4_30_2023 - The Providing God

Opening Prayer)

(Sermon Introduction)

Today we begin our new series entitled “New Eyes,” focusing on seeing what we call the “Old Testament” with “New Eyes.”

(Series Context)

We recognize that it takes a lot of time and study to unpack the Old Testament with “New Eyes.”

However, we cannot overlook the importance of the Old Testament to the development of the Early Church and to the understanding the Gospel message and the depth of what Jesus the Christ has done for us.

I cannot tell you the number of times over the years that I have had well meaning people tell me, even those claiming to be Christians, that Jesus Christ hasn’t always been.

As we begin today I want to set the stage for this series with an understanding that Jesus has always been, He is, and He will be forevermore.

John 1:1–5 (ESV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Jesus is a distinct person of the Trinity.

As we take a look at the First Testament with New Eyes, I find it interesting how many western believers miss the obvious things that eastern believers would see quickly.

For instance, Eastern Eyes when they meet Jesus for the first time, find that He is all over the texts of Scripture.

They see Him readily, while we struggle to make the connection.

Rev. Lynn Lapka

All Scripture is prophetic in one sense or another, all of it speaking and looking to Jesus.

2 Peter 1:19–21 (ESV)

19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.

21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Rev. Charles H. Spurgeon

“Just as every road of England leads to London, every road of Scripture leads to Christ.”

“Don’t you know, young man, that from every town and every village and every hamlet in England, wherever it may be, there is a road to London? So from every text in Scripture there is a road toward the great metropolis, Christ. And my dear brother, your business is, when you get to a text, to say, ‘Now what is the road to Christ?’ I have never found a text that had not got a road to Christ in it, and if ever I find one…I will go over hedge and ditch but I would get my Master, for the sermon cannot do any good unless there is a saviour of Christ in it.”

(Spurgeon. “Christ Precious to Believers,” sermon at Music Hall, Royal Surry Gardens, London, March 13, 1859.)

Revelation 19:10 (ESV)

10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

As we work our way through Scripture, we are going to be looking at different accounts in the Old Testament where Christ is revealed in a powerful way.

I believe that God is going to give you new eyes as you read the Scripture, so that you see Christ!

(Abraham and Isaac Context)

Today we are going to be talking about Abraham and Isaac.

Last week we focused on Hagar and Ishmael in Genesis 16 and 21.

Abram and Sarai who would later become Abraham and Sarah were childless.

However, God had promised Abraham that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars.

Abraham and Sarah impatient and not fully understanding how God would bring about the promise went through with a plan that involved Abraham having a son through Sarah’s servant, Hagar.

His name was Ishmael.

God again promises that He is faithful and will bring about His promise, His way, through Sarah.

Isaac is born to Abraham when he is 100 years old (Sarah is 90).

After Isaac is grown (between 18 and 37 years of age), The LORD tests Abraham in an unthinkable way.

This is where we pick up the story.

Genesis 22:1–18 (ESV)

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am. (Heb. Hineni)”

hineni / hee-nay-nee / הִנֵנִי / behold, I am prepared

HERE I AM/Behold: Hineni. (Strong’s 2009).

Hineni was a very brave, look at me, statement.

Root: הִנֵּה

Sounds like hee’neh, hee’neh’nee, heen’nee.

The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words

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 on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, 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 from afar.

5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.

7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, 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 for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

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

10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy 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.”

15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven

16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,

17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,

18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

(Abraham’s Faith or Sacrificial Provision?)

As we look at this story of Abraham we see several underlying themes and truths that we can take from this story.

This isn’t uncommon in Scripture.

In fact, this is one of the reasons why I believe that proper understanding and interpretation of the Scriptures begins with understanding the true purpose and the true hero of the Scriptures.

To rightly understand and interpret Scripture it is paramount to recognize that we are not meant to see the heroes of Scripture as a better version of ourselves or even a call to be better versions of ourselves.

You are not called to be David, you are meant to recognize that Christ is the perfect David.

Scripture is meant to show us the holes in mankind’s ability to live for God.

Jesus Christ is the goal.

Jesus Christ is the One these stories are about.

However, we recognize that these stories have many encouraging aspects, principles, and ties to the character of believers and our part in the story.

But the truth is, if we don’t get to Christ in the story there is no power to experience the truth or transformation that the story is meant to give us.

No Christ, no change.

Having said all of that, I am going to focus on understanding the life changing truth and connection to Christ that the story of Abraham and Isaac gives us rather than only the faith of Abraham.

(Sermon Title: The Providing God)

The title of the sermon today is: The Providing God.

Take note of a few things in the story:

Perhaps no scene in the Bible gives a clearer foreshadowing of the death of God’s only, well-beloved Son on the cross.

