Father's Day

Fatherhood & Faith

how a father transforms their children

Text: Genesis 22:1-18

Introduction

The most important and powerful combination to be applied this Father’s Day is FATHERHOOD & FAITH. The story we just read was a mission to transform the faith of a man, husband and father. The future impact of multiple generations following Abraham would be determined on the quality of his faith toward God. Let me give you a quick run down of the man Abraham was prior to this momentous faith challenge:

1. Abraham’s faith prior to Isaac’s birth

a. Abraham trusted God’s plan to use him to bless the entire world.

b. Abraham modified God’s plan and took Lot with him.

i. Created unnecessary difficulty and distraction.

c. Abraham had unnecessary fear of man.

d. Abraham had not fully trusted God’s ability nor instructed his wife to fully trust God’s ability.

i. A son born who has troubled God’s people even to present day.

e. Abraham’s confidence is renewed after witnessing God fulfill his promise of giving him a son (nothing is to hard for God).

2. It was time for Abraham’s faith to be confirmed.

a. It was a bumpy road leading up to this point.

b. Abraham needed a rock solid faith in God.

c. Abraham needed to set a consistent example of trusting and following God for his family and future generations.

1) Abraham’s Private Surrender

A. His closeness to God

a. God called and Abraham answered.

b. He was close enough to discern God’s voice from his lusts and the demonic.

c. To hide from God is to hinder your children from coming to God.

B. God unveils His plan

a. Abraham was to fully give his son to God by way of sacrifice.

b. God has a plan for every father; a plan for every family.

c. Who was Abraham in private with God?

i. He was a father only through the providence of God!!!

ii. He surrendered his family to God’s purposes.

iii. He had a healthy view of the person of God: Sovereign, faithful, all powerful, blesses one’s faith and always present.

Living with this belief shaped his behavior; shaped his son; shaped an entire nation.

iiii. The most powerful actions you can take that will impact your family is to FULLY TRUST GOD in your heart and in your actions.

Your actions will follow your DEEPEST BELIEFS!

2) Abraham’s Powerful Sacrifice

A. A journey of sacrifice

a. Question — What is the one thing that leads you away from being obedient to God?… PRIDE!

b. Before an altar would be built out of stone, it would first have to be built in his HEART!

c. Think of how difficult this journey would have been:

i. Travel distance = 45 miles & Travel time = 3 days

ii. There had to be so many instances Abraham had to keep building his heart altar.

iii. Whatever you can think of that a Christian deals with on a daily basis, Abraham experienced on this journey.

iiii. Here are a few things that are a must if you are going to apply an active faith to your fatherhood:

i) Declare war agains spiritual bulimia.

Abraham had to keep ALL OF GOD’S WORDS in his heart.

ii) Commit yourself to a particular time of prayer.

iii) Burn the ships — In the year 1519, Hernán Cortés arrived in the “New World” with 600 men, and upon arrival, made history by “burning his ships.” This sent a clear message to his men. There is no turning back!  Two years later, he succeeded in his complete conquest of the Aztec empire. When Cortés arrived in what is today Mexico, his soldiers did not want to fight.  They were tired of the voyage, the natives were not friendly, and it was a strange land. Cortés, who wanted to conquer this new land, would have none of it. To motivate his men, he burned his ships to the waterline.  They were now all faced with a stark choice: fight or die!

B. An altar of sacrifice

a. Notice the confidence Isaac has in his dad at this point.

i. What made Abraham’s response to Isaac “the Lord will provide for Himself a sacrifice” so believable?…Abraham’s display of faith leading up to this point.

ii. If you don’t display a genuine faith before your kids, don’t expect them to believe your words.

3) God’s Provision

A. A son who would never be the same

a. Abraham’s faith in God afforded Isaac to see the amazing power and love of God.

b. Isaac did not have a perfect father, but he did have a righteous father.

Conclusion

To illustration how impactful Abraham’s life of faith was, we must think about of another even that took place on that very same mountain. Because he applied faith to his fatherhood and built a stone altar to sacrifice his only son, our Father in Heaven sent His Son to be born in the lineage of Abraham. Not to be sacrificed on a stone altar, but to die as a sacrifice for the world upon an old rugged cross.

Now, applying a real faith in God to your fatherhood will not bring Jesus into the world, but it will prepare your soul and the souls of your family for when He will return to call His children out of this world.

Abraham told Isaac, “the Lord will provide Himself a sacrifice.” He did that very day. But greater than that, God provided Himself a sacrifice over 2,000 years ago at Calvary. HE DID IT FOR YOU!!!