Offering Isaac

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If you want to open up your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 11, how many of you have a favorite film, favorite movie? Just about everybody in the room.
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Some of you, it's a classic movie.
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Some of you, it's a comedy.
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Some of you, it's probably bad to everybody else.
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But you love it just because of how bad it is.
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But almost all of us have a favorite film and we could wax on about how much we like it.
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And we could probably go through much of the dialogue, even in our own minds, because we have seen it so many times.
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Rarely do we call a film our favorite film if we've only seen it once.
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Usually our favorite film is one that we have back in the time of the videocassette tape.
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We would have worn out the tape or or now with the DVDs and Blu-ray discs, we probably wouldn't wear them out.
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But at the same time, we've we've certainly had our fill of that particular movie.
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Well, the reason why I address that as an introduction this morning, as I was sitting thinking about this sermon, as I was sitting down at the communion table and considering what I was going to be preaching this morning, it kind of dawned on me that this particular passage, the story that we're going to be looking at this morning is my favorite.
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And I know a lot of times I'll say, well, this this verse is my favorite of that verse is my favorite.
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But I'll say this outside of the outside of the resurrection truth.
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I don't think there's a story in scripture that affects me more as a as a father.
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And as a believer in God's goodness, God's ability to work all things out for his good, his ability to make all things right, even when things seem terribly wrong.
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I think this story just sort of transcends so much and sort of is made applicable in so many ways.
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And every time I hear it preached, I hear something different about it.
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And and that's kind of the other reason why I mentioned the movie thing as an analogy.
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As you listen to this sermon this morning and we talk about, obviously, the subject is the offering of Isaac.
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I want you to try as best as you can to imagine this is the first time you've heard this story.
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Imagine that this is the first time you've had to address God's involvement, Abraham's involvement, Isaac's involvement and how these things are working together.
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And what we are watching in this story, I always tell people and people always give me a funny look.
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I say the only way to to take this story is to take it existentially.
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And people say existentially.
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Wait a minute.
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Does that mean it's not real? No, no, no, no.
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Existentially means it is real.
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It exists.
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You have to read it remembering this actually happened.
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This actually existed.
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There was a man named Abraham.
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There was a boy named Isaac.
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And there was a God who commanded him to do the unthinkable.
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And only you see, because if it is a story that is not based in reality, then all it is is a fairy tale.
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And it really has no it might have an it might have an overarching moral truth, but it does not affect our soul until we realize this is a man and a boy.
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And a very real God.
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And that's when it begins to pierce us to the core and we begin to lay it open bare before God to show us what he really desires to show us.
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I don't have a lot of notes this morning.
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I normally bring an entire manuscript with me, but this morning I'm going to simply let the text speak for itself and I'm going to make comments as I go.
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But I did write one line.
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I wrote one sentence.
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This isn't a quote I got out of a quote book.
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It really just was in my mind and I kept thinking about it.
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And I kept thinking about I said, you know what, if I don't write it down, I'll get up there and forget.
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So this is the line I wrote for the sermon.
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The man who walks to his own torturous execution walks with heavy feet.
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Hear that again, the man who walks to his own torturous execution walks with heavy feet.
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Now, why would I think why would that be the reverberating sentence in my mind as I think about what I'm going to be preaching this morning? Because I think that had Abraham been walking to his own torturous execution, it would have been easier than what he had been commanded to do.
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I think had he been walking towards his own death, which I think he would have accepted gladly if God had commanded him to give himself in sacrifice.
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No problem.
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But the very command of God to take thy son, thy only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest is so heart wrenching to even imagine to think about how heavy his feet must have been.
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To make that trek.
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To Mount Moriah, so let's begin this morning in Hebrews, we're going to read the text in Hebrews and then we're going to go back to Genesis 22, we're going to read the text that actually expands on it.
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The Hebrews tells us some things that Genesis doesn't.
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So I'm going to be making some connections later.
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So we need to read this first.
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And as is our custom, our tradition, we stand in the reading of the word.
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So I invite you to stand and read with us now with Hebrews 11 verses 17 through 19.
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It begins with this this consistent opening by faith.
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That's what this whole passage, whole chapter is about.
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And he says, by faith, Abraham, when he was tested.
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Offered up Isaac.
