Participants: Pastor John Lomacang
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000035A
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00:32 I'm always extra blessed
00:34 when we come to the time for our communion, 00:38 because to me it's a story 00:40 that never needs to stop being told 00:43 about the prevision of Jesus for our Salvation. 00:47 Can the church say amen? Amen. 00:50 The story about our salvation 00:52 is one that should never stop being told. 00:55 If somebody were to tell 00:57 the story about how they were rescued, 01:01 they would, throughout their entire life, 01:04 repeat the beauty of God's deliverance on their lives. 01:10 The story of our redemption will never stop being told. 01:16 It will be told throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. 01:20 And I plan on being there to tell my part, 01:22 what about you? 01:23 I want to tell what the Lord did for me, 01:25 how He changed my life, how He redeemed me. 01:30 And so whenever I get ready for communion, 01:32 I don't come with the pretence that, 01:34 "Well, you know, I've been a pastor 30 years, 01:36 and I've been married 34 years, 01:37 and I've been an Adventist X amount of years." 01:39 No, I come to the intersection of who He is and who I am, 01:43 to remember 01:45 that had it not been for His grace 01:46 and His blessing and His prevision, 01:48 I could not even stand up here today. 01:52 We come to the foot of the cross 01:53 and I invite you to take your Bibles this morning 01:55 and open to Genesis 22:8. 02:01 Genesis 22:8, 02:02 one of the most profound stories in the Bible 02:06 that prefigured in us, 02:08 gave us a fore picture 02:13 of the work that Jesus would accomplish 02:16 when He came as the lamb 02:18 that taketh away the sin of the world. 02:22 Genesis 22:8 02:27 and I like you to read this with me. 02:30 I always like to give you a chance to get a reset. 02:32 Let's stand together and read the scripture. 02:34 Kind of something 02:36 I'd like to give you a chance to extend those lungs. 02:38 Let's stand together and read the word of God 02:40 as on the screen. 02:42 And the Bible says, together: 02:44 "And Abraham said, 02:46 "My son, 02:48 God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." 02:53 So the two of them went together." 02:57 Let's bow our heads. 02:58 Loving Father, now take Your word 03:01 and confirm it and affirm it in our hearts 03:06 that this message of redemption 03:09 will be one that receives in us 03:13 the deepest of appreciation 03:15 for what Jesus has done to redeem each one of us, 03:19 in your precious name I pray, amen. 03:24 You may be seated. 03:27 I want to begin with the statement that really, 03:32 the Lord put on my heart. 03:34 You know, one of the challenges of telling the old, old story 03:38 is try to find new ways to tell an old story. 03:42 Try to find new ways 03:43 to make an old story relevant and exciting. 03:47 The fact that Jesus died for us is a beautiful story. 03:53 It is one that should never stop being told. 03:57 But the focal point this morning, 03:59 the life of Abraham and his son, Isaac, 04:02 the sacrifice, the journey to Mount Moriah. 04:06 It has a great significance that brings us 04:08 to the table of communion today 04:10 because the reality is, 04:12 a Christian that has not been tested 04:14 is a Christian that has not been approved. 04:21 I assume you believe that. 04:25 I could never tell, but I assume you believe that. 04:29 A Christian that has not been tested 04:31 is a Christian that has not been approved. 04:34 And I support that with the following observation: 04:40 Now every one of us drives. 04:42 I'm assuming most of you have a car 04:44 or maybe some of you have a driver's license 04:46 but don't have a car 04:47 or you've driven in a car before. 04:49 One of the things you want to know 04:50 when you get into anyone's car 04:52 is that you're going to be safe. 04:56 Is that, that car has been tested 04:57 before it has been released to be put on the road? 05:02 And with that in mind 05:03 I decided to do some homework and look at 05:05 how car manufacturers think about us 05:08 and what they do to assure that when we begin to drive, 05:13 that we can feel safe and secure 05:16 and to getting into their car. 05:17 By the way the cars are made by people we don't know, 05:20 never met them, don't know where they are, 05:25 don't know if they had a good or bad day 05:27 when they released that car and approved it for road use. 05:30 We don't have any idea of any of those things. 