THE LORD PROVIDES

Feb 5

We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or be used for a sermon group discussion.

Sermon Title: THE LORD PROVIDES

Main Scripture: Hebrews 11:17-19; Genesis 22:1-18

If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!

Summary:

How would you know how strong your faith in God is if you're not tested? If it's not given an opportunity to be stretched or tried you really don't know. How will you know you can trust God in difficult times if you're not tested in good times? Most importantly, how do you know who God is and how faithful He is if you do not go through the testing? Your faith and love for God grow when you trust God through the tests and come out the other side experiencing the faithfulness of God.

Notes:

Intro:

A.P. Ross, from the Bible Knowledge Commentary, offers a good preview of our faith lesson today: “It is one thing to claim to trust God’s word when waiting for something; it is quite another thing to trust and obey His word after it is received. This was a test of how much Abraham would obey God’s word. Would he cling to the boy now that he had him, or would he still obey and return him to the Lord? In other words, how far would Abraham go in obedience? Did he really believe that God would still keep His word and raise the seed of promise?” -Ross, A. P. Bible Knowledge Commentary

Genesis 22:1-18

V. 1-2 Abraham’s faith tested

Our scripture opens with "Sometime later" God came and tested Abraham. What was the test? Give something back to God close and dear to Abraham's heart, his one-of-a-kind and unique son, his promised heir.
God had no intention of letting Abraham go through with this sacrifice of Isaac. God has and always will be opposed to human sacrifice (Deut. 18:10; Lev. 18:21; Jer. 7:31).

V. 3-10 Abraham’s faith revealed and refined

V. 3-4 Abraham’s response was stunning; he didn’t hesitate to obey. (Map) THAT WAS A LONG TIME TO CONSIDER TURNING BACK
V. 5 His statement, We will worship and then we will come back reveals his faith.
V.6 Carrying the fire means the fire was already lit, maybe by a torch or a lamp that they kept fueled until they reached the place of sacrifice.
V.7-8 In response to Isaac’s question Where is the lamb? Abraham again revealed his faith: God Himself will provide (v. 8; cf. v. 14).
V. 9-10 I always wonder what Isaac was thinking during this…lol. Did Isaac want to double-check that his dad didn’t eat some wild mushrooms or encourage his dad to get alone with God again just to make sure? It does appear that Isaac was demonstrating his own faith, not just in his dad but in God by submitting himself to the process. Do you think the next time Abraham asked Isaac to go on a trip he hesitated a little?! ;)
What would the test reveal? It would reveal the faith and heart of Abraham. Abraham was prepared and aced this test. God stopped Abraham because he saw his heart was willing to obey. Abraham demonstrated that everything he has belongs to God.

V. 11-14 The Lord provides a substitute

V. 12 God commends Abraham’s obedient fear because it was evidence of faith. "For now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”
Fear of the Lord is not a scared fear, it’s a holy reverence for God, a respect and zeal to honor and do God’s will over your own.
V. 13 God didn't just stop Abraham's arm, God provided the substitute ram, so the worship would continue.
Isaac was brought “from the dead” twice—once from Sarah’s dead womb, and again from this high altar (cf. Heb. 11:17–19) -Ross, A. P.
V. 14 The key idea of the entire passage is summarized in the name Abraham gave to the place: Yahweh Yir’eh, The Lord will provide (or, “see”; v. 14) -Ross, A. P.

Foreshadowing of Jesus Christ:

“One and only son,” In greek, means “one of a kind” or “unique.” Abraham is willing to give His one-of-a-kind, unique son born through a miracle. Jesus is also God’s one and only son (John 3:16) referred to as the Unique one (John 1:18 NLT), and His birth took a miracle (Matthew 1:23).
The ram (more common to find on the top of a mountain versus a lamb). The Ram is an innocent victim dying as a substitute for another, and blood is shed. Jesus is called the lamb of God, he was spotless, innocent, and sinless, but shed his blood for all of us.
The mountain of Moriah is in Jerusalem. On the mountaintop, the Lord will provide. It would be thousands of years later that God would provide on the mountain of Moriah, where Calvary stands and where Jesus was crucified… the Lord provided the greatest provision we could ever need…the sacrificial offering for our redemption and salvation.
For more connections: https://www.gotquestions.org/Abraham-Isaac.html

V. 15-18 God again confirms His covenant.

Hebrews 11:17-19 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

Application:

Testing reveals and refines our faith

God already knows what we’ll do, but we don’t know what we’ll do or where we can grow until we are tested.
God has been testing you, what is it revealing about your faith? Are you discovering that your faith is growing or needs to grow?

The test of our grip What do we hold dear and tightly to?

Life was good for Abraham. But when life is good we get comfortable, complacent, and forgetful of where we've come from, where we are headed, and where blessings come from.
Abraham already received his miracle child, would he be complacent? This test revealed Abraham wasn’t and his faith remained strong.
Was God still Abraham’s first love? Yes, he was willing to give up his son.
When God calls us or tests us to give or give up something it will reveal our grip. We see in Hebrews 11 that the heroes of faith didn’t hold a tight grip on this world but on God’s kingdom for them.
God wants to provide and bless but not at the expense of losing your love and relationship with Him.
God will test our faith to see where our love, devotion, and trust lie.

What has God been asking you to give?

Control? Perfection? Your plans? Sinful habits and the pleasures of this world? Time? Tithe? Talent/Giftings? How about all three? The salvation and turnaround of your loved ones and friends?
How about TRUST? Through this series, God has been asking us to put our faith and trust in Him. God is testing us to see if we’ll finally trust Him with these things. It’s time to put our faith in Him and step out and obey. We can trust God because…

Testing reveals the faithfulness of God

This test revealed the Lord is faithful to provide!
God already knows what we’ll do but we don’t know the measure of God’s faithfulness until we trust and obey.
By Faith, Abraham witnessed that God is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord of provision. But Abraham believed and obeyed before it was revealed and provided. That is true faith!
God already provided Abraham and Sarah their miracle child. This test was refining Abraham’s faith and once again God proved to be the Lord who provides!

My personal experience

My life - Romans 12:1-2
My Finances - Malachi 3:8-12; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11

Malachi 3:8-12 is one of only three instances in the Bible where it refers to man testing God. And in the other two, the testing under consideration is portrayed as wrong and arrogant (Psalms 95:9; Malachi 3:15; Matthew 4:5-7; Exodus 17:1-7). Only here does God invite man to test (bachan) Him legitimately.
God supplies the generous giver - 2 Corinthians 9:6-11

On the mountain of testing where I give God my trust, my life, my finances, my family, and this church, I have found God to be Jehovah Jireh!

Jenni Cox and Tom Seacord - God provides in every way

God has already revealed He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides! Don’t hesitate to trust God and give whatever He asks of you. God rewards those who fear, trust, and obey Him. God is going to keep His promise to provide ALL our needs.

Ross, A. P. (1985). Genesis. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1. Victor Books.

Hodges, Z. C. (1985).Hebrews. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 808). Victor Books.

Discussion:

According to Genesis 22, what were some of the moments that revealed the faith of Abraham?
What does it mean to fear the Lord?
What good came from this testing and what good has come from your own tests in life?
What are some characteristics God reveals about Himself through this encounter?
What notes did you write down or what did you take away from this message?
What has this sermon challenged you to give or give up?

The most important decision you will ever make!

Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed? We encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, amen!

We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.

Pray Together

We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!

Ryan Coon