We want to invite you
to, we want to say come
00:00:34.50\00:00:40.04
We want to say
come let us adore Him
00:00:40.07\00:00:42.97
Am I right? Alright.
00:00:43.00\00:00:46.57
Come let us adore Him
00:00:53.35\00:00:57.69
Kneel down before Him
00:00:58.39\00:01:02.59
Worship and adore Him
00:01:04.43\00:01:07.66
Come let us adore Him
00:01:14.84\00:01:18.51
Kneel down before Him
00:01:19.77\00:01:23.45
Worship and adore Him
00:01:25.11\00:01:28.68
Immanuel, Immanuel, oh oh
00:01:30.35\00:01:34.46
Immanuel, Immanuel, oh oh
00:01:36.12\00:01:40.10
Immanuel, Immanuel oh oh
00:01:40.13\00:01:44.53
Immanuel, Immanuel, oh oh
00:01:45.63\00:01:50.17
We worship You, we worship You
00:01:51.67\00:01:55.38
Come, come let us adore Him
00:02:01.65\00:02:07.26
Kneel down before Him
00:02:11.46\00:02:16.16
Worship and adore Him
00:02:16.20\00:02:20.87
Come let us adore Him
00:02:28.71\00:02:32.31
Kneel down before Him
00:02:32.35\00:02:36.72
Worship and adore Him
00:02:36.75\00:02:41.82
Immanuel, oh Immanuel
00:02:47.40\00:02:52.37
Immanuel, oh Immanuel
00:02:55.04\00:03:04.91
Immanuel, oh Immanuel
00:03:15.46\00:03:19.26
Immanuel, oh, oh, oh
00:03:35.38\00:03:39.81
We worship You, oh oh
00:03:50.23\00:03:54.80
I shall wear a crown
00:04:06.68\00:04:15.18
I shall wear a crown
00:04:18.72\00:04:24.89
When it's all
over, when it's all over
00:04:29.00\00:04:36.64
When it's all
over, when it's all over
00:04:40.98\00:04:47.32
I shall see His
face, I shall see His face
00:04:51.32\00:04:56.36
When it's all
over, when it's all over
00:05:11.81\00:05:16.95
When it's all
over, when it's all over
00:05:21.52\00:05:27.16
I shall see His
face, I shall see His face
00:05:31.06\00:05:36.70
I shall see His
face, I shall see His face
00:05:42.64\00:05:49.11
When it's all
over, when it's all over
00:05:56.32\00:05:59.85
Oh I'm going to put on a robe
00:06:13.27\00:06:20.88
Oh yes when it's all over
00:06:20.91\00:06:26.41
Oh I'm going to put on a robe
00:06:36.22\00:06:40.86
And tell the
story when it's all over
00:06:40.90\00:06:50.84
I will put on my robe
00:07:17.40\00:07:21.04
And tell the story, oh
00:07:21.07\00:07:25.24
I want to put on my robe
00:07:33.92\00:07:39.59
I want to put on my robe
00:07:54.14\00:07:58.97
And tell the story, oh
00:07:59.01\00:08:03.81
When it's over, when it's over
00:08:14.72\00:08:20.86
I want to direct your
attention to the book of Genesis
00:13:37.35\00:13:40.65
Genesis the 22nd Division and
consider with me verses 13-14
00:13:40.68\00:13:49.76
I've entitled
our message for today
00:14:41.94\00:14:44.85
He sees and will see to it
00:14:44.88\00:14:49.58
He sees and will see to it.
The holidays are supposed to be
00:14:50.69\00:14:58.09
times of joy and times of cheer
00:14:58.13\00:15:04.87
Yet it is not
unusual for many people
00:15:04.90\00:15:08.94
to fall into what
we call holiday blues
00:15:08.97\00:15:13.07
Holiday depression
can occur at any holiday
00:15:13.11\00:15:18.68
believe it or not during a
vacation or at the beginning
00:15:18.71\00:15:25.25
of a New Year. The causes
are myriad. It may come about as
00:15:25.29\00:15:32.73
a result of some family
distress some economic distress
00:15:32.76\00:15:38.87
perhaps it may come as a result
of missing some absent family
00:15:38.90\00:15:43.67
member who would usually be
there at this time of the year.
00:15:43.71\00:15:46.61
But they're gone for
one reason or another.
00:15:46.64\00:15:52.35
Or perhaps it comes as a result
of unrealistic expectations
00:15:52.38\00:15:56.99
that sometime we
place on ourselves.
00:15:57.02\00:16:01.22
I have seen many to-do lists
00:16:02.42\00:16:05.29
that kind of give
some sort of prescription
00:16:06.96\00:16:13.20
for how to deal
with the holiday blues.
00:16:13.23\00:16:16.71
Unfortunately you cannot take
a Tylenol and get rid of it.
00:16:16.74\00:16:22.58
What's that little powder?
00:16:24.21\00:16:26.72
BC or AB powder? Won't work.
00:16:27.92\00:16:31.42
You can't take anything.
This, that or anything else.
