Passing the Test

What Do I Hold as Most Prized That I Need to Give Up to the Lord Willingly?

Introduction

Abraham had received a great promise from the Lord many years earlier than this narrative takes place.

When Abraham was 75 he received the promise of a son.

He waited 25 years for this son. He wondered if this would happen and even had some mistakes on his part when he listened to his wife and went in to another woman to give them a son.

This was not unusual for the culture then, but it was against what God said to do.

So Abraham waited and waited and finally God gave him the promised son.

He had him and all was going great. Abraham was exceedingly happy and knew God was blessing him.

Then we come to this narrative.

We see that God called to Abraham and told him to take his only son the son that he loved and offer him up to the Lord.

We are entering into a new test.

You see in the past Abraham had already passed several tests.

He passed the fellowship test when he let Lot have his pick of the land when they became to large to stay together in Gen. 13:5-18.

He passed the fight test when he went to war against the kings that took Lot and the other cities surrounding him in Gen. 14:1-16.

He passed the fortune test when he told the king of Sodom no when he told him he could keep all the plunder that was retaken when Abraham defeated the other kings in Gen. 14:17-24.

He failed the fatherhood test when he and Sarah got impatient and then he had a child with Hagar in Gen. 16.

But he passed the farewell test when he sent Ishmael away even though it broke his heart in Gen. 21:14-21.

Abraham faced several tests and he passed them well except for one, but that one he got a re-do on in sending Ishmael away.

But there was still one more test for Abraham, and it was really hard.

It was the test to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac to the Lord.

This was a test between God’s blessing and God Himself.

This test was to determine if Abraham loved the blessing more than the one who blessed.

It was a hard test because this was the promised son.

This was the one who would make Abraham a great nation.

This was the son who would make the promise of being a blessing to all nations possible.

This was a true blessing and now God is saying to sacrifice him.

God has placed Abraham in a contradiction that had no apparent solution. As Tony Evans says about this, “If God places you in a contradiction that has no apparent solution, He alone must be trusted to resolve it.”

Abraham trusted God to resolve it because as we read here, Abraham obeyed fully.

He did not have the false obedience of only partially obeying by doing a little bit of what God said without doing it fully.

Nor did he have the false obedience of a delayed obedience where he did not immediately act on what God said but put it off until next week, month, year.

No, Abraham acted immediately and did all that God commanded much like Noah did.

Abraham believed God when the impossible was before him before, why would he not now?

He knew God saw him through all the other tests and tribulations and that God would do it again.

Heb. 11:17-19 tells us that Abraham believed that God would resurrect Isaac from the dead if he truly killed him because he had that much faith in God to keep His promises.

Which leads to the first observation about tests and what they do for us.

There Will Be Tests

We will all face tests ourselves,

We may not know what they are or where they will come from, but if you faithfully follow God you will be tested.

Abraham was when God said to him, Genesis 22:1–2

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

Quite the test.

Abraham faced it with strength even though I am sure he struggled inwardly.

We too may struggle inwardly when we face tests but in faith we can and must act.

We can act because we know God is a God who keeps promises and never lies.

We know He is faithful and true to all who are His.

Abraham had waited for years for this child and now he was to sacrifice him.

This was the promise and something he had waited and waited and waited for and now this.

Man what a test and trial that must have been.

So I must now ask, what is it in your life that you have waited on for years that you finally now have that may be taking your focus from God?

Is it land?

Job?

Money?

Family?

Sports?

Whatever it is that blessing can become a god if we allow it to be.

God knew this and he tested Abraham.

Why?

Tests train and prove us.

Just as Jesus was tested in the wilderness and proved He was pure, so tests prove us.

We see this in James 2:21 “21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?”

Abraham proved he trusted God over the blessing.

He knew God was good and the blessing was from Him alone and if He wanted He could do so much more than what He had already done.

Abraham was tested just as we receive tests.

We receive tests because God loves us and wants us to grow and become more mature.

If you never faced challenges in life you would always be in the same place without ever growing or gaining.

God tests us to grow us and help us gain, just as He did Abraham so He will test you.

The question is will you pass the test or fail because you must cling to the blessing over the promise?

If this is the case then the next observation should help you because it tells us to...

Focus on Promises not Explanations

We see this in Genesis 22:3–5

“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.”

Abraham just rose and loaded up for the trip and then they left.

No questions asked.

No complaints raised that this was too much of God to ask.

Nothing just rising and doing.

He went immediately and travelled three days.

Three days travel.

He had a lot of time to think about this, and the details of the story shows that tests take time to complete, they don’t just happen and then end.

Tests can span a length of time.

You may be struggling now through something and maybe you are wondering where God is.

Well, He is with you just as He was with Abraham, but the test is refining you and proving you just stay the course because tests take time.

To make it through focus on the promises not the test or asking why.

When we ask “why me?” rather than saying “Okay God, I don’t understand now why you are doing this and what will come from it but I know you are a good and great God who delivers what He has said so I trust you,” we betray that our faith in the Lord is only skin deep.

Maybe you are struggling with this today and need to focus on this question

What are you trying to hold onto because you have not focused on the promises of God to you? What here is more important than what God has promised?

Is it so-called freedom where you do what you want six days a week and just show up Sunday morning?

Is it wealth because you do not trust God?

Is it a job you need to forsake because it is destroying your life?

