Abraham, Father of Faith Part 18 “Jehovah Jireh”
Abraham, Father of Faith • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 10 viewsNotes
Transcript
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
Introduction
Introduction
Abraham’s life is marked by God asking him to believe impossible things, and then act on that belief.
There is a tension between Paul and James on how Abraham was justified.
Paul:
1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
James:
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
These do not contradict.
Now the two men that were talking on faith: Paul justified Abraham by what God saw in Abraham; but James justified Abraham by what man saw in Abraham.
But see, Abraham believed God, that’s what God saw in him; he believed It. But then when he went to acting as though it was already done, that’s what man saw in him.
And that’s the same as it is to us, because our works express what faith we have. But if we’re afraid to act on what we believe, then we do not believe It. See, you’ve got to believe It.
Abraham’s works was expressing his faith he had in God’s promise.
Man saw what Abraham did, God saw his faith
Here is a man acting as if God is going to keep His word, even if every circumstance of his life was against him. That is faith expressed in works.
See, it had been revealed to him, so he believed it so, and was acting as though it had already took place. 65-1126 - "Works Is Faith Expressed"
1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
Tempt
to test v., to put to the test in order to ascertain the nature of something, including imperfections, faults, or other qualities.
Abraham has been tested many times, but this would be his greatest test, and his greatest victory.
And Abraham had a V-day. When was it? The day that he left the land of the Shinar plains? Not exactly. He crossed over, that’s right, the Euphrates, and come on this other side, to sojourn. That was a good day. That still was kind of a…
But his main V-day was up on Mount Jireh, when he got up there that day, when God give him the final test. When, he had his only son. He said, “Now, Abraham, take him up there to that mountain, and offer him up for a sacrifice.
I’ve made you a father of nations. Here is the only thing that you’ve got, to make you ‘father of nations,’ is through this son. I want you to kill him.” Oh, you see it? “Destroy everything. Destroy the very purpose.
Here you are, Abraham, you’re about a hundred and fourteen, fifteen years old now. And you waited for twenty-five years for the baby. And now the boy is fifteen or sixteen years old. And I want you to take him up and kill him, so that I can make you a father of nations.”
Abraham never moved. He never, never quivered at the Word of God. Said, “Yes, Lord. Here I go.” Picked up the wood, and took Isaac right up to the top of the hill, just exactly in obedience. Why? He put the commandment of God first. 63-0421 - "Victory Day"
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Wait a minute. Shouldn’t there be a conversation about this? I’ve got questions. Not Abraham, his works expressed his faith.
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
Faith is not always doing great things, simple obedience is faith. We’re going to do what God said, period.
Obedience.
30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
You don’t need to be extra, just obey.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
20 But if ye refuse and rebel, Ye shall be devoured with the sword: For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Saul was religious, but God wanted obedience.
22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to hearken than the fat of rams.
Jesus was obedient
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Just the same as Abraham passed the test, Jesus passed the test. Like Isaac He would be led up the hill and laid on the cross, but He knew where He was going.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
His spirit dwelling in us is a sign that we have obeyed fully.
Full obedience to the Word brings God, the Word Eternal, in you, and that is the Token. 64-0208 - "The Token"
You’ve got to die to yourself and your thought, and fully obey the Word.
He provides the lamb, all we do is obey.
He said “I want you to take all that you have achieved and give it back to me.”
Abraham had sent Ishmael away. All his hopes and dreams were in Isaac, but God said go so Abraham went.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
(75-100 miles from civilization)
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
“I and the lad will go, and come again”.
The Lexham English Bible Chapter 22
5 And Abraham said to his servants, “You stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go up there. We will worship, then we will return to you.”
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Abraham’s expectation of a resurrection was based on his own resurrection.
Our expectations for our loved ones is based on what God has done for us.
Did Abraham fear? No, sir. Abraham said this, “I am fully persuaded that He is able to raise him up from the dead, for I received him as one from the dead.
And if that commandment of God told me to do this, and I’ve stayed true to it, and it paid off, to have given me the son; God is able to raise him from the dead; from which I received him, as a figure.” 64-0322 - "Possessing The Gate Of The Enemy After Trial"
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
Isaac began to get suspicious.
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
He knew how to have church. Something was missing.
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
He said, “Here is the wood. And here is all, everything, the fire. But where is the lamb for the burnt-offering?”