00:16:32.85\00:16:36.69
When the blues hit
you, you're just blue.
00:16:38.09\00:16:43.53
But in all of those
lists, those to-do lists
00:16:44.93\00:16:49.00
of things you can
do to deal with it
00:16:49.04\00:16:51.81
I have yet to see one list
that includes this one simple
00:16:51.84\00:16:56.95
prescription,
FAITH. What did I say?
00:16:56.98\00:17:02.95
Hebrews 11:1, what does it
say? By what? I don't hear you.
00:17:02.98\00:17:09.49
See you just quote
Scripture that ain't it.
00:17:14.36\00:17:17.07
You're quoting to me
Hebrews 11:6, I'm asking you
00:17:17.10\00:17:21.67
about Hebrews 11:1.
00:17:21.70\00:17:25.07
I am in church ain't I?
You do have a Bible don't you?
00:17:26.31\00:17:29.88
What does Hebrews 11:1 say?
00:17:29.91\00:17:33.05
Now faith is what? the
substance of things hoped for
00:17:35.38\00:17:40.89
what else? The
evidence of things not seen.
00:17:40.92\00:17:46.36
The evidence of things not seen.
Now let me help you with that
00:17:47.80\00:17:51.93
Let me show you
what faith is not.
00:17:51.97\00:17:53.70
When I first got
into the ministry
00:17:53.74\00:17:57.84
It was a little tough. Trying
to keep my family together
00:17:57.87\00:18:03.01
keem 'em fed on the amount
of money that I was receiving
00:18:03.04\00:18:07.52
And so I was sitting at home
one evening and I was watching
00:18:07.55\00:18:14.16
one of those segments of "All
In the Family" I think it was
00:18:14.19\00:18:20.23
You laughing cause you
saw it too, didn't you?
00:18:22.03\00:18:24.57
And on this particular segment,
Edith had just, guess she was
00:18:27.10\00:18:33.27
reading the Bible, I don't know
whether she was getting religion
00:18:33.31\00:18:35.41
or what. But she read that
passage of Scripture in Hebrews
00:18:35.44\00:18:38.91
11:1, Now faith is the substance
of things hoped for the evidence
00:18:38.95\00:18:43.18
of things not seen. And
so she went and said, Archie,
00:18:43.22\00:18:50.09
what is faith? And Archie
started trying to quote that
00:18:52.19\00:18:57.50
Scripture. Now imagine Archie
Bunker quoting that Scripture
00:18:57.53\00:19:01.70
It was
laughable, it was laughable.
00:19:03.87\00:19:07.08
So after he went
through his profound explanation
00:19:08.51\00:19:13.88
on what faith was,
Edith looked at him
00:19:13.92\00:19:20.59
Archie, what is faith?
00:19:20.62\00:19:24.49
Now you know the exchange,
the dynamics between them.
00:19:26.03\00:19:29.80
Archie was so frustrated. He
just blurted out, Edith, faith
00:19:29.83\00:19:35.17
is believing something that
nobody else in their right mind
00:19:35.20\00:19:38.61
would believe. Now while
that has some sort of comedic
00:19:38.64\00:19:45.38
overtone to it, it was the
truth, in fact. It takes faith
00:19:45.41\00:19:53.42
sometimes to believe
things that are unbelievable.
00:19:53.46\00:19:59.26
Back to my story. I decided I
was going to exercise that kind
00:19:59.29\00:20:04.90
of faith the next day.
And I walked down the street
00:20:04.93\00:20:08.34
to the grocery store and
I wrote a check and got some
00:20:08.37\00:20:13.38
groceries for my family. Nothing
unusual about that except that
00:20:13.41\00:20:19.01
there was no money in the bank.
00:20:19.05\00:20:22.78
You know you've written some
of those Spalding checks before
00:20:25.05\00:20:30.49
And this was my
reasoning for it.
00:20:31.86\00:20:36.93
I'm a child of God. I've
returned a faithful tithe.
00:20:38.87\00:20:45.61
He said that he would
open the windows of heaven
00:20:45.64\00:20:51.38
I just wrote the check
before the window opened.
00:20:51.41\00:20:54.88
Imagine my surprise the next
morning when I heard a knock
00:21:06.73\00:21:11.80
at the door. And I opened
it and the kindly gentleman
00:21:11.83\00:21:17.51
stood in the
door holding my check.
00:21:17.54\00:21:22.24
informing me that he
was the manager of the store
00:21:22.28\00:21:25.41
Somewhere in my
thinking I had thought
00:21:27.92\00:21:30.82
that after I wrote the
check, God would open the window
00:21:30.85\00:21:36.83
one window, in fact it could've
been a just a little skylight
00:21:36.86\00:21:40.16
I didn't care, money would
somehow fall into my account.
00:21:40.20\00:21:44.77
So that before the
grocery store tried to clear it
00:21:45.93\00:21:49.94
there would be money in
there already to sustain it. Now
00:21:49.97\00:21:55.41
beloved, that's not
faith. That is foolishness.
00:21:55.44\00:22:01.08
In fact, in legal terms,
it's called theft by deception.