This test of Abraham’s faith came when God ordered him to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering in the land of Moriah.

Mount Zion is a mount on this range.

Moriah is the mountain range where Jerusalem is situated (2 Chron. 3:1) and also where Calvary stood.

God’s words, “your only son Isaac, whom you love,” must have pierced Abraham’s heart like ever-deepening wounds.

Isaac was Abraham’s only son in the sense that he was the only son of promise—the unique son, the son of miraculous birth.

The first occurrence of a word in the Bible often sets the pattern for its usage throughout Scripture. Love (v. 2) and “worship” (v. 5) are first found here.

Abraham’s love for his son is a faint picture of God’s love for the Lord Jesus.

The sacrifice of Isaac was a picture of the greatest act of worship—the Savior’s self-sacrifice to accomplish the will of God.

1. God Gave Jesus: “His Only Son”

To offer Isaac was surely the supreme test of Abraham’s faith.

God had promised to give Abraham a numberless posterity through his son.

Isaac could have been as much as twenty-five at this time, and he was unmarried.

If Abraham slew him, how could the promise be fulfilled?

According to Hebrews 11:19, Abraham believed that even if he slew his son, God would raise him from the dead.

This faith was remarkable because there was no recorded case of resurrection up to this time in the world’s history.

There are two outstanding symbols of Christ in this chapter.

Isaac is the first: an only son, loved by his father, willing to do his father’s will, received back from the dead in a figure.

John 3:16–17 (ESV)

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

2. God Gave Jesus: “The Lamb of Provision”

There are two outstanding symbols of Christ in this chapter.

The ram is the second: an innocent victim died as a substitute for another, its blood was shed, and it was a burnt offering wholly consumed for God.

I have heard it said that, in providing the ram as a substitute for Isaac,

“God spared Abraham’s heart a pain He would not spare His own.”

When Isaac asked, “Where is the lamb?”, his father replied, “God will provide for Himself the lamb.”

This promise was not ultimately fulfilled by the ram of verse 13 but by the Lamb of God.

John 1:29 (ESV)

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Isaiah 53:5–7 (ESV)

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

An amazing moment happens here when The Angel of the LORD shows up in verses 11 and 15.

Understanding as in all the Old Testament, that the Angel of the Lord is the Lord Jesus Christ, we can see the great paradox as the Lord Jesus stops Abraham and reveals to him that He has provided a sacrifice.

In fact, He goes further and tells Abraham that the Lord will take care of it!

Jesus stopped Abraham, recognizing that He would be the sacrifice years later upon that same mountain!

Not only Has God provided His only Son, but He has provided “The Lamb of Provision” that takes away the sin of the world!

3. God Gave Jesus: “The Blessing of All Nations”

Isaiah 66:18 (ESV)

18 “For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory,

Abraham named the place The-LORD-Will-Provide (Jehovah-jireh) (v. 14).

The LORD swore by Himself because He couldn’t swear by anyone greater (Heb. 6:13).

God’s promise here, confirmed by His oath, includes the blessing of the Gentile nations through Christ (Gal. 3:16).

In Genesis 22:17 God adds to the already vast blessing promised: Abraham’s seed would possess the gate of his enemies.

This means that his descendants would occupy the place of authority over those who would oppose them.

The capture of the city gate meant the fall of the city itself.

The blessing of all nations ties into the first promise of Scripture in reference to the redemptive work of God.

Genesis 3:15 (ESV)

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

This story shows us once again that the LORD is in charge and in control.

He has provided the entire time a pathway for each of us to experience His salvation.

He has redeemed us and provided a way for each of us to enter into His salvation story.

(Response)

(Invite the Worship Team and the Prayer Team)

Listen to the words of Isaiah concerning Jesus and what He would do.

Isaiah 61 (ESV)

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;

3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

4 They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.

5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;

6 but you shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.

7 Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.

8 For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

(Sermon Recap)

The Providing God:

God Gave Jesus: “His Only Son”

God Gave Jesus: “The Lamb of Provision”

God Gave Jesus: “The Blessing of All Nations”

(Worship Song)

(Closing Challenge)

Jesus has shown the character of God throughout the Scriptures and desires to reveal Who He is to us as well.

He is the Providing God!

(Closing Blessing)

Numbers 6:24–26 (ESV)

24 The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

(Response Card)

1. What did you hear? (Blank Lines)

2. How will you live it out? (Blank Lines)

3. Who will you share it with? (Blank Lines)

4. Who are you discipling? (Blank Lines)

5. What are you praying for? (Blank Lines)

6. How has God answers your prayers? (Blank Lines)