290 Keep Your Stinking Fingers Off My Plate Mark 10: 17 - 26 Dr. John C...

Lessons Carols December 22, 2019

288 The Magnificat (Mary's Song Luke 1 46 to 55 Dec 15 2019

The Magnificat Luke 1: 46-55

A small portion of the message, sermon for this Sunday the 15th at Quacco Baptist Church, from Luke 1: 46-55, "The Magnificat"

Mary's prayer during her visit to Elizabeth her relative.

<God's purposes & plans are first revealed in a private meeting between two women on the edge of society> (N.T. Wright)

Open Letter To Leslie Van Houten

285 Moses Type of Jesus Acts 7 37 Nov 24 2019

Beginning
With Moses & the Prophets

“This
is That Moses”

Acts
7: 37

Introduction

            We are going to enter in a couple of weeks the season of
Advent. It’s that time of the year when we give a special remembrance of the
birth, the incarnation of the eternal Son of God, therefore we’ll take a pause
in this series of Jesus explaining to His two disciples those things concerning
Him. 

Of the whole
line of prophets there wasn’t one who could be regarded as closely resembling
Moses. Stephen in his defense before the Council, as the KJV has it in 7:37,
“This is that Moses”. 

This particular expression is used mostly with
you want to apart & mark guilty an individual; “this is that person . . .”.
The object of Stephen is to fix attention that the Moses who brought Israel out
of Egypt was the very same person, the same Moses who predicted the coming of a
greater prophet. ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your
brethren.” 

This Moses, whom the Jews had a blind
attachment to, had told them of the Christ whom they would reject.

Moses stands out magnificently; a great man
wearing as we say today many hats at the same time. Prophet, legislator,
historian, ruler & champion.

To this day Moses is considered a hero of the
Jewish nation -- His life, a very remarkable one at that, has been divided into
three periods of forty years each. The first in training in the arts in Egypt
& on how to be somebody.

The second he spent in God’s boot camp train in
the desert learning to be nobody.

The third period of forty years as leader &
lawgiver of Israel, learning that God is everybody - He is everything - He is
the only thing.

The question of course is how Moses can be seen
as a type of Christ. The great theme of prophecy & performance is the
mediatorial character, of Christ, Messiah; His position as an intermediary, I’d
go so far as to say, negotiator, which is consistent in Jesus being a prophet,
priest, & king; and, each of these offices was typified by Moses.

LEADER AND LAWGIVER.

Moses was divinely appointed as ruler &
leader of the Israelites (Exodus 3) - Jesus is head of His church & is now
and will yet physically reign as king on earth. (Matthew 28:18ff)

LEADER 

The situation of the Jews in Egypt depicted
that of the whole human race given up for their sins to be the captives of
Satan. We should be able to follow, or better imagine our condition being s the
Israelities in Egypt we can trace a good resemblance between the two
deliverers, Moses & Christ Jesus.

Moses & Christ both came to an enslaved
race, and claimed authority to set free prisoners; when proof of their
authority was demanded, they both wrought wonders which were beyond human
power. The same kind of opposition ranged against the one and the other — the
magicians contending with Moses, and evil spirits with Christ. (Exodus 7 &
8;  Matthew 
8:28-29;).

The deliverance of people by the two was
singularly alike. Moses broke off the yoke from
the neck of a captive people, and Christ from the neck of the whole human
race. 

Moses made a passage for the Israelites out of
Egypt & when that happened the tyrant of Egypt, Pharaoh, pursued the freed
tribes and looked to regain his dominion that he had lost.  Peter warns
that the devil goes around like a hungry roaring lion looking for who he can
destroy (1 Peter 5:8).

Even though Jesus redeemed us from the power of
Satan, who knows that evil spirits, fallen angels, demons are there eager to
regain their former dominion, pursue those that follow the Lord of
salvation? 

Moses led Israel out of Egypt, he told them of
the promised land but he didn’t put them there at once; he lead them through a
dreary desert, wilderness, they were continually subject to trials.

We, those born again, are told of a beautiful
promised land that awaits us, that is our inheritance; but we know good and
well that there isn’t immediate entrance; all believers, followers of the Lord
Jesus Christ, those born again of the Spirit have to traverse a desert, a
wilderness that is set thick with snares & peopled with enemies & that
it is after many trials & tribulations that will finally one day take
possession of our heritage.