00:22:02.62\00:22:06.99
Right? Theft by deception.
00:22:07.02\00:22:09.42
Anytime you got to do
something wrong, hello
00:22:09.46\00:22:14.46
in order to try to put God
in gear to come to your aid
00:22:15.83\00:22:22.17
something is wrong. Let
me say something to you.
00:22:22.20\00:22:26.17
It's one thing to have faith
when your cupboards are full
00:22:26.21\00:22:30.98
of food. But it's another thing
to have faith when you ain't got
00:22:31.01\00:22:35.08
but a heel of bread in the
house. It's one thing to have
00:22:35.12\00:22:39.49
faith when you got four good
tires on your car. It's another
00:22:39.52\00:22:45.06
thing to have faith when
steel belts are breaking through
00:22:45.09\00:22:48.96
and you can see them. Obviously
it's another thing to have faith
00:22:49.00\00:22:52.87
when your kids are well behaved
and manageable, it's another
00:22:52.90\00:22:57.17
thing to have faith when
your children have eaten a five
00:22:57.21\00:23:00.74
pound bag of sugar. It's one
thing to have faith when you're
00:23:00.78\00:23:06.21
walking around in the bloom of
health, but it's another thing
00:23:06.25\00:23:09.72
to have faith when your doctor
just told you, you have stage 4
00:23:09.75\00:23:13.92
cancer. It's one thing to
have faith when your husband is
00:23:13.96\00:23:18.66
bringing you candy and flowers
and another thing to have faith
00:23:18.69\00:23:23.00
when your eyes are getting
bruised and your body is getting
00:23:23.03\00:23:26.53
battered because of a man
who has not come to value you as
00:23:26.57\00:23:32.27
his wife. Listen to what the
American Standard Version says
00:23:38.15\00:23:41.18
about this passage. It
interprets it this way:
00:23:41.22\00:23:46.55
Faith is assurance of
things hoped for, a conviction
00:23:46.59\00:23:53.46
of things not
seen. What everybody?
00:23:53.50\00:23:58.07
A conviction. Then the New
Testament in modern English
00:23:58.10\00:24:02.50
translation, translates it this
way. Faith is the title deed
00:24:02.54\00:24:08.54
to things hoped for. The pudding
to the proof of things not seen.
00:24:08.58\00:24:15.62
The title deed. Stay
there with me for a moment.
00:24:17.72\00:24:20.49
I got to go way back to
help you try to understand this,
00:24:20.52\00:24:24.23
way back. Anybody ever remember
a store called Woolworth's?
00:24:24.26\00:24:29.20
Is that going back?
00:24:31.60\00:24:34.10
Y'all could have Wal-Mart's,
Targets, J C Penney's,
00:24:36.91\00:24:43.68
Give me
Woolworth's. That was it.
00:24:43.71\00:24:49.75
One day we went to the store
with Mama. And as we looked
00:24:50.59\00:24:58.36
around the store we saw all
kinds of things that we wanted.
00:24:58.39\00:25:02.06
I wanted a pair
of hip hugger pants.
00:25:02.10\00:25:08.97
Brown corduroy,
hip hugger pants.
00:25:18.11\00:25:23.42
My brother, he wanted a
pair of chuck converses.
00:25:27.86\00:25:34.96
Y'all got some old folks here.
00:25:39.93\00:25:42.17
Then there was one
other thing that I wanted
00:25:47.88\00:25:50.25
I wanted a Nehru jacket.
00:25:52.15\00:25:55.08
But mother didn't
get us anything that day.
00:26:06.90\00:26:10.27
We just went on home.
00:26:11.33\00:26:13.80
I was styling in my
corduroy pants and Nehru jacket
00:26:17.34\00:26:21.94
in my sleep. But one day I
came home from school and mama
00:26:21.98\00:26:28.58
gave me this
little ticket and she said
00:26:28.62\00:26:32.35
Go to town to Woolworth's
and give them this ticket
00:26:32.39\00:26:37.63
to the person in
the layaway department
00:26:37.66\00:26:43.30
I thought to myself, Layaway!
00:26:47.14\00:26:50.47
That sounds pretty good to
be. You don't go to layaway
00:26:50.51\00:26:55.48
unless something is laid away.
00:26:55.51\00:26:56.91
I didn't know what was in there
but I took the little ticket
00:26:59.05\00:27:02.92
my mama gave me and I
took it to the lady in layaway
00:27:02.95\00:27:07.06
and lo and behold here
comes my pant, a brown corduroy
00:27:07.09\00:27:13.96
hip huggers. A Nehru jacket.
00:27:14.00\00:27:18.70
And some Chuck converses.
And I took those things home
00:27:18.73\00:27:27.24
excited about the fact that mama
had sometime ago unbeknownst
00:27:27.28\00:27:34.88
to me already went back
to Woolworth's and paid for
00:27:34.92\00:27:40.19
those things and all I had
to do was exercise the faith
00:27:40.22\00:27:45.23
to take, Oh Jesus, to take that
little ticket, give it to the
00:27:45.26\00:27:51.00
lady in Layaway and watch her
give me the things I hoped for
00:27:51.03\00:27:56.67
cause I had the title deed
to them. Beloved whatever it is
00:27:56.71\00:28:03.41
we're hoping for, Jesus
has already paid the price
00:28:03.45\00:28:09.28
if we use our faith to claim it.