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And he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his son, of whom it was said through Isaac, shall your offspring be named? He considered that God was able.
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Even to raise him from the dead, from which figuratively speaking.
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He did.
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Receive him back.
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Father God.
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Thank you.
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Thank you for the mercy that you have given to us that we would even believe your word.
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You have opened our hearts to truth.
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And this morning, we pray that you would give us an extra measure of your spirit to understand the story.
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I pray, oh, Lord, that you would keep me from error, that you would focus me intently on the truth, and I pray that you would open the hearts of the people to receive this truth, that we might all glorify your name as we see the outworking of your spirit's work and your purposes in the life of Abraham.
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And all this, Lord, we ask in Jesus precious name.
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Amen.
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If you would like to go ahead and turn in your Bibles back to Genesis and go to Genesis chapter 22, normally when I quote this first portion where God speaks to Isaac, I tend to quote from the King James Version only because hearing it and remembering it in that way, it it seems to just be burned into my mind in that way.
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But we're going to read from our pulpit translation this morning.
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And as I said, what I'm going to do is I'm going to walk through the text.
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What is expository preaching? We've learned this before.
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It's read the text, explain the text, apply the text.
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Well, that's what I'm going to do.
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But rather than give you an outline or give you some kind of a format to follow, we're just going to let the text be its own outline.
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We're going to let the text be its own format.
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We're going to read it.
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Narratives do not often lend themselves to a didactic outline.
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Narratives often lend themselves to learning from the experiences of others.
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One of the best ways that we can learn, if we are intelligent, is to learn from other people's experiences and learn from their mistakes, learn from their joys, learn from all these things.
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So I think one of the greatest things that we have in Scripture is all these narrative passages where we see people doing good and doing bad.
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And we learn from them.
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So in Genesis chapter 22, it says, After these things, God tested Abraham.
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Now, before we go any further, I think it's important that I immediately stop and make a comment.
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I didn't get too far, did I? It says, And after these things, God tested Abraham.
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It this is one of the times where translations are can be askew and translations can create issues and errors, because if you have a King James Bible, the King James Bible, I believe, if I'm not incorrect and I know I have the capability of being incorrect, but I believe it says God did tempt Abraham or attempted Abraham.
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Is that correct? It doesn't say tempted in your in your King James.
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It says tested.
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OK, all right.
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All right, well, I know that there have been some English translations that have used the word tempt.
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You have one.
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OK, you have one that says that.
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All right, that's good.
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It's not good that it says that.
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It's good that I don't look like an idiot to sit here and say, I know there's someone that has a I knew someone would have one.
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Well, good.
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Well, and the reason why I think this is important is because if you if you turn to the book of James chapter one and verse 13 in your mind or you can turn there on the page, if you want to James chapter one and verse 13 says this, it says God tempted no one, neither is he tempted by sin.
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So we know the Bible is very clear that God does not tempt.
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But yet at the same time, the question is is is is made very obvious.
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Well, what is the difference between a test and a temptation? Well, beloved, I will be very honest with you, sometimes they come in the exact same form that which is a test can also be very tempting.
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It all gets down to the issue of motivation.
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When God put something before us for an opportunity to do right, he is not providing with the opportunity to do right a desire for the wrong.
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Yet we often have a desire for the wrong.
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We have the desire from the wrong from within ourselves.
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The flesh desires to do wrong.
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We have the world around us which encourages us to do wrong.
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And we have, of course, Satan himself and his minions who encourage us to do wrong.
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That's the battle.
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That's what the Scripture tells us.
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We fight a battle with the flesh.
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We fight a battle with the world and we fight a battle with Satan.
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So that's the reality of it.
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God provides in our lives these opportunities for righteousness.
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Some of them are very hard.
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And often with those opportunities to do right, Satan is right there.
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He's right in the midst, encouraging us to do evil.
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He is encouraging us not to move ahead, not to do what God wants us to do, not to move forward.
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So we see here when it says God tested Abraham, that is exactly what this is.
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This is an opportunity for Abraham to demonstrate himself as a person of genuine faith.
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And might I say this, I don't know any person outside of Jesus Christ who was ever tested like Abraham.
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And you say, what do you mean Jesus was tested? Jesus was perfect.
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He couldn't sin.
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How do you say he was tested? Well, the Bible says he was led into the wilderness 40 days and that he was tempted by Satan.