LAWGIVER

Moses, the outstanding lawgiver who revealed
God’s mind to a people.In this capacity Moses bore a striking resemblance to
Christ. He would restore amongst the Jews the decayed knowledge of Jehovah, re-institute
a pure worship, and establish laws which would mark them off as a peculiar
people. 

Wasn’t the condition of our Gentile race
similar to that of Israel? There was hardly any trace of truth; the whole
Gentile race was given up to idolatry, and Christ had to instruct this world in
the very first elements of spiritual truth.

Moses led the children of Israel through the
waters of the Red Sea, and then formed them into a church, with means and
ordinances for producing and preserving acquaintance with God, obedience to His
will, and hope in His promises. Jesus now conducts us through the waters of
baptism into fellowship with His mystical body, that we may be taught in duty
and trained for immortality.

Moses restores the altars of God, delivers
laws, institutes sacrifices; and Christ erects a visible Church, with
ordinances and sacraments, that those who are in error may be taught, and those
who know the truth may be confirmed.

Moses laid the foundation of Jewish literature
in the first five books of the Bible - Jesus is the one dominating the world’s
literature.

A MEDIATOR

The Israelites were assembled round Sinai to
receive the commandments and the law of their God. it was all grandeur &
terrible at the publication of the law there. Appalled by what they saw and
heard, the rulers of Israel said to Moses, Go near and hear all that the LORD our God
says; then speak to us all that the LORD our God speaks to you, and we will
hear and do [it.]' . . . as
soon as this petition was offered, God said to Moses, 'I have heard the voice of
the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in
all that they have spoken. (Deuteronomy 5:27-28).

This signified His, God’s approval of the
consciousness that fallen creatures cannot approach Him except through an
intercessor; in Deuteronomy 18: 15-18, the prediction of the text is
there made to to say as much, "They have asked a mediator, and a Mediator
will I give them, in the fullness of time, who shall resemble you in standing,
as you do now, between God and man." Isn’t this a pretty accurate
resemblance?

It’s by the law that we as the Israelites stand
in terror, but to shield us from the terror of the law, which condemns every
single human being to everlasting punishment that Jesus Christ arose as
mediator between God & man? 

At conversion there is enacted much of that
scene that’s described as occurring when the Israelites stood around Sinai. The
Spirit handles the moral law in a way that makes the individual perceive that
there hasn’t been a moment of his life where he hasn’t violated its commands,
and that there is no infraction so slight but it entails punishment. For the
first time knows rightly the awfulness of God; then will he exclaim with the
Israelites at the foot of Sinai, "This great fire will consume me: if I
hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, then shall I die." 

Such a one will at once feel that he cannot
stand in his own strength and his own merit stand face to face with his Maker.
That one will realize there’s no alternative but that of leaving himself to
either be crushed under the weight of indignation, unless he can find some
being mighty enough and pure enough to rise up as an intercessor, an advocate, and
plead his cause with the Eternal One. Who then can deny, that in respect of the
office of mediator, the prophecy quoted by Stephen had its fulfilment in
Christ?

IN THE PARTICULARS OF HIS LIFE.

            Moses was wonderfully preserved when
the male children of the Hebrews were destroyed; and thus also was Christ
preserved when Herod slew all the children in Bethlehem. Moses fled from his
country, and then there came a message, "Go, return into Egypt: for all
the men are dead which sought thy life"; Christ fled, in a like manner,
and then there came a message in almost the same words. 

Moses contended with the magicians, and forced
them to acknowledge his power — Christ contended with evil spirits, and
obtained from them a similar confession. Immediately before emancipating
Israel, Moses instituted the passover — immediately before redeeming mankind,
Christ instituted the Lord's Supper. 

When Moses had to appoint elders, he appointed
seventy — when Christ chose disciples, He chose seventy. Into the land that was
to be conquered Moses sent twelve men as spies — when the world was to be
subdued, Christ sent twelve men as apostles. 

How did Moses overcome Amalek? By extending
both arms, and keeping them stretched out. How did Christ subdue all our
enemies? By suffering that His hands should be nailed to the cross. As a
prophet, it was specially of the desolations which should overtake the
disobedient Jews that Moses made mention; and, as a prophet, it was of the
destruction of Jerusalem that Christ chiefly spoke. 

Moses had to deal with a perverse generation,
who were not to be won over to obeying God, and who, consequently, with the exception
of two, all perished in the wilderness. 

Moses had to endure injurious treatment from
his own family — his brother Aaron and his sister Miriam rebelled against him;
and we are told of Christ, "Neither did His brethren believe on
Him." 