00:28:09.32\00:28:14.02
To claim it. Here's the
big point of my message today
00:28:15.52\00:28:19.69
Strong faith is born
out of strong trials.
00:28:19.73\00:28:27.64
I ain't got nothin else to
say today. It ain't that deep.
00:28:29.50\00:28:34.78
If you can just find some kind
of way to wrap your mind around
00:28:34.81\00:28:38.38
that, strong faith is
born out of strong trials.
00:28:38.41\00:28:47.82
Have you ever heard the Psalmist
say, Lord don't move my mountain
00:28:47.86\00:28:51.76
Just do what? Give me
the strength to climb it
00:28:53.40\00:28:58.90
Please don't move my stumbling
blocks, leave me learn around it
00:28:58.93\00:29:03.51
That old slave understood
something about trials
00:29:03.54\00:29:07.81
and troubles and problems and
tribulation. They build strong
00:29:07.84\00:29:12.98
bodies in a way that
no vitamin ever could.
00:29:13.01\00:29:16.99
And there, right there, in those
difficult experiences, we give
00:29:18.82\00:29:24.69
birth to a quality and caliber
of faith that we would not have
00:29:24.73\00:29:29.80
otherwise had we not gone
through that particular trial.
00:29:29.83\00:29:35.14
We ought to stop praying,
Lord please take my trials away.
00:29:35.17\00:29:40.34
You may be praying for the Lord
to take something away from you
00:29:42.94\00:29:45.61
that might be of great benefit
to you. I believe that there is
00:29:45.65\00:29:53.29
no more profound illustration
of this kind of concept
00:29:53.32\00:29:58.59
this experience than that
found in Genesis 22nd chapter we
00:29:58.63\00:30:03.87
we classically call Abraham's
Test. Abraham's Test, go there.
00:30:03.90\00:30:11.37
Go there with me to
Genesis 22nd chapter.
00:30:11.41\00:30:15.88
I want to lift up verses 1-3.
00:30:15.91\00:30:19.35
Abraham was called the Father
of the Faithful. Yet on two
00:31:07.40\00:31:15.40
occasions in his life he
did not seem to exercise a whole
00:31:15.44\00:31:20.38
lot of faith. Once when he
went to Egypt with his wife.
00:31:20.41\00:31:24.21
And he told the king
what? That she was his sister.
00:31:24.25\00:31:29.08
Concealed her true identity
because he did not have the
00:31:29.12\00:31:34.52
quality of faith to be
honest about it. The second time
00:31:34.56\00:31:39.79
he demonstrated a lack of faith
is when God has promised him
00:31:39.83\00:31:45.93
some 50 years prior that he
was going to give birth to a
00:31:45.97\00:31:50.81
child, a son and that son would
be the progenitor of a great
00:31:50.84\00:31:57.18
nation. His seed
would know no end.
00:31:57.21\00:32:00.08
And instead of waiting, because
he doubted, he was 100, his wife
00:32:00.88\00:32:08.99
was 90 when the Angel said
you're going to have a child
00:32:09.02\00:32:12.09
what did she do?
I don't blame her.
00:32:12.13\00:32:15.13
My own daughter right now,
I don't know how old she is
00:32:15.16\00:32:20.17
how old is she baby, huh? 26.
00:32:20.20\00:32:24.57
We're getting old. 26.
And she calls home everyday
00:32:28.98\00:32:37.55
I see her posting on FaceBook,
talking about her experiences
00:32:37.59\00:32:42.39
she's supposed to be
giving birth on January 1
00:32:42.42\00:32:44.46
She's not going to make it,
is she sweetie, no she's not
00:32:44.49\00:32:48.00
Just think. She's 26, talking
about the challenges of being
00:32:49.60\00:32:56.77
pregnant, but here's a lady 90
00:32:56.81\00:33:01.84
Keep em up Abraham, keep em up.
00:33:10.19\00:33:13.49
Give me your minds,
come back, come back.
00:33:26.67\00:33:30.17
We're going to do
what? Have a child.
00:33:36.24\00:33:40.62
Abraham couldn't see it and
so Abraham gets a secondary wife
00:33:40.65\00:33:49.36
a concubine and
has a child by her.
00:33:49.39\00:33:55.86
His faith? How could he be
the father of the faithful?
00:33:55.90\00:34:00.30
And he's trying to find
his own solutions to deal
00:34:00.34\00:34:05.11
with the circumstances that
God had allowed to come into
00:34:05.14\00:34:08.54
his life. Abraham. Abraham.
I want you to take your son
00:34:08.58\00:34:16.22
your what kind of
son? your only son
00:34:16.25\00:34:21.82
Now he wasn't in
fact his only son, was he?