05:33 So I decided with a car manufacturer 05:35 that I thought had pretty high standards 05:38 and I decided to glean from the Jaguar website 05:42 these following words, 05:44 talking about their commitment to quality and I quote: 05:50 "Throughout each stage of design, 05:53 development, and production, 05:55 every component of a Jaguar goes through thousands of tests 06:01 and checks for safety, durability, and quality, 06:07 ensuring that the finished product, the what? 06:11 The finished product is the most reliable, 06:15 dependable, and safest car you can drive. 06:20 How many tests? Thousands of tests. 06:24 How many checks? Thousands of checks. 06:27 And I decided to look at one of their videos 06:29 and I realized 06:30 the same thing is done for the tires on our cars. 06:34 For the windshields... 06:36 For the windshield wipers, 06:37 they simulate thousands of hours of use. 06:41 They would put a car tire on a machine 06:44 that will take that car tire to the suggested speeds 06:47 and they would run that car tire 06:49 simulating the use of a car tire 06:50 for maybe for years, 06:52 but they will shorten the period of time, 06:54 intensify the testing to make sure 06:56 that when that tire is on your vehicle, 06:59 it won't give out, it won't fall apart. 07:02 If they see in that vehicle or in that car, 07:05 or in that manufactured product, 07:07 any sign of weakness, 07:10 they put it back on the assembly line, 07:13 they put it back to the manufacturer, 07:16 they focus on the area where that vehicle is weak, 07:19 where that component is weak, where that tire is weak. 07:23 They make adjustments, 07:24 then they put it back on the testing line 07:26 to make sure that before it's released to us, 07:29 it's been proven for safety, 07:31 durability, quality, reliability, dependability. 07:35 Amen, somebody? Amen. 07:37 Because we don't want to get in the car 07:39 and that thing falls apart 07:41 or the tires give out on the road. 07:43 When we buy it, 07:45 we have the mindset that some deep consideration 07:49 has been taken to ensure quality 07:52 in that individual. 07:53 And the thought came to me... 07:55 You see a Christian that has not been tested 07:58 is a Christian that has not been approved. 08:01 If the car manufacturer 08:03 put their machines through rigorous testing 08:06 before they are considered durable, reliable, dependable, 08:10 and of high quality. 08:13 God will put us through tests 08:16 before we are considered durable, reliable, dependable, 08:19 and of high quality of service to Him. 08:23 And before God provides the blessing, 08:25 God puts us through testing. 08:28 Do you know that? That's a fact. 08:33 That's an evidence. 08:34 God's provision always comes after God's testing. 08:41 God's blessings always come 08:45 after we have been tested and proven. 08:48 God never blesses us before He tests us. 08:53 He always tests us before He provides. 08:57 What His testing reveals that we're in need of Him. 09:01 And for us to appreciate what God provides, 09:03 we must understand what our needs are. 09:08 God always tests us. 09:09 Have you been through a test this week? 09:12 Some of you have. Most of you are just fine. 09:17 Have you been through a test this week? 09:18 Amen. 09:20 A Christian that has not been tested 09:22 is a Christian that is not reliable, 09:26 thus the test. 09:28 But I also discovered something else. 09:30 God never informs us ahead of time 09:33 when the test will come. 09:36 God never says 09:37 you're gonna be tested this week. 09:39 God never forewarns us about the kind of test 09:42 that will come 09:44 but when the test does come, 09:46 be sure that God has allowed the test to come. 09:52 Open your Bibles to Genesis Chapter 22 09:54 and walk with me 09:55 through this very profound story 09:57 that sets the stage and sets the foundation 10:00 for our communion service today. 