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That's a reality you have to remember, folks, because most of us have never been tempted by Satan himself.
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Satan is an angel.
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Satan is not omnipresent.
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And as I've said many times, Satan probably doesn't even know my name.
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He'd probably care less who Medford Foskey is, honestly.
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He's got bigger fish to fry.
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But there are demons and the demons exist and they, of course, are influential all around the world.
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One of the things I think is so amazing when you read the scripture is that in this time of scripture, there was a lot of demon possession.
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The Bible was very clear there were demons that were possessing and influencing a lot of people.
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And today we see people that are messed up and we say, oh, he's just messed up.
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We forget the demons are still here.
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They haven't gone away and we still live in a spiritual world.
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We still live in a world that is influenced by the spiritual things.
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And the Bible says we don't fight.
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We don't fight a battle with flesh and blood, but we fight a battle with the spiritual things.
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And they're out there.
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And as such, when we see.
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Oh, by the way, just take a step back when I said I don't think Satan's ever, ever, ever even looked at me or whatever.
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And some people say, well, you're a pastor.
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R.C.
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Sproul said the same thing.
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And I know if anybody's got influence in the Christian world, it's him.
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And he said he still didn't think he made it on the radar in the sense of Satan has got Satan is influencing the world.
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He's doing his thing.
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But we still have this demonic influence.
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We still have these demonic things that are going on.
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And we have these temptations that are always out there.
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We have all these things that are going on and these issues that are going on.
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And it says.
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Here, it says God tested Abraham.
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Well, we are tested as well.
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But no one, as I said, has ever been tested like Abraham outside of Jesus Christ, who was tested by Satan himself.
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It says after all these or after these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham.
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And he said, here I am.
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He said, take your son.
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Your only son, Isaac.
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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, I try to fathom that.
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I try to fathom, number one, God even speaking to you audibly, that's that's a that's to even fathom that.
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But then.
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Remember, Abraham's life, Abraham has received a promise from God, Genesis chapter 12, I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you.
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And I will bless those who bless you and I'll curse those who curse you and those and through you, all the nations of the world shall be blessed.
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And then, you know, Abraham goes for a time, no children.
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He goes for a time and he says, hey, all I've got is Eliezer of Damascus, which is, you know, is a son of one of my servants, you know, sort of an adoption.
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And God says, no, it's actually going to be Sarah's child.
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And so later they say, well, maybe it wasn't Sarah, it was Hagar, you know, so they have Hagar and Ishmael and that creates Ishmael and all the Ishmaelites come from him.
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And there's an entire nation comes from him.
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That's not the one that was chosen.
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Finally, Sarah, 90 years old, has Isaac.
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Imagine that.
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Here, she has this child, Isaac, this one they've been waiting on, they've been they've been they've been looking forward to this their entire life.
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And now God says, this son who you love and that portion of the text is like a dagger to me.
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Because it's further reiterating how hard this is.
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Take your son, your only son, people say, well, wait a minute now, Pastor, that's not his only son.
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You just said he had, you know, adopted son and he had Ishmael.
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How is it this is his only son? Well, I think what you have to remember is the issue of only people say, well, it was it was Sarah's child.
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It was the only one she had.
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It's the only legitimate child of Abraham and Sarah.
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I think that the issue there is lost somewhat because.
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In the scripture, the word only sometimes can have variation in meaning.
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You say, well, I mean, only means only it's how's that variation mean? You've heard the phrase only begotten.
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Right.
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You've heard the for God's love, the world that he gave his only begotten son.
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Well, the idea of only begotten people think of that meaning only one that you've had.
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And and people address that in John 316.
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Well, this is the only son of God.
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Jesus is the only son of God.
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Well, that's true.
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But aren't we called sons and daughters of God? Aren't we called God's children? What is it about Christ? What is the only the word monogamous in Greek means unique? The only one like him, that's the key, that's the key about Jesus, God so loved the world that he gave the only one like him, the only one that is truly God of God, very God, a very God, according to the old, you know, the creeds of the early church.
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They said he was very God of very God, the only one like him.
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The monogamous.
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The only begotten son and that same idea is being used here about Isaac.
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It's not just that he's the only son of Sarah, but he is the unique son.