00:34:24.26\00:34:26.76
Cause he just had a
son, his name was Ishmael.
00:34:26.80\00:34:29.70
14 years older than Isaac.
However, he was the only son
00:34:29.73\00:34:36.10
who fulfilled the
conditions of the covenant.
00:34:36.14\00:34:41.44
The promise. I want you to take
that son, not that other one
00:34:41.48\00:34:48.18
that son. And I want you
to take him and offer him
00:34:48.22\00:34:53.66
as a burnt offering. Remember
now,, Sarah has waited how long?
00:34:53.69\00:35:03.26
Now he's having this revelation
this epiphany in his sleep.
00:35:06.47\00:35:12.17
Surely somebody
ought to wake him up.
00:35:12.21\00:35:17.45
Surely he's having a nightmare.
Surely he's had something to
00:35:17.48\00:35:23.82
drink before he
went to sleep that night.
00:35:23.85\00:35:25.82
Because here he hears a voice
telling him to get up, take your
00:35:25.85\00:35:31.16
only son, the one
that you waited so long for
00:35:31.19\00:35:34.70
and kill him, offer him
as a sacrifice, understand?
00:35:34.73\00:35:39.53
You got to know that you know
that you know the voice of God
00:35:39.57\00:35:43.61
That's the only way in the
world he could've been obedient
00:35:45.54\00:35:50.01
it's the same voice that
had told him to leave Ur of the
00:35:50.05\00:35:54.08
Chaldeans, it's the same
voice that had promised him
00:35:54.12\00:35:58.02
that He would make of him a
great nation. He understood the
00:35:58.05\00:36:01.32
intonation of the voice
when you heard the voice of God
00:36:01.36\00:36:05.29
once you recognize it, you'll
never forget it whether you're
00:36:05.33\00:36:09.23
wide awake or deep in sleep
you'll know the voice of God.
00:36:09.26\00:36:13.90
Take your son. Understand
what God is asking him now.
00:36:18.54\00:36:22.58
Understand. All the heathen
nations, the Semitic tribes
00:36:24.05\00:36:29.72
around him
practice child sacrifice.
00:36:29.75\00:36:36.32
He's not a heathen. He is in
fact, a believer of the true God
00:36:36.36\00:36:43.43
When you read the 6th chapter
of Micah, somewhere about verse
00:36:43.47\00:36:48.10
7, you will discover that
Israel got so disconnected from
00:36:48.14\00:36:54.24
God that they too started
practicing child sacrifice
00:36:54.28\00:37:02.72
just like the heathens around
them, because somehow they
00:37:02.75\00:37:07.79
believed that if you would
sacrifice the first fruit or the
00:37:07.82\00:37:13.33
first born of your body some
kind of way it would lead you
00:37:13.36\00:37:17.50
into a greater
relationship with God.
00:37:17.53\00:37:21.87
You would have great
approval. But Abraham recognized
00:37:21.90\00:37:26.98
that's what heathens did.
That's not what Christians do.
00:37:27.01\00:37:31.38
How often, how often do we
find ourselves reflecting and
00:37:31.41\00:37:37.65
doing the things that people
who don't portend to know God
00:37:37.69\00:37:42.56
and yet we
follow their practices.
00:37:42.59\00:37:46.80
And do the things
they do in order to fit in.
00:37:46.83\00:37:52.43
In order to belong. Abraham
also knew that right there
00:37:52.47\00:37:59.67
in the law it says, Thou shalt
not what? Could this really be
00:37:59.71\00:38:05.95
the voice of God
contradicting Himself
00:38:05.98\00:38:09.82
Kill your son, when you
commanded that thou shalt not
00:38:09.85\00:38:14.72
kill? Once again you gotta know
that you know, that you know
00:38:14.76\00:38:18.09
the voice of
God. Look at verse 8.
00:38:18.13\00:38:24.60
Here's Abraham. He recognizes
that it's the voice of God
00:38:58.00\00:39:02.47
he heard the night before.
He goes into the tent of his son
00:39:02.50\00:39:07.48
while he's sleeping. We got to
go. We got to offer a sacrifice
00:39:07.51\00:39:13.42
This is not unusual. They
had been to other altars before
00:39:13.45\00:39:18.09
to offer sacrifices. So this
is not strange to Isaac. He gets
00:39:18.12\00:39:23.39
two other servants to come
with him. He gets wood, he gets
00:39:23.43\00:39:26.86
fire and they begin to walk.
They're living in Beersheba
00:39:26.90\00:39:31.77
and yet he recognizes that it's
a 3 day journey so he's got to
00:39:31.80\00:39:38.61
walk for days with this secret
inside him. He does not tell
00:39:38.64\00:39:44.85
Sarah because he recognizes
that Sarah has the blood
00:39:44.88\00:39:50.15
of a colored woman
running through her veins.
00:39:50.19\00:39:53.15
He does not want to
see the perm just come out.
00:40:06.63\00:40:12.31
You goin to do what? With who?
00:40:17.65\00:40:22.02
He recognized that she
would try to prevent him.