Moses fed the people miraculously in the
wilderness; Christ fed thousands miraculously in the desert. In lifting up the
brazen serpent, didn’t Moses typify Christ? 

It wasn’t until Moses was dead that the people
could enter the Promised Land; it was only by the death of Christ that the
kingdom of heaven was opened to all believers. 

In the fullness of his strength, when "his
eye was not dim nor his natural force abated," did Moses go up to die; and
when Christ was yet in the flower of His age He went up to the summit of
Calvary. 

Before he went up to die Moses comforted the
disconsolate tribes with an assurance that God would raise them up another
Prophet; before Christ went up to die He said to His despondent disciples,
"I will not leave you comfortless; I will pray the Father, and He shall
give you another Comforter."

 Moses was buried, but no one knew where
his body lay; Christ was buried, and yet was His body was sought in vain by the
Jews. Surely, if ever there was a wonderful resemblance, it is that which we
thus trace in minute particulars, between Moses and Christ.

284 Joseph: Type, Foreshadow of Jesus?

Beginning With Moses
& the Prophets

Joseph, a type, a
foreshadow of Jesus?

Genesis 37 - 50

Introduction

            The
greatest example that prefigures the King of Glory, who foreshadows the Savior
of the world, is that of Joseph. The whole history of Joseph, chapters 37 to
50, provides us with a great illustration of God’s overriding providence &
should inspire in us a strong confidence of God’s never ceasing protection of
those who are His own. 

Many of the Old
Testament leaders typified a feature of the Messiah who was to come &
fulfill the promises & predictions - such as in:

Melchizedek we see Jesus as High Priest of the
Most High God;

Moses, we see Jesus as the mediator between God
& man;

David, we see Jesus as shepherd, ruler, &
King;

Joseph, we see Jesus as preserver, provider,
& Saviour.

The story of Joseph is
the longest narrative in Genesis; beginning with chapter 37 to the end of
Genesis with chapter 50. There are 449 verses with the exception of 30 verses,
chapter 38, which deals with the incident of Judah and his daughter-in-law
Tamar.

There appears to be two
views given by commentators: one is disagreeing that Joseph be seen as an
almost perfect type / foreshadow of Christ in that there is no place in the New
Testament that says this.

Those scholars say that
there are dangers in making allegorical interpretations so it is safer to keep
from spiritualising or making typological interpretations except where it is
warranted Biblically & it is explicit. 

Joseph was a great man
though never obtained the spiritual stature of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. God
never appeared to him as He did to them. He didn’t give him any of the covenant
promises in any special way, & of the sons of Jacob, it was Judah, not
Joseph through whom God would fulfill the coming of the Saviour. So it is best
not to interpret Joseph’s story as a type/foreshadow of Christ.

On the other hand
others, like Biblical scholar, H. A. Ironsides, who pastored Moody Church in
Chicago 1929-1948, states: “. . . in studying Scripture there is not only the literal application,
which is always important, but every part of the Word of God has a spiritual,
typical, and dispensational application as well, and in Joseph's character and
experience we have a wonderful type of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have to keep in
mind that though, that even if Joseph’s life shines forth from Holy Scripture
as almost, practically flawless. It’s not that he was actually sinless, he had
the same corrupt nature as all descendants of Adam, as Scripture clearly says
in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;
Psalm 14:3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one
who does good, not even one. Psalm 53: 1-3 There is no one
righteous, not even one there is no one who understands; there is no one who
seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless;

            As another commentator said, at best
Joseph was a young good-boy sinner. So it kind of rings hollow when you attempt
to say Joseph never did anything wrong. In 37: 2 where it says “Joseph brought
back a ‘bad report’ . . .” about his brothers, the word translated “report” dibba
is always used in the rest of scripture in the negative sense of an untrue
report; here it is qualified by the adjective ra’a, “evil”. So Joseph at
best maligned or misrepresented his brothers.

A true report but
somewhat exaggerated or inaccurate -- 

I think a lot of that
goes on all the time, usually in the form of gossip and then twisting it just
enough or saying it with a certain inflection of voice so as to misrepresent
what actually transpired.

Joseph, was in effect,
a tattle-tale. So he truly was just like all the rest of humanity. Jesus, I
believe, does not fit into this category of being a tattler. 

So how then can Joseph
be looked at or seen as a type or foreshadow of Christ?