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He is the one whom God has chosen to bring forth the entire nation of Israel.
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He's the only one like him.
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And Abraham knows it.
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He knows this is the only one.
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This is the the nation is not going to come out of Ishmael.
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The nation is not going to come out of Eliezer.
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The nation is going to come out of him.
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And now I have to offer him as a sacrifice.
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How does that compute? It doesn't make any sense, humanly speaking, to take the only one whom you have promised me a nation from and go and kill him.
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This is why this is listed as an act of faith, the greatest act of faith.
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Because this is the only one he's unique, and it goes on to say in verse three, something I find very, very interesting in verse three says, 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.
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I find it interesting and you may not, but he rose early in the morning.
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I think if there's any morning I would have wanted to sleep in.
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If there was any morning I would have wanted to put it off.
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Is he anxious to go and fulfill the word of the Lord? No, but he gets about the task of doing ministry, doing what he's called to do, not ministry in the sense of what we think of ministry, but he's been called by God to do something and he's not putting it off.
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He was quick to respond to the call of God.
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He rose early.
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He went within three days.
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I can imagine, I know my heart.
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I can imagine had God said, you know, take your son.
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I can imagine wanting to have some time to kind of think that over.
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I can imagine wanting to have some time to maybe go before the before the bar of God and seek some kind of leniency.
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I can imagine wanting to cry out for mercy to God that let it never be.
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But he got up and he went out and cut that wood.
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I mean, cut the wood for the offering.
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You got to imagine with every swing of the axe.
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He knows what this was for.
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He knows what he's got to do.
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He knows in a little while this was going to turn to smoldering.
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And the very flesh of the sun will be burned on the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.
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Then Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey.
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And I think that's again, looking at the story, I think that's very strategic because had they gone up on the mountain with him, it would have been likely that they tried to stop him when they see who's going to be the offering.
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Stay here with the donkey, I and the boy.
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And here's another key.
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Again, the story is so full of information.
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I and the boy will go over there and worship and come back to you.
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I and the boy will go and come back.
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Most people read past that, miss that.
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Now you say, why? Why would he say that? Hebrews tells us why, because the only reason why Abraham was strong enough to do this was because he believed God could raise him from the dead.
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Go back to Hebrews very quickly, just just in your minds or jump over there with me.
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Hebrews chapter 11 and read with me again what Hebrews says.
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Hebrews chapter 11 and the text, it says verse 19.
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He, Talmud Abraham, considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
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Abraham knew somehow God was going to make this right.
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Abraham knew somehow God is going to make this right.
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How many times do we in life go through trials and we are in the valley and it is only our belief that God is going to make this right, that gets us through it.
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God has a purpose and he.
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It's going to make it right, so back into Genesis now, I just wanted to point that out, he believed God could raise him from the dead, he believed this wasn't the end.
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And back in verse seven or rather where we were in verse five, he says.
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He said, stay here with the donkey and the boy will go over there and worship and come back to you.
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And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife.
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So they went, both of them together, and Isaac said to his father, Abraham, oh, I say this breaks my heart.
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He said, my father.
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And he said, here I am here, here, my son, my son.
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He said, behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Now, before we get to Abraham's response, I want you to think about that question.
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Obviously, he's done this before.
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The son of Abraham would have seen many such sacrifices and he would have understood how this works.
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And he says, all right, dad, I've got the wood on my shoulder, which interestingly enough, that very thing, which would be his place of sacrifice, was carried on his shoulder.
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Likewise, Christ would carry his wood on his shoulder.
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That's just an interesting parallel, but he says, I've got the wood, you've got the knife and you've got the fire.
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Yeah, they didn't have Zippos back then, so they had to carry fire, which they had kindled on a on a on a torch.
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And he says, but where is the lamb? And Abraham responded with one of the most profound statements.
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In fact, we get a common use language or common use term that we use in our modern language.
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People use the phrase Jehovah Jireh.
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You've heard that phrase and that simply means God will provide.
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Well, this is what he says, Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.
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So they went both of them together.
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Beloved, verse eight is the gospel because God did provide a lamb.
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And the person of his son, now we're getting ahead of ourselves in this story.
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But just that in and of itself is a sermon in and of itself, God will provide a lamb.
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God will provide for himself.