00:40:31.63\00:40:36.60
And so he holds it in. He
doesn't tell the servants that
00:40:36.63\00:40:41.17
accompany him. Because they
too would try to prevent him.
00:40:41.20\00:40:45.61
From following through with
what God has asked him to do
00:40:45.64\00:40:50.35
it's a 3 day journey
from Beersheba to Mount Moriah
00:40:50.38\00:40:54.55
and each night that comes,
Abraham stays up all night
00:40:54.58\00:41:00.22
praying, hoping he can
get God to change His mind.
00:41:00.26\00:41:03.99
Have you every done anything
like that, when God puts you
00:41:04.03\00:41:06.03
in a circumstance? Huh?
And you prayed and asked God,
00:41:06.06\00:41:11.70
He needs to think about it
again. Can you change your mind
00:41:11.73\00:41:17.64
about this thing? He did that
the first night. He did that
00:41:17.67\00:41:23.85
the second night. And when
he wakes up on the third day
00:41:23.88\00:41:26.45
he can see in the distance Mount
Moriah and he recognizes the
00:41:26.48\00:41:31.25
sign that God has given him.
I'm going to show you where you
00:41:31.29\00:41:34.69
supposed to do this. He sees
the glory, a glorious little
00:41:34.72\00:41:39.06
cloud hovering over Mt. Moriah
and he knows that's where I
00:41:39.09\00:41:43.93
gotta take him and so he
leaves the two servants behind
00:41:43.97\00:41:50.04
takes the wood off the donkey,
places the wood on the back
00:41:50.07\00:41:53.94
of his son, gets some
glowing embers in a container
00:41:53.98\00:41:58.11
picks up the knife and
they began to make the trip
00:41:58.15\00:42:01.58
up the jagged slope of Mount
Moriah and when they reach its
00:42:01.62\00:42:07.29
summit, being an astute
young man, being a knowledgeable
00:42:07.32\00:42:15.06
young man, Isaac says ''Dad,
00:42:15.10\00:42:19.80
we got wood, we got a
knife, we got some fire
00:42:21.64\00:42:29.78
but where is the lamb?
00:42:29.81\00:42:35.98
Imagine his surprise when
Abraham says, God will provide
00:42:36.02\00:42:44.16
Himself a lamb. Up here?
We're on a mountain, man.
00:42:44.19\00:42:52.37
If He was going to give us a
lamb we should've brought one
00:42:52.40\00:42:55.90
from our flocks. We've
got thousands of flocks.
00:42:55.94\00:42:59.07
But they go on and they build
the altar. They take the sticks
00:42:59.11\00:43:02.81
and place them on the altar and
now comes the moment of truth
00:43:02.84\00:43:06.51
Son, God has told me
you are the sacrifice.
00:43:06.55\00:43:13.42
Remember now, Abraham is
over a hundred years old.
00:43:17.99\00:43:25.57
Isaac at this time is somewhere
between 20 and 22 years old.
00:43:25.60\00:43:30.04
Take a 20 or 22
year old young man today
00:43:32.21\00:43:36.44
and insert him into the story.
00:43:36.48\00:43:39.48
Daddy, PCP is not good for you.
00:43:55.96\00:43:59.23
But there's something, something
cradled in the story that we got
00:44:04.67\00:44:12.08
to expose. Think about the
regard, the respect and the
00:44:12.11\00:44:18.35
recognition the son had for the
father's relationship with God.
00:44:18.39\00:44:23.26
For him to say God told me
to do this and for a 20 year old
00:44:23.29\00:44:30.20
son to submit to the will of
his father because he respects
00:44:30.23\00:44:36.27
him, he knows he's got a
relationship, he knows he's got
00:44:36.30\00:44:39.74
a connection with God.
That says something to us today.
00:44:39.77\00:44:44.65
Oh if we could raise children
in our homes that respect us and
00:44:44.68\00:44:50.09
regard us as godly parents. The
only they're going to do that
00:44:50.12\00:44:55.02
beloved is if we
act like godly parents.
00:44:55.06\00:45:00.03
You can't say one
thing and then do another
00:45:00.06\00:45:04.60
and expect your children to
give the same level of respect
00:45:04.63\00:45:10.14
They see through the hypocrisy,
the recognize the duplicity
00:45:10.17\00:45:16.14
and they've already made up
in their minds, like we all have
00:45:16.18\00:45:20.82
said, when I grow up and have
children I ain't gonna act like
00:45:20.85\00:45:24.32
our mama. I ain't
gonna act like my daddy.
00:45:24.35\00:45:29.32
But understand just as poignant
as the faith of Abraham's is,
00:45:29.36\00:45:38.33
so too is the faith of Isaac.
00:45:38.37\00:45:44.51
Horror runs through his veins
at first and then he transitions
00:45:44.54\00:45:50.71
into submission. Daddy, if
God told you to do that, do it.
00:45:50.75\00:45:55.78
You've got to obey him. There's
something here you've got to see
00:45:57.69\00:46:02.76
finish it for me.