Is it sports, hunting, or other recreation that is taking more time and money from the Lord?

Any of these can be good things but can become more than God if we let them.

What is making you focus on explanations of why you should do something for the Lord rather than focusing on His promises?

We are promised so much more with Him than this world offers.

Abraham was willing to let his child go because he had that much faith in God.

Do you or do you feel that God the Father the Creator of all things owes you an explanation?

Job thought that and here is what God said to him.

Who are you to question me? Were you around when I created? Were you there when I made all of this and laid it out as it is? Who are you to question me?

This is a very brief and paraphrased version of Job 38-41.

Simply, we are nothing to ask God why but we are proven faithful when we focus on the promises and follow what He says.

We can do this because we can...

Depend on God to Provide

Look at verses 5, 8, and 13.

In each of these we see something that shows trust of God.

In Genesis 22:5 “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.””

In Genesis 22:8 when asked by Isaac about the lamb for the sacrifice, “Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.”

And in Genesis 22:13 “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.”

Abraham had complete trust that the Lord would provide.

He knew God was faithful.

We too can trust like this because God has already provided the lamb for the sacrifice.

Jesus Christ came and died in our stead.

He is the John 1:29 “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

The one who gives us life and every good blessing we get.

The one whose grace is abundantly above and beyond all we can imagine.

God has provided the lamb.

He has provided all things for us.

We see His amazing grace everywhere because of Jesus and yet we still struggle to trust Him to provide for us.

We need to do the hard thing and trust God to provide.

He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

He created everything and that means He owns everything.

So, anything we have is because of Him not us.

Yes, you worked for it and earned it but He gifted you with the ability to work.

He gave you the know how and ability and placed you where you are for that reason.

It is all Him and when we hoard things rather than being open and trusting of Him to provide, we say we do not trust Him.

We say to Him, “You may have created everything and made all the things I have, but I know more about how I need to live and get by than you do.”

We become like Job in a way and need to hear from God as Job did and be put in our place.

God will provide.

God is providing.

God has provided.

He is in all tenses, past, present, and future and He will provide.

Will we pass the test and do the hard thing and step out on faith and give more, serve more, stop letting our children play in every sport that comes up and occupies all our time and money because the god of sports are more important than God?

Or we could say the same about our work and working every hour and day.

Do we trust God enough to stop for a few hours and stop getting and getting so much?

What are you not trusting God to provide for you so that you will not let go of something?

Is there something in your life holding you back from letting go and giving to God?

Trust Him look to the promises not explanations and know that God will provide.

And when you do you will...

Seek to Honor the Lord

When we lay down what we held so dear, we too will hear from the Lord that we are faithful.

In Genesis 22:15–19

“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.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.”

God reaffirmed the promises to Abraham. Abraham was approved because He trusted God.

Why?

Because in the test Abraham did not think about his needs and burden, but focused on bringing God glory.

He sought to honor God.

When we delay obedience or only partially obey, we are focusing on our tests and burdens and not trusting God and giving Him the glory and honor He is due.

When we do that, when we honor God, we will be blessed.

Now, Abraham was blessed with the promises of land, family, and being a massive blessing to all humanity.

Our blessings come in the form of rewards in heaven and the new heavens and earth.

They come in the aspect of getting to rule and reign with Christ.

In receiving great honor from our great God because we faithfully served Him and trusted Him in all things.

We will be tested be shown obedient and then be approved.

We will be approved workmen who have no need to be ashamed.

We will see that “God does not test us to lead us into sin, but to test the quality of what we are” (Waltke, Genesis, 310).

We will learn that following God’s will may entail suffering, waiting, and even dying, but if it is His will, we must bow down to it and accept it with Thanksgiving.

But we see that a deeper love for God comes through doing hard things and passing the test.

When we go through the fire and see that God provided for us in that time, we grow fonder of Him and worship Him more and deeper.

When we obey Him and faithfully follow Him we see that He is truly a good and great God.

So, What blessing are you missing by holding onto things you should release?

Are you living life like Abraham?

Faith above fear

Faith above desires

Faith above all material things

Where Faith=trust=blessed walk

Faith=Fearing God over all things

Tests prove you and train you.

Will you pass the test or fall?

Conclusion

We will face many tests and trials but all these do is to make us more faithful and proven.

They strengthen our worship, make us bow down to the Lord completely, cause us to give Him everything, acknowledge that His will is best and far above anything we could ever think.

We will realize we are like

“A bar of steel worth $5, when made into ordinary horseshoes, is then worth $10. If this same $5 bar is manufactured into needles, the values rises to $350. And yet if it’s made into delicate springs for expensive watches, it is worth more than $250,000. The same bar of steel is made more valuable by being cut to its proper size, passed through one blast furnace after another, again and again, hammered and manipulated, beaten and pounded, finished and polished until it’s ready for those delicate tasks.”—M. R. DeHaan, Broken Things, inCharles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 585.

Abraham faced the test, so will we.

Abraham focused on the promises of God, so can we.

Abraham depended on God to provide, we can too because He already has.

Abraham knew honoring God was number one priority, we too can live this way.

We can pass the test if we will allow our savior to work through us and if we are willing to do hard things for Him.

So I want to ask one more time...

What Do I Hold as Most Prized That I Need to Give Up to the Lord Willingly?

May we all be willing to lay that down at the Lord’s feet so we can fully live for Him and receive true and full blessings in life and eternity.