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A lamb, verse nine, when they came to the place of which God had told them, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac, his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
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You know, it never says Isaac responded in any other way.
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But obedience, it doesn't say he cried out for mercy.
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You can imagine what's going through his mind, the fear, the concern, the the.
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Immediate change in condition where they had gone to worship the Lord and now he is the sacrifice, then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife.
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To slaughter his son, but the angel of the Lord.
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And that's an important statement there, when you see the word angel, the word angel means messenger.
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But.
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In many of your Bibles, when you see the phrase the angel of the Lord, you'll notice the angel is usually capitalized, that is the messenger of Jehovah.
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That's the, you know, better translation, I think, is messenger of Jehovah rather than angel is angel we think about as created beings.
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But oftentimes the the messenger of Jehovah speaks on behalf of Jehovah, speaks as Jehovah in some instances.
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And there have been people who have conjectured that that is actually what is called a theophany or an actual God speaking or a Christophany, Christ in his pre-incarnate condition.
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Again, that that's that's a theological issue for another time.
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But I just want to make the point, because when you read it, some of you will see that capitalized a in your text and you'll wonder why that is that way.
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But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham.
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And he said, here am I.
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He said, do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him.
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For now, I know that you fear God, seeing that you have withheld.
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You have not withheld your son, your only son.
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From me, notice he references me and God together again, another reason of thinking this is Christophany, but again, be that as it may.
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Some people say, well, wait a minute.
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Does this mean God didn't know before what Abraham would do? God is not caught by surprise by anything that we do.
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God is not caught off guard by anything that we do.
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And God is sovereign over all things.
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And he has perfect foreknowledge.
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He knows all things, yet at the same time, the reality of the sacrifice, had it not occurred, how could we look back and know that Abraham's faith was as real as it is? You say, but it doesn't say, hey, you would know.
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It says, God said, I know.
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Yes, at this point, there can be no doubt.
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Not that God ever had any, but there is no question.
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He had the blade in his hand, ready to plunge it into the chest of his son.
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The only thing holding him back was the moment that it would take to fulfill it.
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And God said, now there is no question, because you have held nothing back from me.
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And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns.
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And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
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So Abraham called the name of that place, the Lord will provide, as it is said to this day, on the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided.
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Beloved, what you've just seen is a beautiful picture of substitution.
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And what's amazing is in that substitution, we see Christ pictured and his work exemplified.
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The Bible teaches us that we are all sinful people by nature and by choice.
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And we all deserve to be on the altar of God's judgment.
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We deserve to have the sharpened edge of his wrath plunged into our very soul.
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But yet God provided himself a lamb.
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And in providing the lamb, he took our place and gave himself on the altar of God's wrath that we could have eternal life.
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This story is the gospel.
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This story is a picture of the gospel to us, that though we deserve God's wrath, God has provided a sacrifice for us.
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Beloved, if you're here this morning and you've never heard that message and you don't know the gospel, let me again tell you, for it is a simple thing.
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You are a sinner.
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God is holy.
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God hates sin.
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But he loved the world so much that he sent his son.
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That every person who believes in him, his son would be their sacrifice.
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And they will have eternal life.
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Do you have that sacrifice today? Do you know Christ? If not, beloved, you sit precariously under the dagger of God's wrath.
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And I tell you that the Bible tells us this, that it is commanded by God that we repent and trust in Christ.
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And if you haven't done that, I encourage you to do so.
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For we do not know what today or tomorrow or this week will bring.
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But we know we will all one day face God.
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For it is appointed unto man once to die and then judgment.
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With that in our hearts, let us go to the Lord in prayer.
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Father, I don't know who in this room has heard the gospel or who has not.
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If there are those here who haven't.
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And Lord, I don't know who in this room needs to come to Christ for salvation.
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But Lord, we know you know.
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And we know it is your power alone that will call them to yourself.
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But your word tells us that it is by preaching the gospel that people hear and believe.
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I pray, O God, I pray that the gospel has been proclaimed.
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I pray that people will hear and believe and demonstrate, O Lord, your wonderful mercy in their lives.
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And Lord, if there are those here who know you, but Lord, need to repent of something in their lives that is keeping them separated.
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I pray that you be merciful to them and grant them repentance.
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All these things, Lord, we ask in Jesus' name and for his sake.
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Amen.
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Amen.