GOD ALLOWS TRIALS TO DEVELOP OUR FAITH
Gen 22:1-2, 6-14
V.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.”
- Through out our lives, God allows trials and tribulations.
- They are designed to grow our faith.
- They are there to draw us closer to the Father.
- They are designed to be our testimony.
- Tempt= nicah= to test, to prove,
- God= elohiym= the triune God, the great judge, the mighty
- In order to hear a Word from God, we must meditate on His Word day and night.
- When God calls He expects a response.
- To respond, we must make ourselves available.
- To respond, we must be committed to the will of the Father.
V.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.”
A. God’s commands are not our options.
1. As believers we have a duty and an obligation to follow the commands of God.
2. If you love the Lord, you will keep His commands.
B. This command from God represents the 4th crises God introduced in the life of
Abraham.
1. The first was the command to leave his people and his country.
2. The second was to rescue Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah before
God destroyed these cities.
3. The third was his failed plan of Ishmael being his promised son.
4. The forth was God’s command to sacrifice Isaac .
5. Each test was unique and designed to draw Abraham into complete
submission to the Father.
C. This was a test to see if Abraham loved God more than he loved his son.
1. We have to be careful not to put anything or anyone before God.
2. When God is not first in our lives, Satan has a field party with our
emotions and any decision we make.
D. True love requires a sacrifice.
1. One thing we can be sure of; Jesus loves us.
2. What a friend we have in Jesus. While we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us.
V.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.”
- Abraham took his marching orders from the Lord.
- There are times when God will ask us to do something that is “way” out of our
comfort zone.
- The only way we can go forward is to say: “Not my will, BUT thine be done”.
- Sometimes God will ask us to do some things that are beyond our physical and emotional strength. The only way to move forward is to say
“Not my will, BUT thine be done”.
C. The only way I can see Abraham letting his love, and his treasure go is to say:
“LORD NOT MY WILL, “BUT” THINE BE DONE”.
D. The only way I can see Abraham choosing the Lord’s command over the love
Of his son is for him to say: “Lord I TRUST that you know what you are asking
me to do”.
V. 22:7. “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?”
A. What a question? “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
1. Can you imagine Abraham’s prayer as he made the LONG walk from his
tent to the mountain? Lord give me the courage and the strength to carry out
your command.
2. Isaac knew something was missing. Abraham couldn’t tell Isaac that he was the
missing sacrifice to God.
a. If we are going to move spiritually, we have to tell ourselves that we are
God’s sacrifice.
b. Jesus said it himself. “ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and
whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Mat 16:25
c. Paul said “ present your bodies as a living sacrifice” Rom 12:1
d. In order to be for Christ, you have to give up you.
V.8 “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:
so they went both of them together.”
A. God= Elohiym,
Will Provide =yir’eh
1. Abraham is sure of what God will do based on his history of God keeping His
Word.
2. We can be sure that we are here because God has provided.
3.We ought to be sure that going forward, God will provide, based on our
history with God.
B. Abraham is sure that his son is the sacrifice, but he does not reveal it to his son.
1. Everybody doesn’t need to know your business.
2. Some things ought to be held to the heart, between you and God.
3. Not everybody will understand your mission for God.
a. If they knew, some would try to deter you from your mission for God.
4. It is best, even if we don’t understand, to follow God’s commands.
V.22:9. “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.”
A. Before we ever begin a mission for God, we need to build an altar to God in our heart.
1. Prayer is the first order of our mission for God.
2. Before we can worship God, we must prepare a place in our heart for worship.
3. We must be committed to being obedient to God.
4. We must be committed to making a sacrifice for God.
B. Abraham’s resolve to sacrifice his son is a type of the sacrifice God made with his
Son, Jesus Christ for our sins.
1. Notice that there was no fight between Abraham and Isaac regarding his
sacrifice.
2. Isaac like Jesus, willingly allowed himself to be the sacrifice commanded by
God.
3. Like Jesus, we have to sacrifice ourselves to serve God.
a. We have to give up our wants for the wants of God.
b. Our desires ought to eventually become the desires of the Father.
V.22:10. “And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.”
A. The most severe test of Abraham’s faithfulness came with the physical act of taking
The life of his son.
1. Saying you are going to do something and doing it are two different things.
2. We must be true to our word.
3. When we make a promise to God, we must ensure that we keep that promise.
Deu 23:21
4. God never fails to keep the promises He has made to us.
5. God blesses us according to our faithfulness to Him.
V:11. “And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham,
Abraham: and he said, Here am I.”
A. God is always in control of his mission.
1. God provides directions as needed.
2. In our mission to serve God, we must ensure that we are following His
Directions.
a. Therefore, we must be constant in prayer.
b. We must be constant in seeking His divine guidance.
B. When God’s calls, we must be quick to listen.
1. When God calls we must be quick to respond.
C. The actions of Abraham proved the completeness of his faith.
1. There ought to be some evidence in our lives of our complete trust in the Lord.
2. The only way people know you love the Lord is by the sacrifice you are willing to make for the Lord.
3. Abraham waited most of his married life to have a son. The thing that he
Prayed for, the thing that he hoped for, he was now willing to give up
In obedience to the commands of the Lord.
4. True love is expressed in our sacrifices.
5. Love without commitment is not love at all.
V.22:12. “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.”
A. When you have a close relationship with the Father, you can easily distinguish between the voice of the Father and the voice of the flesh.
1. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son.
2. An angel showed up and said “don’t lay your hands on your son.”
3. How do you know both messages are from the Lord?
4. Abraham only has a moment to make a decision.
5. Abraham has a history of Angels of the Lord giving him a message.
a. God speaks to us in a way we can understand.
b. God speaks to us in different ways at different times.
B. The design of God’s test was for Abraham to prove for himself his uncompromised
Love for the Lord.
1. The design of the test was to prove to Abraham that he could trust God in all
things.
2. The trials that God placed on Abraham had brought him to complete
submission to the Father.
3. God designs tests for us to bring us to complete reliance on Him.
V.22:13. “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.”
A. The Lord provided a lamb for the sacrifice as a substitute for Isaac.
1. Jesus offered Himself up as a sacrifice for our sins.
2. God the Father did not withhold His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
3. The Love of God for us is proven in His sacrifice for us.
B. All we have to do is lift our eyes to the Lord to see His love for us.
C. God provides what He expects us to sacrifice to Him.
1. Our mistake is to fail to consider that what God provides is to be used for His
Glory.
V.22:14. “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.”
1. Because God has been Good to Us, we ought to have a Testimony before the world
of His Goodness.
2. The testimony ought to be written in our hearts and in our expressions of gratitude.
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