1)- The Beloved of the Father's Heart -- Israel
(Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children because he was the son of his
old age, he made him a coat of many colors. (37:2) -- Matthew 3:17 a voice out of the heavens
said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." 
John 1:18  No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God
who is in the bosom of the Father. This implies a relationship of devoted attachment, of true very deep
affection. The Father loved Him before the foundation of the world and
always delighted to honor Him.

2)- Joseph dreamer of
dreamers with Premonitions of Coming
Glory -- Joseph had a dream,
vision, where his brethren and all his father's house bowing down to him,
37:5-8; and this was the vision granted to our Lord Jesus Christ. Matt.
24:30-31, And
then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes
of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS
OF THE SKY with power and great glory. 31 "And He will send forth His
angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the
four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. Philippians 2:9-11 we read of
Christ, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is
above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those
who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue
will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

3)- Seeking His Brethren, that’s how Joseph first comes as the
one who left the father's house and went forth. Jacob’s heart was toward the
sons who were caring for the flock, first at Shechem and then at Dothan, and he
sent Joseph to see how they were doing and to declare his concern for them.
This sets the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ who came "not to
condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved;"
(John 3:17) He came from the Father's house into this world of sin seeking His
brethren that He might declare the Father's Name to them and manifest the
Father's love. . . . both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all
from one [Father;] for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, (Hebrews 2:11). 

As
the story proceeds we have,

4)-
The Rejection of the Son -- by those whom he sought out for blessings,
and they hated him more because of the father's love for him & detesting
him because of his superior virtue. Let me paraphrase as how we would probably
say it, here comes dreamer boy, let’s kill him and through him in a pit and
say some wild animal devoured him, ate him up, then let’s see what comes about
his dreams. (Gen. 37: 19-20). So tale of their hatred and rejection we have
more than a foreshadow of the treatment that Israel and the Gentiles would yet
accord to God's beloved Son. Not every detail fits like a glove with the
experiences of our Lord and His unbelieving brethren, still we can see plainly
that the story is one and the same: the love of the Father's heart, the
yearning of the Son, and the cruelty by those whom He loved so tenderly; all
clearly manifested.

Hated, Joseph is
thrown into the pit, speaks of death; then sold to the Gentiles and carried
down into Egypt. Our Lord was sold first and then crucified, but both stories
alike tell of the corruption of the human heart and the love of the heart of
God.

5)- Next Scene we
have, The Tempted One --
Joseph experiences illustrate the testing’s and triumphs of our Lord who was
"in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews
4:15). Here we have a man sinful by nature triumphing in the hour of testing
because of the fear of the Lord. "How then can I do this great wickedness,
and sin against God?" (Gen. 39:9) This was his strength. As for our Lord,
yes, He is the sinless One and His temptation was the demonstration of this.
"Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners," (Hebrews 7:26) it
was unthinkable that sin should ever hold dominion over Him. He stood
unflinchingly against every attack of the evil one, and He could ever say,
"The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me" (John
14:30). 

Joseph's temptation
and victory we clearly see the way in which every one of us can overcome. It is
as the Word of God is hidden in our hearts that we shall be kept from sinning
against Him. 

But Joseph wasn’t just
tested in Potioher’s house where he was living in luxury; there were more
trials, false accusations, he suffered for righteousness' sake in the
prison-house. In prison his integrity was demonstrated and the fear of God
preserved him. He shone just as brightly in the dungeon as he did in the
mansion. D. L. Moody once said, "Character is what a man is in the
dark," and this indeed comes out in the case of Joseph. They put
him in fetters of iron, but the prison-cell was only the antechamber to the
royal palace.

He was still the
messenger of Jehovah while in the prison, interpreting the dreams of the butler
and the baker, just like when he told his own dream so long before. There was
no break in his communion with God. He could interpret a dream as to see
visions, he was under the control of the Holy Spirit.

6)- Exalted in Glory

He had been despised,
rejected, hated, spurned, given up for dead, sold into slavery, falsely accused
& imprisoned, and in due time came forth to share the throne of Phataoh as
preserver of the lives for the Egyptians & all his fathers house. 

Asenath, his Gentile
bride; gives a hint of the fact that our Lord, rejected by Israel, found a
bride among the Gentiles, & Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh, (forgetful) &
ephraim (fruitful), tells us how he was made to forget all his sorrows because
fruitfulness of his ministry by the Spirit among the Gentiles.

