Sermon Tone Analysis

The Challenge of the Committed—Genesis 22:1-14

 

/“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call,/

/and *may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by his power*.”

*2 Thess.

1:11*/

 

/“14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,/

*/having patiently endured, obtained the promis/*/e//.”

*Hebrews 6:14-15*/

 

To Meet God’s Challenges Of Commitment You Must:

Genesis 22:1-18

 

 

1.

*[HEAR]* God’s *[INSTRUCTIONS]*!

 

/“1 After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Here am I.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

*Verses 1-2*/

 

 

“/16There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.

17 … 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

Amen.*2

Pet 3:16&18*/

 

 

2.

*[GO]* Where God *[DIRECTS]*!

/“3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off.”

*Verses 3-4*/

 

 

/”17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.

18 O that you had hearkened to my commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea”.

*Isaiah 48:17-18*/

 

 

3.

*[TRUST]* God’s *[GOODNESS]*!

/“7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!”

And he said, “Here am I, my son.”

He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

8 Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”

So they went both of them together.”

*Verses 7-8*/

 

 

/“17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.”

19 He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead; hence, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”*

Hebrews 11:17-19*/

 

4.

*[OFFER]* To God What You Most Dearly *[LOVE]*!

/“9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

10 Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.”

*Verses 9-10*/

 

 

/“37 //He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;// 38 //and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.// 39 //He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”

* Matthew 10:37-39*/

/ /

/ /

5.      *[ACCEPT]* What God *[PROVIDES]*!

/“12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

14 So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”*

Verses 12-14*/

 

 

/“10 Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall; 11 so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”/ 2 Peter 1:10-11

 

 

\\ “Have you ever heard of Katie Lynch?

Well, she competed in the 2001 Boston Marathon.

The crowd that was there that day will never forget her and her great accomplishment as they encouraged her across the finish line with tears and cheers.

You see Katie Lynch suffers a rare form of dwarfism.

On race day at the age of 26 she weighted 35 lbs and stood only 28 inches tall.

She also suffered from circulatory problems and back pain.

Most normal days for Kathy were confined to a wheelchair because of her pains.

But on race day, leaning on a tiny walker with wheels, and supported by her two brothers, she walked 26.2 feet to her modified marathon finish line.

A few minutes later the 105th Boston Marathon began and the runners began their 26.2 mile race around Boston.

Whether your challenge from God is 26.2 feet like Katie Lynch’s challenge or 26.2 miles like those runners’ challenge or anything in between or anything beyond, we need to know how to handle the challenges” God brings into our lives.

/(From the introduction of “How to Handle the Challenges of Life” by Dr. Dave Hartson in Sermon Central)/.

He has always challenged his people beyond their human limitations.

He does this so that we learn to be committed to him through faith.

It is important to know that no challenge given by God is impossible.

They are often difficult and need his power to accomplish, but never beyond the reach of people of faith.

For example Sarah laughed in skepticism at the three angel’s promise of Isaac.

Their response to her was “Why did she laugh, and asked “is there anything to hard for the LORD.”

God is not an equal opportunity challenge giver.

Not every challenge is the same because not every one of us equal faith or ability.

Paul says, /“//To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by his power.”/

In general there are three kinds of challenges God gives to us.

First is worthiness or character.

It is the challenge of the transformation of your character to the character Jesus.

For example if I struggle with impatience God calls me to the patience of Jesus.

Second is the challenge of good resolves.

These are the challenges of doing what we know God wants us to do.

For example I know God challenges me to invite unchurched friends to the assembly.

Lastly are the challenges of works of faith.

These are the works that require us to go beyond our limitations to trust the power of God.

For example God challenges us to pray for the sick (a work) and believe (trust in His power) he will heal them.

It is important to note that Paul does not say that he is praying that we become worthy, or fulfill resolves, or do works of faith by our own power.

The way they are accomplished is through God’s power.

We cannot meet God’s challenges outside of faith and his ability to work with us.

This is what makes Abraham so appealing.

He leaves Ur for Canaan with an impossible task of becoming the father of many nations.

The challenge through out his life is to have faith.

It begins as a puny tiny little thing, but with every challenge comes growth and change.

By the time Isaac is a young man Abraham is walking in God’s presence blamelessly.

He offers his son without question or complaint.

The event of Isaac’s sacrifice is a classic example of how to meet God’s challenge of commitment.

The Hebrew writer comments on Isaac’s sacrifice are interesting.

/“//14 //saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise.”/

The promise of blessing and multiplication begin with his call from the Ur at age 65, but he receives them irrevocably after patiently enduring all the challenges of living by faith at around age 125.

God swears with an oath in Genesis 22 and that makes the promise to Abraham inevitable.

It is going to be fulfilled because he’s patiently endured in faith.

We need to be very clear.

Abraham failed often in faith, which means he failed to meet God’s challenges.

What he did not do was to quite, to give up, nor to be overwhelmed.

What he did do was to patiently endure in failure and success.

So let’s look at the last challenge he received from God. He’s experience will give us insight to being worthy of His call, and to fulfilling good resolves, and to works of faith.

*Number one to meet God’s challenges of commitment you must hear God’s instructions.*

The Hebrew word for test is nawsaw which can mean to prove, try, or assay like you would ore from a mine.

The idea is that God is challenging Abraham to see how well he is refined or how pure is his metal.