10:02 Genesis 22:1. 10:08 Last Sabbath my sermon was a silence of the lamb. 10:12 It wasn't the silence of the saints. 10:15 Help me out somebody. Amen. 10:17 You guys are like dormant. 10:20 Breathe, at least let me hear you breathe. 10:23 Clear your throat, do something. 10:26 Thank you, cough, 10:28 whatever you gotta do, let me know you're there. 10:31 Sometimes I think, man, 10:32 do I need to just preach to the chairs. 10:35 Come to church on Sabbath, 10:36 come praising God that we're here. 10:39 Genesis 22:1: Look at the text. Look at how God works. 10:44 And when you walk through this sermon, remember, 10:47 this sermon, this message 10:48 is a prefiguring 10:51 thousand years, 10:54 like fifteen hundred years before Jesus showed up. 10:58 This story is written to remind us 11:01 of how beautiful 11:03 the sacrifice of Jesus would be 11:06 to understand the relationship of the Father to the Son, 11:09 the Son to the Christian and the gravity, 11:13 the gravity of what Jesus contributed, 11:16 what Jesus sacrificed, 11:19 what Jesus gave just to redeem us. 11:23 And the reason I'm just giving the emphasis today because, 11:26 you know, when you're a Christian 11:28 for a length of, or any period of time, 11:30 you can come to the place 11:32 where you lose appreciation for what God has done for you. 11:36 You kind of... 11:38 You know, when you have a good cook like my wife, 11:40 she cooks very well. 11:41 Yesterday she hooked me up. 11:44 You know, as I was out cutting the lawn 11:46 and I came in the house. 11:47 And, you know, how it is when you come in the house 11:48 and your wife cooks 11:50 or if you're the husband that cook, 11:51 vice versa, I don't know. 11:53 But when your favorite meal is being cooked, 11:55 you smell it and you get this different feeling. 11:58 I walked in the house the other day, 12:00 yesterday and I could just smell 12:02 from the aroma coming from the kitchen. 12:06 I said, "this is going to be a really good meal tonight." 12:10 And my wife cooked a vegetarian meatloaf 12:13 and West Indian rice and peas and curried cabbage 12:18 and I had like four plates of food. 12:20 Do I look like it? Come on. 12:22 I had four plates of... 12:24 I enjoyed the meal. 12:27 She provided, 12:29 she provided a meal and I'm excited about that. 12:32 Would, that we would get excited 12:35 that God provided his Son to save us? 12:40 And unless you, 12:41 you see right now in this little quiet, 12:43 you know, this secluded little community, 12:45 you know, drive bys going on right now, 12:48 no hip-hop music 12:49 and nobody outside breaking the windows 12:51 to the house next door. 12:52 You know, we're so secluded. 12:54 Some of you ought to go to New York for a week 12:55 and then come back. 12:57 Go to Detroit. Go to LA. Go to Chicago. 13:02 While you're passing out tracks, 13:03 you're dodging bullets. 13:05 You know, go to the city 13:06 and then you come back to Thompsonville, 13:07 you'll say, "Lord Jesus, thank you for the solitude 13:11 of this quiet little community." 13:13 But some of you ain't been anywhere, 13:15 where you had to just 13:16 kind of go up the steps and look behind yourself. 13:19 You haven't been, 13:20 where the car almost ran you off the road 13:22 and you made it. 13:24 But God was there 13:26 to let you know that He could carry you through. 13:28 But look at the test. 13:30 Look at how God sets the stage for us. 13:32 This beautiful example 13:34 of the Father and the Son relationship, 13:36 not only in reference to Abraham and Isaac 13:39 but in reference to the Father and the Son in our behalf. 13:44 Genesis 22:1, the Bible says, 13:46 "Now it came to pass 13:48 after these things that God" did what? 13:53 "God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham." 13:59 And he said, "Here I am." 14:01 God tested Abraham, "Abraham" and he said, "Here I am." 14:05 A very important point. 