The Cost of an All-In Life

Intro

Time with a Test that Didn’t Seem Fair

Stats class in college - 52 curved to upper 70s. No one thought it was fair

Abraham’s Test - Not Pop Quiz

We’ve been looking at the life of Abram and living an all-in life. God calls us into a life of being all-in. In fact, in Revelation 3:16 “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (This will be our theme verse for this series). Jesus is talking to the church that had been established in Laodicea, and he tells them that he doesn’t want them to just be half-in and half-out. He’s tired of their hot and cold nature - he wants them to be fully committed and fully bought into His mission. Similarly, that’s His call for us. All followers of Jesus are called to be fully invested in His mission and in living a life for Him. In fact, throughout this whole fall, I am going to challenge y’all to have your faith described in one word - COMMITMENT. I’m calling y’all to live a life COMMITTED to Jesus, because that’s what He calls us to.

As we close out our series on the life of Abraham, we’ve seen a few things. I could’ve talked about a lot more in Abraham’s life, but we’ve hit a few of the hight points and we’ve seen a few things about living an all-in life: 1) we’re all called to an all-in life - Abram was called by God and responded by going to the call, 2) an all-in life still fails sometimes - all-in doesn’t mean perfection, and 3) God remains faithful to us even in our failures. Tonight in the final part of Abraham’s story that we’ll see, Abraham is going to be tested. This isn’t just a pop quiz though - this is like a final exam that is worth 95% of his grade. It’s a huge test. But we see him respond to the test with trust and obedience, experiencing a reward greater than anything he could’ve imagined.

Genesis 22:1-19

Genesis 22:1-2

Genesis 22:1–2 “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.””

It begins with the words, “Some time later God tested Abraham.” It’s important to remember what that means:

God called Abraham in Genesis 12 and promised that He would make him into a great nation and that through his offspring He would bless the world. Abraham was 75 years old and didn't even have a child.

In Genesis 15, God promised again that Abraham would have a son of his own and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars.

Abraham eventually tried to take God's promise into his own hands through Hagar and Ishmael. But God came back in Genesis 17 and said, “No. The promise is going to come through the son Sarah will have.”

There are other stories in the life of Abraham, including many times when he tried to take it into hiw own hands (Genesis 12, Genesis 20, Genesis 16)

And then in Genesis 21, after waiting roughly 25 years, Abraham and Sarah finally have Isaac. So Abraham has this long-awaited son who so much has been promised through.

So when we get to Genesis 22, Isaac isn't just Abraham's son. Isaac is the son Abraham waited decades for. Isaac is the son God promised. Isaac represents everything Abraham had been waiting for God to do. And then God says, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and sacrifice him.”

God is asking Abraham to trust Him when what God is asking seems completely contrary to what God has promised. And that's what makes this such a powerful test of faith. Abraham doesn't know how God's promise is going to work out if Isaac dies. But he's being forced to decide: Will I trust God when I don't understand God? Because God had promised blessing through Isaac blessing for the entire world and for Abraham to become a great nation. Yet, God is asking him to sacrifice him.

Genesis 22:3-8

Genesis 22:3–8 “Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.”

The very first week when we discussed Abram, he got this call from God to leave everything he’s ever known. The two things we saw were that Abram went, and Abram worshipped. Tonight, we see something similar. Abraham gets the command and the very next morning he gets up and goes. He doesn’t delay, he doesn’t question, he doesn’t argue - he just goes.

Notice too that Abraham seems to believe that he AND Isaac will come back. Verse 5 he says we will worship and WE will come back. He also says they are going to worship. He also emphasizes in verse 8 that God will provide the lamb for the offering.

So Abraham is responding to this test with total trust and total obedience. He doesn’t know all the answers. He doesn’t understand everything. Yet, he goes and obeys with a heart posture of worship.

Genesis 22:9-14

Genesis 22:9–14 “When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.””

They’ve arrived at the mountain and Abraham fully obeyed. He builds the altar, he puts the wood on it, he binds Isaac down - he obeys God. Yet when it comes time to actually sacrifice Isaac, we see God provide something remarkable instead. We see God provide a ram, a perfect ram to use for the sacrifice instead.

A burnt offering was a sacrifice where an animal was offered completely to God on an altar. And throughout the Old Testament, sacrifice becomes a major picture of sin, atonement, worship, and approaching a holy God.