Then the day came when
all of Egypt & the peoples of the distant lands came and bowed at his feet
and cried to Pharaoh “give us food,'' his answer was “Go to Joseph”; he was the
custodian of all the treasured corn of Egypt, and today just as during the
Millennium, all blessing is centered in Christ, and to every hungry soul
seeking food for life the Father says,

7)- Go to Jesus -- For there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12) but
the Name which was written above Him when He hung rejected on Calvary's cross,
and, thank God, no other name is needed, for He declares,

 "All
power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28:18). He
is exalted to God's right hand, speaking peace to all who trust Him and
ministering grace to every seeking soul.

Joseph's dreams were fulfilled when his
brethren came in their abject need, bowing at his feet, glad to receive from
his hand that which would maintain physical life, and so now Jesus who is
greater than Joseph gives eternal life to bankrupt sinners who bow before Him
confessing their guilt and owning His grace.

Joseph deep compassion for his brethren comes
out clearly when he reveals himself to them, and again when they doubted his
love after his father's death. He was a man of tears just like Jesus; he could
not refrain from weeping, and when they feared that he would remember their
sins after the burial of Jacob, their distrust of his love moved him again to
uncontrolled sobs . He loved to be trusted; he could not bear to be doubted,
and in this he truly he portrays the character of the Lord Jesus.

But the type falls far short of the reality,
and the book of Genesis closes with the death of Joseph and his body placed in
a coffin in Egypt. Praise be to God Almighty, that the One of whom Joseph
speaks lives to die no more, but just as Joseph gave commandment concerning his
bones, and Israel carried those bones all through the wilderness and at last
laid them to rest in the land of Canaan, so we also a pilgrim people today are
called upon to always bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that
the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in us. 

As the bones of Joseph were the memorial of
death. We too have that which reminds us of our Saviour's death, "As often
as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He
come" (1 Cor. 11:26). Some day we will be through forever with the
memorials of death when we shall have gone to that rest which remains for the
people of God, and there we shall have our blessed Lord in all His fullness to
be the delight of our hearts throughout an eternity of bliss, while a
regenerated world will see Him enthroned in highest glory and all peoples will
be nourished by His beneficence and bow at His feet in rapt adoration. 

283 Don't have to be a Stradivarius Exodus 4: 10 - 17

Today's short 13-minute homily, "You Don't Have to be a Stradivarius" Exodus 4: 10-17;

We viewed the 'testimony' of Raul Ries, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel GoldenSprings California. Many non-Christians & Christians imply that God, the Almighty Creator, is incapable of changing an individual. Listen to the comments concerning Kanye West. Here is a testimony of conversion in our times that parallels those found in Scripture and should silence critics, whether they be 'lay' believers or 'ordained' preachers ..... The video can be seen on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha_tSzPvcds

281 Obedience Genesis 22: 1 - 19 Oct 27 2019

“Obedience;
Ultimate Obedience; God Will Provide”

Genesis
22: 7-19

Oct. 27,
2019

Introduction

            Abraham’s life of faith was launched in Ur
- God promised to make Abram into a great nation; to bless him & that all
the nations would be blessed by him.  

That promise was repeated over the years -
on his arrival and travel through central Canaan -

After his nephew Lot separated from him
& took the best portion of land, God had Abram surveyed the land from atop
Ramath-Nahor, the highest spot in central Israel, in 360-degree radius and see
all that was for his descendants. 

Some time later after Abram rescued Lot
from the kings of the north & he’s sitting wondering over his childless
state, God dramatically promises him an heir. Shows him the stars & dares
him to count them. Then tells him that his descendants are going to be as
numerous. 

And Scripture tells us that he believed
the Lord.

He then is commanded to prepare some
animals for a covenant sacrifice. That night God appears as a flaming
furnace & passes through the cut carcasses. God alone passed between the
pieces. God makes an unconditional, unilateral covenant announcing that if
Abram’s descendants did not get the land, God Himself would be sundered.

Years later at the age of 99 Abram was
being prepared for the covenant of circumcision. God changed his name
from Abram to Abraham, “father of multitude”; nations & kings would come
from him. 

Sarai is renamed Sarai - She would have
Abraham’s son from whom would come, kings, & ultimately the Lion of the Tribe
of Judah.

God names their son-to-be ‘laughter’,
promising he would be born within a year-

Bestowing these new names, the sign of the
promise, covenant, was instituted - circumcision - Abraham & all his
household were circumcised.

During the long years that the promise of
the land & blessings were being reiterated, Abraham’s growth in faith was
somewhat uneven; ups and downs into deep valleys.

His lies about Sarah to Pharaoh &
Abimelech & the Hagar affair that brought sixteen years of domestic
turmoil.