Listen to that old daddy, without a quiver in his voice, he said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the sacrifice.” His only son going to the slaughter, but yet that faithful old heart had knowed that God can’t lie.
That’s the Seed of Abraham today! “How can it be, Brother Branham?” God will provide for Himself! “How is He going to?” I don’t know. But He’s Jehovah-Jireh! 62-0707 - "Jehovah-Jireh #3"
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and 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.
This was full obedience.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
This is the first of seven compound redemptive names of Jehovah:
Jireh, Rapha, Shammah, Shalom, Nissi, Raah and Tsidkenu.
Rapha:
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
Shammah:
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there.
Shalom:
24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.
Nissi:
15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi:
Raah:
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Tsidkenu:
6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Now, God…His attitude towards the people from Eden, back to Eden is wrapped in these seven redemptive names. 55-0120 - "The Seven Compound Names Of Jehovah"
This is the argument Bro. Bosworth made in the debate in Houston:
If He is our sacrifice, He is our healer. If He is our Healer, He is with us. If He is with us, He is our peace. If He is our peace, He is our banner, our victory. If He is our victory, He is our Shepherd. If He is our Shepherd, He is our Righteousness.
All of those attributes are still in the Pillar of fire, and the pillar of fire is not just on a picture, it’s in you.
And in all these compound names, they were every one met in Jesus Christ. He was Jehovah-jireh, the provided Sacrifice, He was Jehovah-rapha, the Healer, He was Jehovah, the Banner, Jehovah, the Buckler, Jehovah, the Peace, Jehovah, the Shepherd.
All those compound redemptive names was applied to the Lord Jesus. You couldn’t apply one and take the other one away. And if they was not applied, He was not Jesus, the Son of God.
They’re inseparable, you can’t separate God’s compound names. And if one of them was applied to Jesus, all of them was applied to Jesus.
So if He’s God’s provided Sacrifice for sin, He’s God’s provided Atonement for healing, the same yesterday, today, and forever. 55-1117 - "Jehovah-Jireh"
He was Righteousness to a woman caught in adultery.
He was the Shepherd to Peter when He said “Satan desires to sift you like wheat, but I prayed for you”
He was Victory to a man possessed by a legion of demons.
He was Peace to the disciples in the storm.
He was present for the woman at the well:
He was healing to the woman that touched the hem of His garment.
He was our provided sacrifice.
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
He is the same today.
8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Jehovah Jireh was the final revelation.
This was Abraham fully obeying God, and God fully revealing Himself to Abraham.
God has provided a lamb, and that is more than enough for me.
All of these other needs that I have are secondary to my need for a substitute. Someone to take my place, someone to die so I could live.
Once He has revealed Himself to me as saviour, then all of these other things are easy for Him to do.
Can you imagine how Abraham felt, when he saw the Ram caught in the thicket? Can you imagine how Isaac felt, when he was loosed from his bonds, and saw that same Ram die in His place?
If you are a Christian today, you were released just like that. When you see Him on the cross, how do you feel?
Bro. Branham tells us “all emphasis should be laid on Him”.
Like the serpent on the pole He was lifted up. Look and live!
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
The world sees no beauty in Him, but look and live.
1 Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, And as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.
(Story about the woman who went into the fire for her daughter)
Brother, when I see God, the God of Heaven, forfeited His throne, His beauty, and all that He was; to be born on top of a manure pile, be wrapped in swaddling’s cloth, to be made fun of by His signs and His wonders, to be called a devil; should I be ashamed of Him? No, sir.
Let the classic world do what they want to do. To me, He’s a super sign. The Holy Ghost in me screams out. It might make me act funny and be a crazy man, by this world, but I cannot deny Him Who done so much for me.
He took my place in death. He took my place at Calvary. He done all these things.
He condescended from Heaven, from the pearly white thrones, to become a man; to taste my suffering, to go through my temptation, to know how to be the right kind of a mediator in me, to lead me and to guide me to Eternal Life.
And through His poverty, I am made rich. Through His death, I am given Life, Eternal Life.
Don’t deny Him. Don’t be ashamed of Him. Don’t be ashamed of Him. But embrace Him, and say, “Yes, my Dear Lord, give to me like they did on the Day of Pentecost, Lord.
Give to me the Holy Ghost. Pour It into my heart. I don’t care what the teen-agers say. I don’t care what the world says. I’m not looking to them. I’m looking to You.” 59-1227M - "A Super Sign"
14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Isaac Watts was inspired by Paul’s words to write this:
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