00:46:16.40\00:46:19.84
The Hebrew says, and
we will come again to you.
00:46:22.54\00:46:27.98
Remember now what is
he being asked to do?
00:46:30.15\00:46:32.25
Sacrifice his son. But what does
he say even before he leaves?
00:46:32.29\00:46:37.73
We will be back! Yes.
00:46:39.86\00:46:46.13
Will you read
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 9?
00:46:47.24\00:46:50.51
You'll find out that
Abraham was able to do this
00:46:50.54\00:46:54.74
because he accounted God with
the ability to raise his son up
00:46:54.78\00:47:01.02
from the dead. The ironical
thing about it is there was
00:47:01.05\00:47:04.99
no historical record of anyone
having been resurrected from
00:47:05.02\00:47:10.16
the dead at this point.
00:47:10.19\00:47:13.63
Where then do you get the faith
to believe that God is going to
00:47:13.66\00:47:22.40
somehow resurrect your boy.
Faith is the substance of things
00:47:22.44\00:47:28.84
hoped for. The
evidence of things not seen.
00:47:28.88\00:47:34.18
So he lays there and
his daddy raises his knife
00:47:36.99\00:47:42.62
and as he raises the knife
and understand something, he is
00:47:42.66\00:47:48.76
going to kill his son. We love
to hasten and get to the other
00:47:48.80\00:47:54.37
part where the angel says,
hey Abraham stay your hand. But
00:47:54.40\00:47:58.17
let's stay right there. The
Angel would not have said that
00:47:58.21\00:48:01.64
if He was not sure that Abraham
was going to follow through.
00:48:01.68\00:48:05.91
Isn't that right? If you
had an ATM and somebody comes to
00:48:05.95\00:48:11.82
you with a gun and says, give
me your money. You gonna start
00:48:11.85\00:48:16.79
laughing? What're you gonna do?
You gonna give him the money.
00:48:16.83\00:48:21.26
Why? Because you think they're
gonna do something, right?
00:48:21.30\00:48:26.33
The Angel understood this man
was going to take his son's life
00:48:26.37\00:48:34.28
And He stops him. In that
synaptic moment He stops him
00:48:34.31\00:48:41.62
He arrests his hand. Abraham
I understand now you won't
00:48:41.65\00:48:45.42
withhold anything from
me. I understand you won't put
00:48:45.45\00:48:48.79
anything before me, not
even your precious, only son.
00:48:48.82\00:48:53.29
Imagine the
relief, imagine the relief.
00:48:55.43\00:49:00.54
Here's what I learned when
I was studying this message.
00:49:02.04\00:49:05.31
Sometimes our greatest anxiety
is not what happens but what we
00:49:06.37\00:49:12.08
think is going to happen.
00:49:12.11\00:49:15.68
We stress ourselves out thinking
that the proverbial sword of
00:49:15.72\00:49:24.26
Damocles is going to fall on
us before anything ever happens
00:49:24.29\00:49:32.23
and so we find ourselves
leading distressed lives.
00:49:32.27\00:49:37.97
Always living with the
anticipation of gloom and doom
00:49:38.01\00:49:43.81
forgetting the
rest of the story.
00:49:43.85\00:49:47.15
There are seven compound names
of God that are found in the
00:50:18.58\00:50:23.49
Old Testament. In
Exodus 15 verse 26 He's called
00:50:23.52\00:50:28.89
Jehovah Rapha, the God who
heals you. In Exodus 17: 8-15,
00:50:28.92\00:50:36.90
He's Jehovah Nissi, the
Lord my Banner. In Judges 6:24,
00:50:36.93\00:50:43.57
He's Jehovah Shalom, the Lord
our Peace. In Psalm 23:1, He's
00:50:43.61\00:50:50.55
Jehovah Rohi, the Lord is
my Shepherd. In Jeremiah 23:6,
00:50:50.58\00:50:54.95
He's Jehovah Tsidkenu,
the Lord our Righteousness,
00:50:54.98\00:50:58.35
In Exodus 48:35, He's Jehovah
Shamma, the Lord is Present
00:50:58.39\00:51:03.69
but in Genesis 22:14, He's
Jehovah Jireh. In the Hebrew
00:51:03.73\00:51:12.33
it's Yehovah Yireh. Yehovah
Yireh. Now when we hear that
00:51:12.37\00:51:20.91
word, when we hear that word
we love to say it means what?
00:51:20.94\00:51:28.08
Talk to me. The Lord will
Provide. Isn't that right?
00:51:28.12\00:51:36.69
The Lord will Provide. But
I'm going to give you a lesson
00:51:36.73\00:51:41.03
in Hebrew. The original
Hebrew says, The Lord Sees
00:51:41.06\00:51:47.64
and will see to it.
00:51:47.67\00:51:51.67
That speaks to my lack of faith.
00:51:55.08\00:51:58.11
That speaks to my doubt.
That speaks to my lowliness.
00:51:58.15\00:52:03.69
That speaks to my despair,
that speaks to my pessimism.