14:06 We must be willing to give ourselves to God 14:09 before God gives Himself to us. 14:13 "Here I am." 14:14 If God were to call you this morning, 14:15 would you say, "Here I am." 14:17 Isaiah, when he heard the voice of God he said, 14:18 "Here I am." 14:21 The test of a Christian 14:22 who is connected to God is whenever God calls, 14:25 he or she is willing to say, "Here I am." 14:30 And the blessing comes 14:31 when we make ourselves available to God. 14:33 We don't make ourselves available 14:35 because we're qualified, 14:36 we make ourselves available 14:38 because God is qualified and we're simply vessels, 14:42 we're like the pipes, Jesus is the water. 14:45 We're like the wire, Jesus the electricity. 14:49 He is the one that has all the prevision. 14:53 But when God calls, remember this. 14:55 When He is testing us, 14:57 God will never ask us to surrender something 15:00 that costs us nothing. 15:05 Verse 2 of Genesis Chapter 22. 15:11 "Then He said, that is God said, 15:15 "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, 15:21 whom you love..." 15:22 Let me pause. 15:24 When the Father decided to send his Son, 15:26 He sent the Son that He loved. 15:30 For God so loved the world, that He did what? 15:33 Gave. 15:34 He didn't send "a" son, He sent his "only" son. 15:38 And He sent his son out of a love for us 15:42 but a deep love for his Son. 15:43 And, you know, 15:45 it's gonna take eternity for us to understand 15:48 what will bring the Father match to the place 15:50 where He's sending His son 15:53 with a high possibility that he will not come back. 15:58 With a high probability that Jesus would come 16:01 and could fail the mission 16:03 and we could ever, 16:04 forever be locked in this defeat of sin 16:07 and suffering and death and funerals will be final 16:10 and there will be no more resurrection 16:11 and hell would completely encapsulate 16:15 the earth and Satan, his demons would run unrestrained 16:18 throughout eternity. 16:19 That was the possibility. 16:21 So God gave His only Son knowing 16:24 that in that kind of environment, 16:27 Jesus could have failed in the flesh of humanity. 16:30 But He gave His Son not only out of love for us 16:34 but out of love for His Son. 16:37 The plan of salvation required 16:39 the only one 16:41 that can redeem fallen humanity. 16:45 "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, 16:47 whom you love and go to the land of Moriah 16:52 and offer him 16:54 there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains 16:58 of which I shall tell you." 17:01 This human account is a preproduction 17:03 of the divine account of God and the Son. 17:05 This journey 17:07 that Isaac and Abraham took is synonymous to the journey 17:10 that the Father and the Son took in our behalf. 17:13 And I'm gonna say, 17:15 I know, I've been prefacing things. 17:17 I want to say, I'm not gonna say, 17:19 'I want to say,' I'm going to say, 17:21 "Praise God that the Father and the Son 17:24 was willing to take that journey to save me." 17:26 Amen. 17:35 But before Jesus faced 17:37 any of the earthly temptations and tests, 17:39 He endured the greatest test already 17:42 and that is separation from His Father. 17:49 Just think about the day. It's time to go. 17:53 The Apostle Paul says, 17:55 "When the fullness of time had come, 17:57 when the time had been determined 17:59 for Jesus to come. 18:00 When the fullness of time had come, 18:03 God sent forth his Son. 18:05 When the fullness of time had come, 18:07 God sent forth his Son and the journey began." 18:13 And the Lord told Abraham 18:15 what mountain to go to and Abraham took his servants. 18:19 They took wood, they took fire, they took all the provisions, 18:24 they took everything they could 18:27 and they began this journey, 18:28 this deep-seeded conviction 18:30 that Abraham didn't want to tell his wife about. 18:32 He did not wake up Sarah. 18:37 Because if you waited that long to have a Son, 18:41 and your husband wakes you up in the morning 18:44 at 4 o'clock and says, 18:46 "Isaac and I are going out for a camping trip today." 18:51 And she says, "Where are you going." 18:52 He said, to mount... 18:54 I guess God's gonna tell us where to go." 18:57 And what's the purpose of your journey? 18:58 Well, the Lord told me to sacrifice Isaac." 19:04 I want to tell you, that mother, 19:06 that mother would jump out of that bed 19:08 and question 19:09 the sanity of her husband and the divinity of her God. 19:14 "Is not this the son 19:16 that the Lord promised to bless us with?" 19:17 "Yes." 19:19 "Isn't this the one that, 19:20 He said, 'in his seed all the nations 19:21 of the earth will be blessed? 