It’s significant in this day and age to give people and places meaningful names. We see here that Abraham decides to give it the name “The Lord will Provide”. Abraham said in verse 8 that God would provide, and then we see God provide. We also see Abraham want to remember this provision for the rest of time.

Genesis 22:15-19

Genesis 22:15–19 “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.”

What's interesting is that God doesn't give Abraham some brand-new promise. He reaffirms the promise He had already made. He says Abraham's descendants will be as numerous as the stars and the sand, and then He repeats the promise from Genesis 12: “Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.”

Abraham couldn’t see the plan God had but he trusted the planner all along the way. In that trust, he went forward with total obedience.

Application - The Cost of Following God

TEST - Our faith will be tested

We see Abraham’s faith tested tonight. We see clearly that God tests Abraham’s faith - it says that in verse 1. But it’s important to point out that the test was not a matter of forcing Abraham into child sacrifice - God isn’t okay with that. The point of this was to test Abraham’s faith for proving and validating it, but also to develop and grow it. Because see Abraham by the end of this story leaves the mountain with a stronger faith than when he went. So, this test served to strengthen that faith in God. Abraham would always remember the time he trusted God in one of the hardest moments of his life, and he’ll always remember how God provided.

ILLUSTRATION - Lifting weights. We lift weights to put our muscles under extreme tests so that they come back stronger. You don't build strength by avoiding resistance. You build strength by going through it. And God sometimes puts resistance in our lives—not to destroy our faith, but to strengthen it.

TRUST - We respond in trust and obedience

Abraham responded to this test tonight in total trust and obedience. That’s our call as well. We may not always understand the tests we’re facing, or even understand why they’re happening. But, our job is to understand that we serve a God who is always good, a loving God who cares for us, a God who is all-powerful and all-knowing, and because of that, we can trust Him even though we don’t understand the test that we are facing. Naturally, out of trust, obedience comes. Abraham’s trust was relentless - he was willing to give up the one thing he had waited 25+ years for because he trusted God that much.

As you all prepare to start this school year, your faith is going to be tested. Not just might be tested - it’s 100% going to be tested. But in each test, we can respond with complete trust and obedience:

When you have to choose between God and your reputation - when you have to make decisions of compromising your beliefs to fit in, or remaining faithful to God. We respond with trust and obedience, believing that God has a greater plan and we can trust that plan while we obey Him.

Maybe it’s easier to hide your faith so you don’t stand out

Maybe it’s easier to compromise your faith

Maybe it’s easier to choose following friends or the world rather than God

When you experience something painful - maybe it’s dealing with losing someone, or dealing with rejection or breakups, or

When you have to wait -

TREMENDOUS - Obedience brings a tremendous reward

Abraham doesn’t necessarily bring an immediate reward that he gets to experience. Like he’s not necessarily receiving a huge material blessing, or a lucrative new career, or anything like that. Granted, he’s even at the end of his own life at this point. Yet, what Abraham receives is a lasting legacy that still stands to this day. That’s something he couldn’t have possibly imagined in his day, but it’s something we see today. That’s a reward that is greater than anything he could’ve imagined. He’s known nowadays as the Father of Faith.

Our reward for obedience isn’t money promised by God, a successful career, more things, more popularity, or anything like that. Ours is similar to Abraham - ours is something that we experience through God. We get the opportunity to know God greater through our obedience, forging a stronger relationship with Him, and helping to start build a kingdom legacy that will never be destroyed. Ultimately too - how Abraham’s reward gets established is actually something that comes 2,000 years later...

Conclusion - Jesus Foreshadowed

Because Isaac is actually a typology of Jesus - he represents and symbolizes Jesus before he actually comes. Look at the similarities:

Scholars believe that this same mountain is the exact same place that Jesus would go on to be crucified.

Isaac is Abraham’s beloved son (Gen. 22:2); Jesus is the beloved Son of the Father

Abraham is willing to offer Isaac; God gives His Son.

Isaac carries the wood for the sacrifice (22:6); Jesus carries the cross.

Isaac is spared and a ram takes his place (22:13); Christ ultimately becomes the sacrificial substitute for sinners. Instead of a substitute being provided, Jesus becomes the substitute for all of humanity.

Abraham says God will provide the sacrifice (22:8, 14), anticipating God's provision of Christ.“God will provide”

Abraham’s faith was tested, but he trusted and obeyed, and experienced a blessing greater than anything he could’ve imagined - Jesus saving the world through his family line.