00:52:03.72\00:52:09.36
That speaks to my negative
attitude when I know if I could
00:52:09.39\00:52:13.29
just know that God
sees what I'm going through
00:52:13.33\00:52:17.57
sometimes we get into such
a place, a rut that we don't
00:52:17.60\00:52:21.64
believe that God even
knows that we're in trouble.
00:52:21.67\00:52:25.81
That we have needs, and yet
Jehovah Jireh says I see it.
00:52:25.84\00:52:30.98
I see what you're going
through. I'm well aware of your
00:52:32.98\00:52:39.89
circumstances. But that wouldn't
be enough. J.B. Phillips
00:52:39.92\00:52:45.73
in his book Your God is Too
Small, says if you don't have
00:52:45.76\00:52:50.27
a God that can do
something about your situation
00:52:50.30\00:52:55.00
then your God is too small
and you need to trade Him in
00:52:55.04\00:53:00.54
and get you another. If your
God can't pay your electric bill
00:53:00.58\00:53:05.55
then your God is too small. If
your God can't fix your broken
00:53:05.58\00:53:09.88
marriage then your God is too
small. If your God can't raise
00:53:09.92\00:53:14.39
up your sick body then your God
is too small. If your God can't
00:53:14.42\00:53:18.99
get you another job then your
God is too small. If your God
00:53:19.03\00:53:23.06
can't take you to work on
empty then your God is too small
00:53:23.10\00:53:26.77
If your God can't give you
a promotion, then your God is
00:53:26.80\00:53:30.57
too small. If your God can't
help you raise your children
00:53:30.61\00:53:34.14
then your God is too small.
If your God cannot help you pass
00:53:34.18\00:53:38.18
that class, then your God is
too small. If your God cannot
00:53:38.21\00:53:42.52
find another mortgage payment
then your God is too small
00:53:42.55\00:53:46.32
If your God cannot stop
fore- closure, then your God is
00:53:46.35\00:53:50.53
too small. If God can't
step into your circumstances
00:53:50.56\00:53:54.26
and do something spectacular
to change them for your good
00:53:54.30\00:54:00.47
then you need to trade Him
in and get you another God.
00:54:00.50\00:54:04.37
Because the God I serve, He
sees I said He sees, He sees
00:54:04.41\00:54:11.48
and He will see to it.
00:54:11.51\00:54:16.79
He sees and He will see to it.
00:54:23.09\00:54:26.86
Let me close with a
challenging verse of Scripture.
00:54:29.16\00:54:33.47
Luke 18, verse 8. The Bible
says: When the Son of Man shall
00:54:33.50\00:54:42.78
come, will He find
faith in the earth.
00:54:42.81\00:54:50.32
When the Son of Man shall come
00:54:51.92\00:54:56.69
will He find faith on the earth?
00:54:56.73\00:55:01.10
Times are bad now, are they not?
00:55:01.13\00:55:08.20
Bible Prophecy in
Daniel 12:1 let's us know
00:55:10.21\00:55:14.81
that there's a time of trouble
coming such as there never was
00:55:14.84\00:55:20.05
since there was a nation
on the earth. The problem is
00:55:20.08\00:55:24.29
that we're looking at that
particular passage in future
00:55:24.32\00:55:30.63
times, when in fact
I believe it's here.
00:55:30.66\00:55:36.10
There's a time for
occupy Dallas occupy Dimlah
00:55:37.83\00:55:44.77
occupy L.A., occupy Cairo
00:55:44.81\00:55:49.04
occupy Iran. Look all around
this globe. Trouble everywhere
00:55:49.08\00:55:56.15
It seems there is unrest
every where, there is an erosion
00:55:56.18\00:56:01.32
and loss of stability. People
appear as if they've lost their
00:56:01.36\00:56:07.23
minds. But it's in fact time
when things look the darkest
00:56:07.26\00:56:13.80
and the most forlorn that
we can never ever forget that
00:56:13.84\00:56:18.61
that God sees and
He will see to it.
00:56:18.64\00:56:25.21
That he fixes everything.
00:56:25.25\00:56:29.68
Do you believe that? If you
believe that stand on your feet
00:56:29.72\00:56:33.96
with me today,
if you believe that.
00:56:33.99\00:56:37.29
If you believe that He sees
and will see to it, while you're
00:56:37.33\00:56:43.47
standing, there's someone who's
here today, there's someone here
00:56:43.50\00:56:49.74
today. You're here
and you're saying Pastor
00:56:49.77\00:56:56.31
I must confess that I'm one of
the folk who can't believe that
00:56:57.68\00:57:04.12
God is even aware of me. I
pray and I pray. It doesn't
00:57:04.15\00:57:12.33
appear as if my prayers go
any where. So I got discouraged
00:57:12.36\00:57:18.23
I must confess Pastor I
haven't prayed in quite a while
00:57:18.27\00:57:25.17
because I don't
believe He's listening anymore
00:57:27.01\00:57:30.38
But today, I heard something
today. I heard you say that
00:57:32.11\00:57:37.49
He does see and
He will see to it.
00:57:37.52\00:57:41.29