New Beginnings: Isaac

Isaac’s New Life

Genesis 22:1-19

Focus: God Himself provides for our every need in the obedience of Christ for you.

Function: That my hearers trust in God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and Faith in His Word (Faith Goal)

Structure: Expository (Lowry style)

Teaching: Atonement as a Demonstration of God’s love (with proper clarification)

Big Idea (Character Development): The true obedience of Christ and His trust in the Father’s promises lead to an atonement for sin that demonstrates God’s love for us and grants us new life as we walk in a beginning because of His death and resurrection. Fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 and Abrahamic Covenant. God teaches Abraham what His Fatherly heart will do (Character Connection), not in Isaac, but in Christ His only begotten Son. This creates a new beginning and a story of the faith that this community (OT People) gathers around for hope (Later fulfilled in Christ). As the Holy Spirit gives us the faith to trust in God wholeheartedly, we receive His provision and salvation, through what He has provided for us through Christ. We are like Abraham when we have faith in God’s Word to save us in the midst of things we cannot see, perceive or understand. KEY VERSE “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back Heb 11:17–19. It is not about our death or obedience, but about Christ death and obedience we walk away alive from certain death through the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is our Mountain Top moment. God won’t ask us to do what he asked Abraham to do because, God already did it for Abraham and you in Jesus. There will be plenty of tests in life. Just hand them over to your God the Provider, you can trust in Him because He keeps His word. Turn your eyes like Abraham did to see the substitute. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. The Ram caught in the crown of thorns on the cross for you. The Ram was pointing us to the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins, meaning He dies but we live and then He lives again with us. We walk by faith (The faith of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac the whole family)

New Beginning: 2 Corinthians 5:7 “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” KEY VERSE The new beginning today is to walk by faith and not by sight

1. Obedience Leads Us to Places We Wouldn’t Go On Our Own

Genesis 22:1-5

Abraham’s immediate response to God’s command (He just did it) Notice how He didn’t tell his wife (What was going through him mind)

This is supposed to be a model for our obedience to God but I don’t think I could do this. Would you?

But maybe let me ask this a different way: Has God ever asked you to do something, or go somewhere that was impossible, without knowing the outcome, and that became a journey of faith for you?

Today is about walking by faith and not by sight.

God won’t ask you to set out on a journey with your family like Abraham did but He will ask you to journey with Him as He took His Son, His one and only Son, His only begotten Son, Jesus, to the Cross **V.8 says*. God has invited you on this Perilous Journey called faith where you will witness Christ’s obedience to His Father’s will, and through that obedience you see a sacrifice for your sin and see God’s Son come back from that Sacrifice alive again to give a blessing to your faith as you trust in God’s word.

2. The Burden Of Belief

Genesis 22:6-10

Abraham was on a Perilous Journey

You have not been asked to do what Abraham did but you know what its like to carry a burden around while trusting that God will deliver you from this

You know what its like to have a sacred burden

1. When facing uncertainty in your career, trust in God's plan like Abraham did by seeking His guidance through prayer and fasting. Be open to new opportunities and changes, knowing that God's plan is always greater.

2. As a student you navigate the complexities of relationships in school, trust in God's plan like Abraham did by seeking His wisdom through reading the Bible and seeking counsel from a trusted mentor. Let go of control and allow God to lead you.

3. When feeling overwhelmed with financial stress, trust in God's plan like Abraham did by practicing gratitude for what you have and being generous towards others in need. Remember that God is the ultimate provider.

We also enter on a Symbolic journey with others as Christians when we share Christ with them as they carry their own burdens

1. In the midst of societal uncertainties and challenges, we trust in God's plan like Abraham did by joining others on their journey when we are actively serving and loving our community. Be a light in the darkness, knowing that God's plan is always for redemption and restoration.

2. A single mother works multiple jobs and sacrifices her own wants and needs to ensure her children have food on the table and opportunities for education, displaying the selflessness and love that reflects God's sacrificial nature. When we support her with prayer and kindness we join with her on that journey

3. When we support and encourage a brother, a father who gives up his dream career to take care of his child with special needs, demonstrating the kind of sacrificial love that mirrors the love and care God has for each of us.

4. I think of coming alongside of a parent who shields their child from harm, sacrificing their own life to ensure the well-being of their loved one. This act reflects the protective and sacrificial love of God for his children.

