitter because He was the one 45:52 that had to meet out the punishment, 45:55 but sweet because you could be saved, 45:59 I could be saved. 46:01 In Hebrews 12:2 we read already 46:05 that Jesus Christ was a man of sorrows 46:06 and acquaint of a grief. 46:08 opens up a little bit 46:11 the curtain to help us understand 46:15 how Jesus felt about this whole thing. 46:18 It says, "Looking unto Jesus, 46:21 the author and finisher of our faith, 46:23 who for the joy that was set before Him 46:27 endured the cross, despising the shame, 46:31 and has sat down at the right hand 46:33 of the throne of God." 46:36 Did He enjoy being crucified? No. 46:40 It was a painful, 46:42 horrible way to die. 46:46 But there's more. 46:49 It was not just a physical suffering 46:51 that made him suffer. 46:54 There was another aspect of suffering that 46:56 sometimes it's not looked that. 46:59 Because internally, 47:00 sometimes there's more pain than externally. 47:04 Have you ever had that happen? 47:07 Internally more pain than externally. 47:11 Why? 47:12 Because when He takes our sins upon Him, 47:16 He's now in a different position, 47:19 in relationship to the Father. 47:22 Here say, He has taken sin upon Him. 47:25 In 2 Corinthians 5:21, 47:27 it says that He became sin for us. 47:32 So the Father has to withdraw 47:36 His immediate presence from the Son. 47:40 He doesn't leave Him completely, 47:43 but Christ cannot see Him there because He has to withdraw 47:48 His presence because this is what 47:51 sinners will feel when they cling to sin. 47:56 When they decide, "I refuse salvation, 47:58 I don't want salvation, 48:00 I don't want eternal life, I prefer sin." 48:04 And God has to withdraw, 48:08 and God is the source of our joy, 48:10 our true joy and peace. 48:13 So Christ experienced what sinners will experience 48:18 when they receive the reward for their sins. 48:23 In Matthew 27:41-46, 48:26 we're going to take a look at what happened there. 48:29 Matthew 27:41-46, I invite you to turn there in your Bible's, 48:35 Matthew 27:41-46, we read, 48:38 "Likewise also the chief priests 48:40 mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, 48:43 He saved others, Himself He cannot save. 48:47 If He be the King of Israel, 48:49 let Him now come down from the cross, 48:52 and we will believe Him." 48:56 Will they believe in Him? No. 48:59 "He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him now, 49:01 if He will have Him: 49:04 for He said, I am the Son of God. 49:07 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, 49:11 cast the same in his teeth. 49:13 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness 49:16 over all the land unto the ninth hour. 49:18 And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, 49:22 saying, Eli, Eli, 49:27 lama sabachthani? 49:29 That is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" 49:38 It was a bitter experience 49:43 to go through that. 49:45 The joy was that you would be saved, 49:48 but it was a bitter experience to go through that. 49:52 This is why He cries out, "My God, My God, 49:56 why hast Thou forsaken Me?" 49:58 He cannot feel the Father's presence. 50:00 He cannot see the Father. 50:03 With sins upon Him, 50:06 He has to experience in totality 50:09 what sinners will go through 50:13 in the end of time. 50:17 I would like to read to you from a book 50:19 that will explain it better than I can 50:24 is that Testimonies to the Church, 50:26 volume 2, page 210. 50:28 Listen to these words, 50:29 "Christ felt much as sinners will feel 50:33 when the vials of God's wrath shall be poured out upon them. 50:37 Black the spare, like the Paul of death 50:41 will gather about their guilty souls 50:43 and then they will realize to the fullest extent 50:46 the sinfulness of sin. 50:48 Salvation has been purchased for them 50:52 by the suffering and death of the Son of God. 50:55 It might be theirs 50:57 if they would accept of it willingly, 51:00 gladly, but none, 51:02 are compelled to yield obedience to the love of God. 51:07 It's a choice, you can choose to follow God or not, 51:10 you can choose to obey God or not. 51:12 If they refuse the heavenly benefit 51:14 and choose the pleasures and deceitfulness of sin, 51:18 they have their choice and at the end, 51:23 receive their wages, 51:26 which is the wrath of God and eternal death. 51:32 They will be forever separated from the presence of Jesus, 51:37 who sacrificed they had despised. 51:39 They will have lost a life of happiness 51:43 and sacrifice eternal glory 51:46 for the pleasures of sin for a season. 51:52 It is mindboggling to consider that 51:56 people will choose sin for a short period of time 52:00 compared to happiness, peace and eternal life 52:05 without suffering forever and forever and ever. 52:08 People will choose this little pleasure over this 52:12 huge indescribable joy, indescribable happiness, 52:17 life without suffering at all. 52:20 No suffering. The least hint of suffering. 