History's Worst Dad: How Big Moments Revel Faith

Genesis 22 1:19. It says, "Sometime later, God tested Abraham's faith," because he had already screwed up enough times. He wanted to see if maybe he'd learned his lesson. "Abraham," God called. "Yes," He replied, "Here I am." "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I'm going to show you."

This is lame. This is chaotic. How could this be? Let me tell you this. Abraham, while he was a bad dad, he had learned some things.

He had learned that every time he took one direction and God wanted him to get back, God would slap him back into action.

Let me just tell you, the thing I want you to remember from this moment is this, that big moments in your life, dads, everyone here, they reveal your faith. They reveal what you actually are.

It's not a character-building experience. It's a character-revealing experience. In this moment where Abraham was asked to do something that was unimaginable, unfathomable, this child of promise being sacrificed, he had to make a decision, "Do I really believe what I say I believe?"

 The next morning, Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey, took two of his servants with him, along with his son Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for a place God had told him about.

On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. "Stay here with the donkey," Abraham told the servants. "The boy and I will travel a little farther, and we'll worship there. Then we'll. come right back." On travel with the donkey, you get about 20 miles to a day.

At that point, they were living about 60 miles from Mount Moriah, which today is recognized as the Temple Mount in Israel. Actually, there is a building right on top of the place that they believe that Abraham built the altar to sacrifice Isaac. Big deal.

There are places that God wants to take us in our lives that have much more significance than you or I could imagine in the moment. For Abraham, that was this place.

It says, "So then Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, "Father," probably a little crack in his voice, not just puberty. "Yes, my son." "We have the fire in the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?"

Here's Abraham's answer, "God will provide for the burnt offering, my son." Abraham answered, and they both walked together. I'm pretty sure there was more commentary between the two of them, but I like how they sanitized it to this point.

Now, let me just tell you this, when you meet people who have real faith, they're people of action.

Abraham believed God, and he said, "If you're going to provide, I don't know what you're going to do, I don't know how you're going to do it, but I believe, and it's going to lead me up this hill. I don't want it to happen. I don't desire it to happen. My son's going to ask me questions. I can't imagine the questions my wife is going to ask when I get home, but I'm going to follow you." Let me just tell you, real faith leads to action.

When they arrived at the place where God had told them to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son Isaac and laid him on the altar in the top of the wood. Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.

They're very close. Very close. When I was a kid, I would play basketball and I would always imagine shooting the last second. I'd be like, "Three, two, one." I was terrible at basketball, so I'd miss. I would get it back, and I'd go, "Three, two, oh, timeout." I would, oh, until I made it (and the crowd would go *wild*).

I'm sure Abraham, in that moment, is like, "Three, two, please help me."

It says then that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham." Abraham replied, "Here I am." "Don't lay a hand on the boy. Don't hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son."

This is my question for all of us in this room. We've seen an example of extreme faith. Do I really trust that God is going to provide in my life? That's the question we've all got to ask ourselves. Do I really trust God to provide for me? Because if I do, it's going to change the way that I live. I'm not going to live with a scarcity mentality. I'm not going to live trying to get mine. I'm going to have to believe that this is what it really is all about.

Then Abraham looked up and he saw a lamb caught by its horns in a thicket. He took the lamb and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in a place of his son. Abraham named that place Yahweh Yireh, which means the Lord will provide, or you would hear it Jehovah-Jireh today. Today's day people still use that name as a proverb on the mountain of the Lord. It will be provided.

Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven, and this is what the Lord says, "Because you've obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number like the stars in the sky and the sand on the sheet sea shore."

You're going, "Oh, that's what all that was about."

"Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies, and through your descendants, all nations of the earth will be blessed, all because you have obeyed me."

Here's what I need us to know:
1. Big moments in life reveal faith.
2. Real faith always leads to action.
3. Do I really trust God to provide in my life?

Here's where I want to connect the story because Abraham's covenant was based on direction to action and response. It was this. If you do this, then I'll do this. That's what the relationship was between God and Abraham. That is not necessarily what happens today because God changed everything when He sent his son Jesus.

I love the text  where it says, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love so much, and sacrifice him to me."

Foreshadowing of what God would do through His Son to release us from this if you do, then I will relationship.

He, through giving His Son, made a covenant through His Son, Jesus Christ. He's saying, I am a sovereign God. I go first. It's purely about me and what I choose to do in this world.

He calls us, He gives, He saves, He redeems, and we live in the glory of the one God of the universe who gave his Son to be a sacrifice once and for all.

John 3:16, "For this is how God loved the world. He gave His one and only Son so that everyone who believes on Him will not perish but have eternal life." 

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world but to save the world through Him.

 Not to point out how bad we are, but to rescue us from, "If you do, then I will..." because we'll never win. Because I'm like Abraham, I have good days and I have really bad days.

Then in Romans 5:8, we see this, "but God demonstrated His own love for us in this while we were still sinners. Christ died for us." 

I need you to understand that everything about the story of Abraham and his screwed up, jacked-up life and family was pointed to the groaning of the world for a rescuing savior who would come.

He would give His blood freely so that you and I could be made whole again, so that we wouldn't have to just hope and pray that we did things right the right way the right day, but we could stand in the glory of the one who gives us life and say, "Look, I'm going to have good days and I'm going to have bad days but I'm doing it all because I love you and I'm going to do everything I can to stay on the straight and narrow, but I'm trusting you with my life and I give you everything that I am."

God says: while you were in the depths of your sin, I sent my son to rescue you because you're not enough, because you're not strong enough, because you're not bold enough, because you're not brave enough. I sent my son, and if you are in him, you stand in his glory as my child.

Some of us have really bad dads. I'm here to declare today that God the Father keeps his promises, and it is not the Father that maybe you knew. I'm still just a bad carbon copy of what I'm trying to be, but I have a father who keeps his promises. Yes, my earthly father is here in his cool t-shirt today that says He's the Greatest Papa of all Time.

That's not the one I'm talking about.

I'm talking about the one who sent his son and gave his life so that you and I could live the lives we've been given to live. I want to declare for this place today that there is one father who will never let you down. There is one standard, and he will never let you down.