19:23 Well, how is it that this same God 19:25 who just gave us the son is going to tell us that... 19:29 Are you all right, Abraham? 19:35 You need to go get a check-up. 19:38 I mean, think about it, your only son. 19:42 So when did God tell you this? 19:44 Well, He told me this last night. 19:46 Well, He didn't tell me. 19:48 And since he's half of my son, 19:49 you're not taking my son out of here. 19:52 God gave that impression. So Abraham left. 19:55 Didn't tell his wife. 19:58 But notice what he did. Let's go to verse 6. 20:02 Every action prefigured the actions 20:04 that Jesus would take under the direction of His Father. 20:08 And the Bible says, "So Abraham took the wood." 20:12 He took the what? 20:13 "The wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, 20:19 and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, 20:22 and the two of them went together. 20:25 He took the wood and laid it on his son." 20:29 When I read that, I remembered in John 19:17. 20:34 Just look very carefully there. 20:36 Speaking about Jesus on his way to Calvary. 20:39 Look at what Jesus did in the very same setting. 20:43 Look what Jesus did 20:44 in the very same setting, John 19:17. 20:47 The wood is there on Isaac 20:49 but the wood of the cross 20:50 is laid on Jesus and the Bible says, 20:51 "And He, bearing His cross, 20:55 went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, 20:57 which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha," 21:00 the place of a skull. 21:01 So as the wood was laid on the shoulder of Isaac, 21:04 the cross was laid on the shoulder of Jesus, 21:06 prefiguring the very same thing. 21:08 Abraham representing the Father, 21:10 Jesus represented by Isaac, 21:12 the wood on the shoulder of Isaac, 21:14 the cross on the shoulder of Jesus, 21:16 the sacrifice ahead of them, 21:19 the greatest gift, his only Son to be given 21:22 for the redemption. 21:23 The test came to them both. 21:27 But I like the fact that Isaac followed Abraham 21:31 with no knowledge of the plan of the sacrifice. 21:34 He did not know 21:36 and so we ask the words in verse 7 and 8. 21:40 Did not know the plan of the sacrifice. 21:42 There were certain things about that plan 21:44 that Abraham kept aloof from his son. 21:46 And let me also make the application, 21:48 when Jesus was born into the world as a babe, 21:51 He did not know as an infant, 21:52 He did not know until the Lord shows the time 21:55 to reveal to Him the plan of salvation. 21:57 He did not know that there was a cross ahead of him, 22:00 until the day came. 22:01 And He began to gain this knowledge 22:03 when He was in the temple at 12 years old 22:05 and He said to his mother and father, 22:07 I must be about my Father's business. 22:09 The Father began to unfold him 22:11 briefly the plan of salvation... 22:16 Until it became very clear. 22:18 And He said to his disciples, 22:19 "It is for this reason that I've come into the world. 22:21 It is for this hour that I've come into the world. 22:23 This is your hour and the power of darkness. 22:26 He understood at that moment 22:28 that this is the very reason I've come." 22:31 But Isaac did not know his journey to Mount Moriah. 22:34 He asked questions in verse 7 and 8. 22:37 "But Isaac spoke to Abraham 22:38 his father and said, "My father!" 22:40 And he said, "Here I am, my son." 22:42 Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, 22:45 but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 22:49 And Abraham said, 22:54 "My son, God will provide." 22:58 Let's say that together. 23:00 "God will provide for himself 23:04 the lamb for a burnt offering. 23:07 So the two of them went together." 23:09 The proper way that that is, 23:11 and I remember this so wonderfully, 23:13 our seminary professor, 23:17 who was a, was a... 23:21 I don't want to use the word "Ace" of a teacher 23:23 because that's not the proper terminology. 23:25 A man experienced in the study of Hebrew. 23:33 He said, when you read that passage, 23:35 the way that it's better read is, 23:38 "God will provide himself 23:44 a lamb for the burnt offering." 