I’m reminded of the burden Abraham had in carrying the fire and knife while his only son Isaac bears the wood while other’s joined with them on that perilous journey

God the Father carries the burden of our sinfulness and He puts that on Christ who carried the wood of the cross for our sins.

But why?

Because we have a problem. Not just doing God’s will. But our problem is that we like doing the very opposite of His will and this problem is internal. We are ignorant of God and afraid of him. God wants to forgive, but we have alienated ourselves and will not listen to his gracious invitation. God loves us deeply, but we can’t see his love. This is why Abraham’s obedience is so shocking. Because we wouldn’t even begin to think of obeying this command from God. We tend to only want to see and hear from God what we want to see.

The solution to this problem is in Christ. He comes obediently in order to demonstrate just how much God loves us. As Romans says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The voluntary death of Christ shows how deeply and profoundly he loves us. When we see that love, he breaks through our alienation and we love him because of what we see that He did for us in Christ. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Not only are we moved to love him, but our newfound love moves us to follow him and do things that please him.

But why this sacrifice business? Why not just love and be loved in return. Well this goes back to the garden of Eden. Where life is for life. God provided lovingly in all of creation and we rejected Him in disobedience. So there had to be a sacrifice for sin (we’ve know that ever since God had to cover Adam and Eve*) there had to be a sacrifice because of God’s wrath and rejection of sin/sinners. But it wasn’t going to be on Isaac or US (God’s won’t ever ask you to do what Abraham did WHEW) God was pointing Abraham’s faith (not towards his own deeds) but to what God would do in Christ [very much near that very spot where Abraham was literally sent to sacrifice Isaac]. God was pointing ahead (Not to the sacrifices that would be made at that spot even though that would literally by the exact spot in the temple the altar for the temple was . All of those sacrifices at the temple were still only pointing toward what God would do a stone’s throw from there with Jesus on the Cross) This trial of Abraham- points to the necessity of Jesus’ death as a sacrifice to atone for sin and His Resurrection means that we all get to walk down that mountain and come back alive just as you are now.

The Atonement is a teaching of the faith that invites us on a Perilous Journey where God takes your burdens and put them on Jesus who paid the price we could never (nor ever want to) pay. He stayed Abraham’s hand and yours (never asking you to go through with it) but He didn’t stay His hand with Christ because sin had to be paid for.

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atonement for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” 1 John 4:10-12

This means that our lives are now shaped by this experience with Christ. If you go the narrow way of Calvary. If you have taken that perilous journey by Faith like Abraham, then you share the burdens of others too, you join people on their perilous journey’s where sacrifices (difficult and impossible trials) are made every day. We walk with people in love because we have been made complete and whole by God’s love for us in Christ.

Supporting a friend who is a father who spent sleepless nights looking for a kidney donor for his daughter, giving up his income and own health for her recovery. His sacrifice reveals the depth of a parent's love, mirroring how God sacrificed his own son for us.

Coming alongside a family who sells their most prized possessions to pay for their child's medical treatment, demonstrating the relentless love and sacrifice that mirrors the grace and sacrifice of God in sending his Son to save us.

Being the prayer partner of a mother who donates a vital organ to save their child's life, we catch a glimpse of the unimaginable sacrifice and boundless love mirrored in God's gift of his Son for our salvation.

You might say… I’m not like that… I’ve got nothing to give (It’s not your job to give anything… God has given everything for you… Jesus is there like a ram caught in the thicket… you just get the honor of walking that perilous journey with them by faith.

3. God Faithfully Provides At Just the Right Time

Genesis 22:11-14

How can we have faith like that? How can anyone have faith like Abraham that leads to that kind of radical obedience?

Abraham didn’t have faith in himself. He had faith in God who had always kept his Word to Abraham.

You might say well everyone has their gifts… that’s not mine

All faith is a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9) it’s not your work. If God is calling you on a perilous journey He will supply the faith you need to complete the journey (Trust in the Holy Spirit: explanation to the 3rd article of the creed)

Abraham had a WAW Consecutive kind of faith

SLIDE IN BETWEEN

Abraham had a daring confidence that God would reveal a saving work to him on that mountain. We only see it, though, in a grammatical detail in verse 5 of our reading ( וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד־כֹּה וְנִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם ) :“I and the boy will go over there, and worship and I and the boy will come back to you just the way we came.” The key to the clue of this confident faith of Abraham is in something called a “Waw Consecutive.” In this case, it is more than just “and then” in the translation. Here, it can be understood as saying: “In the same way you see the boy and I go over there, you will see us come back to you in the same manner.”