52:25 They're giving all that up, 52:26 for the pleasures of sin for a season. 52:29 I hope there's nobody here in that category. 52:31 I hope anyone listening to this program 52:34 is not in that category, 52:35 and if you are, give it up and look to Jesus 52:39 who can save you from your sins, amen. 52:44 I tell you that God, 52:46 the Father suffered along with the Son. 52:49 Quickly we turn to Isaiah 63:8 and 9, 52:52 a little example of that, Isaiah 63:8 and 9, 52:56 we're down to about five minutes. 53:00 Isaiah 63:8 and 9, notice what the scripture says about 53:05 how God involves Himself with His people. 53:08 For he said, "Surely they are My people, 53:10 children that will not lie, so He was their Savior. 53:15 In all their affliction He was afflicted." 53:19 So God suffered along with His people. 53:23 "And the angel of His presence saved them, 53:25 in His love and in His pity He redeemed them, 53:29 and He bare them, and carried them 53:32 all the days of old." 53:35 So when God's people suffered 53:37 and were afflicted in all their afflictions, 53:39 God, the Father was afflicted. 53:41 And so I tell you, 53:43 in all the afflictions of Christ, 53:45 God, the Father suffered. 53:47 Every nail, every pound of the nail, 53:50 thus Father felt it. 53:51 Every strike of the whip, the Father felt it. 53:56 He is sensitive to the smallest suffering 54:01 that we suffer. 54:03 He suffers when we suffer. 54:06 And sometimes we suffer needlessly 54:08 because we do bad things to ourselves. 54:12 We can escape some suffering, 54:15 and we can escape the suffering 54:17 that will be for those who reject God. 54:21 In 2 Corinthians 5:17-19, 54:30 we have these scriptures. 54:31 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, 54:34 he is a new creature, old things are passed away, 54:38 behold, all things are become new. 54:41 And all things are of God, 54:44 who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, 54:49 and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. 54:53 To wit, that God was in Christ, 54:58 reconciling the world unto Himself, 55:01 not imputing their trespasses unto them, 55:03 and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." 55:08 So where was the Father? 55:10 In Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. 55:14 Christ did not feel Him, 55:16 but the Father was there suffering with Him, 55:21 at the same time He had to punish Him 55:26 for our behalf. 55:28 I would like to since the time has passed, 55:31 invite you to go to the book of... 55:35 Remember the wages of sin is what? 55:38 Death. 55:39 This is what Christ suffered for us. 55:41 But the gift of God is eternal life through 55:43 Jesus Christ, our Lord. 55:46 Romans 6:23, 2 Peter 3:9 55:52 tells us the Lord is not slack concerning His promise 55:57 as some men count slackness but is long suffering towards, 56:00 not willing that any should perish 56:02 but that all come to repentance. 56:07 This will be wonderful if all would repent. 56:12 There will be joy for the Lord, for all the sinners that repent 56:17 but there will be sorrow for the Lord, 56:19 for all those that don't. 56:21 This is the part we do not understand. 56:25 God will suffer to see one person lose, be lost 56:30 and have to suffer the wages of sin 56:33 because Christ already paid the price. 56:36 So I read to you from Isaiah 55:6 and 7, 56:43 listen to the words of the Lord, 56:46 "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, 56:49 call ye upon him while he is near. 56:53 Let the wicked forsake His way, 56:55 and the unrighteous man his thoughts: 56:59 and let him return unto the Lord, 57:02 and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, 57:08 for He will abundantly pardon." 57:12 Isaiah 55:6 and 7. 57:16 So I encourage all here 57:19 to forsake evil and follow the Lord. 57:22 The Bible says that the wicked forsake its way 57:25 and the unrighteous men his thoughts 57:26 and let him be turned unto the Lord 57:28 and the Lord will have what? 57:29 Mercy upon him. 57:31 God is extending His mercy to you watching, 57:33 listening to this program. 57:35 I encourage you to take the hand of the Lord. 57:37 I encourage you to let him embrace you, forgive you, 57:40 and give you a new beginning in Jesus Christ. 57:43 Christ has paid the price for your sins. 57:46 You do not have to suffer for your sins, 57:48 Christ has paid the price, 57:50 and you can have eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ, 57:53 who has died for you and is ready to save you. 57:56 Go to Him now, He will receive you 57:59 and give you eternal life. |
Revised 2020-03-02