23:52 That's why when Jesus was introduced they said, 23:57 call His name Emmanuel, God with us. 24:02 God will provide Himself. 24:06 God didn't send a substitute, He provided Himself. 24:12 Well, I wish I could just buy an amen this morning. 24:15 God, the Creator of limitless space and time... 24:25 The one for whom there are no boundaries, 24:30 the one whom the angels adore day and night. 24:32 Worthy, worthy is the lamb. 24:37 God provided Himself 24:40 for this little motley planet 24:43 that He could just thought, 24:44 He could just have thoughtless out of existence. 24:48 But He loved us so much 24:50 in the dust of the constellations 24:54 that are still being estimated 24:56 by scientists with limited capability. 24:59 In their own understanding, there are billions of galaxies 25:02 in which there are billions of suns and stars 25:05 and all types of moving parts, if I could the layman's terms. 25:12 And yet in that little galaxy, 25:13 I was looking the other day the Andromeda Galaxy. 25:16 It is said that 25:18 we're within the same belt of the Andromeda 25:21 and the Milky Way 25:22 and the Andromeda has over one trillion stars 25:25 and the Milky Way, 200 to 400 billion stars. 25:29 They said, we are just two of the billions of galaxies 25:32 that this God created and He took a vacation 25:37 from creating galaxies and came down here to get me. 25:49 And that news sometimes hits us like a sleeping pill. 25:54 You're right, happy He did that, 25:56 don't wake me up. 26:04 But the offer of Isaac was a dual sacrifice. 26:08 The father had to give his only son 26:11 and the son had to submit to the will of the father. 26:14 Amen. 26:16 Verse 9 and 10. 26:20 I'm almost done. 26:23 But I didn't want to give you a... 26:28 I don't want to give you crumbs 26:29 because I wanted us to understand this morning, 26:33 this communion service 26:34 that we have participated in so frequently, 26:36 sometimes could lose its importance, 26:39 become a great ceremony 26:40 that we just have to hurry through, 26:42 get our unfermented wine 26:44 and get our cracker with no yeast and just... 26:49 "Thank You Lord, for the Sabbath." 26:51 But when I read the story 26:53 about what Jesus was willing to go 26:55 through to save us, 27:00 He says now you've got to communicate that, 27:02 I've called you to do that. 27:06 Verse 9 and 10: 27:10 "Then they came to the place of which God had told him." 27:14 I want to add this. 27:15 When Jesus came to Calvary... 27:18 It's important to get this. 27:19 When Jesus came to Calvary 27:22 He was not there without His Father. 27:26 He was there with His Father. 27:31 I told you this a few weeks ago, 27:33 maybe a month or so ago, 27:34 that the reason 27:35 for the darkness on the hill called Golgotha 27:38 is that the glory of the Father had to be veiled, 27:43 so that this perfection of divinity, 27:46 God in his unbridled power 27:51 and divinity and might could not have exposed 27:55 that glory to a Son 27:56 that was wrapped in human flesh, 27:58 lest He consume Him. 28:00 And so over the hours that Jesus hung on the cross, 28:03 there was darkness that covered the hill. 28:06 Yet that signified at that particular moment 28:09 there was a need for a veil 28:11 to be between the Father and the Son, 28:13 lest the Son in his humanity 28:15 would be consumed by the Father's divinity. 28:19 So when you read in verse 9, 28:21 "Then they came to the place of which God had told him, 28:24 they went together." 28:26 The Father was at the cross when His Son was there. 28:30 He was at the tomb when His son came forth 28:34 and He was in the halls of eternity 28:38 when the decision to send forth 28:39 His Son was already made. 28:44 And He created the wood on which His Son would hang. 28:47 "And Abraham built an altar there 28:49 and placed the wood in order, 28:51 and he bound Isaac his son 28:52 and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 28:55 And Abraham stretched out his hand 28:57 and took the knife to slay his son." 29:02 You read that. 29:08 Let's go back to the house. 29:11 Sarah, wow, they've gone for a number of hours. 