What inspired this faith? Abraham knew God would keep His promise. God promised the blessing of Abraham would pass through His only, beloved son to the rest of the world. There was no one else God promised that through, not even Ishmael, and God keeps His promises. He always has and He always will. So, if God were going to require him to make a bloody sacrifice of his son, he knew the Lord would literally raise his son on the spot. Why? Because God made a promise, and He will keep it. What singular trust and hope that Abraham would see through eyes blinded by tears and faith the promise of God on the other side of death. He would have faith in the God who could raise this son of his from the dead so He might keep His promises.

Now, you might think I am pushing the grammar a little too far, but we actually have scripture to back this interpretation of scripture. Take a look at Hebrews 11:17-19:

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”

Abraham believed in the resurrection of the dead just as we do. However, neither he nor we believe on account of Isaac, but on account of Christ. Christ Jesus, who would be the lamb for us, who would carry the wood of the sacrifice on His shoulders, who would lay down as our substitute for sin, who would not be spared but die in our place AND (Waw Consecutive) rise again for our justification (Romans 5:16)! God has revealed the sacrifice of His beloved Son Jesus Christ and on the third day we see His glorious resurrection. The same Jesus who went to the cross is the very same Jesus who rose again for you. The same Jesus who stood in our place as God’s provision for our sin is the same Jesus who stood up from the grave for our justification (Romans 4:25). We have a “Waw Consecutive” kind of faith as well. If God’s only begotten son would have to go through with that sacrifice, then we believe, by grace through faith, that when God raised Him from the dead (Acts 13:30), we will rise together with Him too (2 Timothy 2:11; Romans 6:8)!

Look at God's intervention at literally just the right time. How many of you, like me, have known God’s provision in our moments of greatest need. This is God’s promise to you… that at Just the right time Galatians 4:4.

God is always faithful, Abraham learned that his whole life, his life is a witness to God’s love and faithfulness, and your life is a witness of God’s love and faithfulness too. You might feel sheepish and like Isaac ask: Where? Where has God proven himself faithful because all I see is the fire and the knife and the burden on my back.

If you are asking where will God provide the answer is in the 'lamb' , He provided Jesus as the sacrificial lamb, demonstrating His love and provision, God has taken care of us not just at the RIGHT time but also he has taken care of us ahead of time. * Look at what verse 14 says*

4. Blessings Beyond the Binding

Genesis 22:15-19

The Holy Spirit has given us a WAW Consecutive kind of faith. A daring confidence that God has got this covered.

I was recently asked by my daughter if I liked roller coasters and I had to be honest (I used to) sometimes I feel like this kid in this video.

Insert video (talk about a perilous journey)

I feel like when I was younger in the faith it was more thrilling to see the working of God in my life. It’s a little harder these days for me to want to have a daring confidence in God’s plan. Some days I feel like that parent on the ride and someday’s I’m like that kid. But all the time we were safe in God’s plan/hand/provision. As we trust in God’s loving embrace in our lives we can surrender our lives to him, letting go of our fears, worries, and desires, we can find security in knowing that God holds us close and will never let us fall. Life’s a crazy ride but we are secure in Christ.

Imagine a tightrope walker high above the ground, surrendering to the tension of the rope beneath their feet. Trusting in surrender means acknowledging the tension of life but allowing God to guide us with each step, knowing that He will keep us balanced and secure.

That is exactly the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. It’s that tightrope of trust in surrender. He surrendered His own will to the Father's, despite the agony and fear He faced. God called Him to obey His will to sacrifice Himself. And He did. This example shows us that trusting in surrender means aligning our will with God's and yielding to His divine plan, even when it involves hardships or sacrifices. So he carried the wood of the cross. He took the cold steel and the fire of God’s wrath for our sin. He took it all. Head wrapped in thorns. His sacrifice paid it all and God did not stay His hand when it came to saving you. Jesus’ sacrifice covers all your sin and Jesus walked away alive from the Empty tomb to grant you a New Beginning. Are you ready for your New Beginning. It’s in Christ for you.