29:15 I wonder what's taken them so long. 29:18 There is Abraham sweating and crying at the same time. 29:22 God must really mean this. There he is. 29:25 You got to, you got to, you got to go there with him. 29:27 There is Abraham wondering, 29:29 perspiration, in trepidation, shaking. 29:32 When you read, when you read 29:34 the writings of the servant of the Lord, 29:37 we're told that the son had to confirm, 29:41 the son had to comfort his father, 29:42 it's gonna be okay. 29:45 If God told you to do it, do it, 29:47 because Isaac was young enough to break away from the moment. 29:51 His father was old. He could not overpower the son. 29:54 He could have breaking away. 29:55 This is one of the most powerful examples of obedience, 30:00 submitting to the will of the father. 30:01 And when Jesus was in the same position... 30:05 He said in John 5:30. 30:07 "I can of myself do nothing. 30:09 As I hear I judge and my judgment is righteous 30:13 because I do not seek my own will, 30:16 but the will of the Father who sent me." 30:18 In other words, not my will but thine be done. 30:29 And he says in John 10:17: 30:34 "Therefore my Father loves me 30:35 because I lay down my life that I may take it again." 30:39 Very important point. 30:42 Until we are willing to lay down our lives, 30:46 we will not be given 30:47 the privilege of embracing our lives. 30:50 We'll not be given 30:51 the privilege of holding our lives. 30:53 You know, the Lord says that, 30:55 unless a grain of wheat falls on to the ground and dies, 30:57 it abides alone. 30:59 The Lord was testing to see whether or not Abraham 31:02 was worthy of holding on to his son 31:04 and his son was being tested to see 31:06 whether or not his life 31:08 meant more to God than to himself. 31:11 And when your life means more to God than to you, 31:14 he that seeks to save his life will lose it. 31:17 If Isaac chose not to lay down, he would have lost his life. 31:22 But he that is willing to lose his life for my sake 31:25 and the kingdom will find it. 31:27 And I want to tell you today, 31:28 there's no greater blessing 31:29 than to be willing to lay down your agenda, your life, 31:32 your plans for the plans of God, 31:34 so that He can bless it and give it back to you. 31:39 That's what He did. 31:41 God revealed the blessing at the intersection 31:43 of the sacrifice, not a moment before. 31:46 In other words, 31:47 we've got to be willing to go all the way to that moment 31:49 where we're saying, "When will God step in?" 31:53 That where Abraham... 31:54 When will God step in? 31:56 And is this really what he wants me to do? 31:59 When will God step in? And He did in verse 13. 32:02 Abraham, verse 11: 32:04 "But the angel of the Lord called him 32:06 from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. 32:09 And so he said, here I am." 32:14 And by the way when it says the angel of the Lord, 32:17 that's the Lord. 32:18 And He said, do not lay your hand on the lad 32:21 or do anything to him, 32:23 for now I know that you fear God 32:25 since you've not withheld your son, 32:28 your only son from me. 32:35 And so as I wind up this morning, 32:36 I like to invite Joel to come 32:37 and play as I'm winding up here. 32:40 The question this morning that I asked you 32:41 as we prepare for communion service, 32:43 as you look at your life in the context of October 2017, 32:48 I have to ask you the question: 32:51 Abraham did not withhold his son, 32:53 Isaac did not withhold his life, 32:55 what have you withheld from God? 32:58 What have you withheld? What are you withholding? 33:01 Your time? Your ability? 33:05 What are you withholding from God? 33:09 Anything that you surrender to God 33:12 will result in blessings that God will give to you. 33:16 But anything you refuse to surrender 33:18 will result in blessings that God will not give. 33:22 Now last two verses. 33:24 Verse 13 and 14. 33:31 "When Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, 33:35 and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket." 33:39 I got to stop and say, that ram wasn't caught, 33:41 God put that ram there. 33:42 Amen, somebody? The Lord provided. 33:44 That ram didn't... 33:46 That ram was not running and got caught. 33:48 The Lord said, "Not my son, but you." 33:52 But when you look at the parallel, 33:54 when Jesus went to the cross, 33:56 the lamb was set free and the Lamb of God 33:59 was the one that gave His life. 34:02 You see, the reality of it is, 34:05 we will test God as Judas did, 34:09 thinking that the lamb would always get away. 34:11 Let me say this clearly. 34:13 We will test God 34:14 in our lack of complete dedication thinking 34:17 that He will always dismiss himself, 34:19 but the day will come 34:21 if we continue testing Him without giving our all that, 34:24 that's the day that He will not get away 34:27 and we will be guilty of crucifying 34:29 the Son of God all over again. 34:34 "Ram caught in the thicket by its horns, 34:37 like the horns of the altar 34:38 on which the blood of the lamb was sprinkled, 34:42 so Abraham went and took the ram 34:44 and offered it up 34:45 for a burnt offering instead of his son. 34:49 And Abraham called the name of the place 34:51 the Lord will Provide." 34:52 Say that with me, the Lord will provide. 34:55 To this very day, when we go to the holy lands, 34:57 later on this year, first time we're gonna go. 35:00 I want to go to Mount Moriah. 35:04 I'm gonna say, show me the place 35:06 as best as you can describe 35:07 where Abraham took his son Isaac 35:11 to be sacrificed. 35:12 And they tell me that Mount Moriah, 35:17 where Abraham was to sacrifice his son, 35:20 on the other side of that was a mountain 35:22 where Moses stood, 35:23 to look over into the promise land. 35:24 You could see them across from each other. 35:26 God has a way of taking those 35:28 who serve Him to the mountain top 35:30 to show them his blessings, to show them His promises. 35:35 The Lord will provide. 35:37 Jesus will provide Himself 35:41 if we are willing to provide ourselves. 35:45 The lesson for us today, 35:46 are you willing to provide yourself? 35:49 If you are, 35:51 He will provide Himself 35:52 because He doesn't, what more we have? 35:55 He wants us. 35:58 I'm with the statements I began with: 36:00 A Christian that has not been tested 36:03 is a Christian that has not been approved, 36:05 is a Christian that's not reliable. 36:08 We must be willing to give ourselves to God 36:10 before He gives Himself to us. 36:12 And the communion service today is evidence 36:16 that He has given Himself to us. 36:18 But today, 36:19 we invite you to once again give yourself to the Lord. 36:25 Today, before the communion service, 36:27 we have the ordinance of humility, 36:30 the foot washing service. 36:31 In John Chapter 13, 36:33 Jesus established the example as He knelt 36:36 before his disciples and washed their feet. 36:39 Today, the ladies will gather 36:42 in JD's classroom right to my left, 36:44 to wash one another's feet. 36:47 The men will gather in the foreyard 36:50 outside of this door to the back 36:52 to wash one another's feet. 36:55 What's the significance of that? 36:58 Jesus says, "I've given you an example 36:59 that you should do as I have done." 37:06 If you know these things 37:07 and you do them, blessed are you. 37:13 If you know these things 37:15 and you do them, you're blessed. 37:21 As we serve each other in preparation 37:23 for the communion service, 37:25 please keep your conversations away 37:28 from things of the world. 37:31 If you want to talk about anything, 37:32 talk about the blessing of Jesus in your life 37:35 and then we will reconvene here 37:38 for the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. 37:41 Let us pray. 37:43 Loving Father in heaven, 37:45 we thank You Lord 37:47 that You were willing to give Your Son, 37:49 Your only Son. 37:51 Jesus, we thank You 37:54 that You were willing to submit and give Your life, 37:57 Your only life 38:00 that we might have life and have it more abundantly. 38:03 So today, Lord, reconfirm in our hearts 38:06 the significance 38:07 and the meaning of this great sacrifice. 38:09 And may we not partake or accept this with complacency 38:14 but with hearts of dedication and sincerity. 38:18 May you be exalted, uplifted, and praised, we ask. 38:21 Bless now our service to one another. 38:25 May we humble our hearts in Jesus' name I pray, amen. |
Revised 2017-12-07