Now with the birth of Isaac - the necessary departure of Ishmael - The treaty of Beersheba with Abimelech,
Abraham is reassured again of people & land and at Beersheba, Abraham called
the Lord the “Everlasting God”

Now Abraham is lives in peace in the land
of the Philistines for some time. 

Now, comes a test that is really hard to
conceive how “we” would react, how we would handle it.

In chapter 22 we have an occurrence which
isn’t mentioned in the New Testament as a foreshadow or type - But it can be
looked at as such because of its close resemblance to the cross. We have three
points - Obedience; Ultimate
Obedience; & The Lord, or God, Provides. - 

Here, Abraham’s faith is going to be
tested to beyond its maximum limits. My faith has never been tested to this
limit, I can only compare it to having faith in an auto-pilot when flying close
to what is called the “Coffin-Corner”. That’s when you are at the altitude
where the difference between a high-speed stall and a low-speed stall is a
matter of about 10 knots in a Lear 35. The only way to keep the aircraft within
that speed frame is not manually, but with the auto-pilot doing the flying. All
your faith is in that little box.

Anyway, for Abraham, because he held firm,
his faith became the grand example in history.

We, 3000 years later, after the fact, have
the advantage of knowing that this was a test for Abraham, but he didn’t know
that. --

"Take now your son,
your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer
him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell
you." 

By virtue of Ishmael’s
departure some sixteen years earlier, Isaac was his only son - Add that he was
the son of promise, everything was focused on him. Isaac was his laughter for a
decade and a half.

We want to keep in mind
here, that human sacrifice took place in Ur & it was part of the Canaanite
culture. This was all a familiar concept to him however repulsive it may have
been to him. Also, Abraham didn’t have the to-be-written Torah to inform
his worldview or his doctrine of God. Still, Abraham didn’t doubt God’s
command.

The question can be
asked, why did Abraham protest on behalf of the lowlife Sodomites & yet
submitted silently when commanded to sacrifice his son? Good question. God was
asking him to act against common sense; against his natural affection, his
life-long hope.

Unfortunately, Moses
doesn’t say a word about how Abraham felt - We can look in vain for an explicit
indication of his inner thoughts and will come up with nothing. Moses leaves it
up to us to fill in the lines.

Obedience

It is really something
astounding Abraham’s immediate obedience: Abraham rose early in the
morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and
Isaac his son; Off he goes with his son and the servants.

The wonder increases in
that after the three-day walk, Abraham said to his young men, "Stay
here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there, and we will worship
and return to you."  This means that Abraham was sincere
& convinced that after sacrificing Isaac as a burnt offering they would
return together. The only way we know this is from our reading this morning
from Hebrews 11:17-19 -- By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up
Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten
[son;] 18 to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE
CALLED." 19 He considered that God is able to raise [people] even from the
dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

So Abraham believed to
the utmost that Isaac would on his bloodline as promised by God, he reasoned
that God would have to raise Isaac from the dead, from the ashes.

The walk up the mountain
must have been to steep for the donkey, because we read that Abraham took
the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; A
pre-Christian Jewish Midrash, a Hebrew commentary on Genesis, states that Isaac
carrying the wood on his back was like a condemned man carrying his own cross.
In this Pre-Christian Jewish commentary, this image was prophetic of Jesus who
is described in John 19:17 as bearing His own cross, to the place called
the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. This
Midrash dates around 300 -250 BC. 

Anyway, they proceed in
silence for awhile then Isaac breaks the silence between them and he
said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire, and
the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Isaac’s question of where
the lamb is indicates not just his innocence but his complete total trust in
his father. There was nothing in his short joyous life to suggest anything to
the contrary.

Ultimate Obedience

This trust of Isaac also
foreshadowed the greater partnership of the cross expressed in Isaiah 53: 7,
& 10 --  He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not
open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is
silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. . . the LORD was
pleased To crush Him, putting [Him] to grief; If He would render Himself [as] a
guilt offering, He will see [His] offspring, He will prolong [His] days, And
the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

Abraham’s answer is the
turning point of the story - God will provide for Himself the lamb for
the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.

Abraham can’t go into
detail because he has no idea what God will do or provide. His God will
provide is a declaration of trust, an expression of hope, and a prophecy of
the future. Possibly Abraham had repeated the story of his son “supernatural”
birth & gone over the promises of God and the reasoning that God could
restore Isaac to life, even from the ashes - The father’s faith was alive in
the son --

Now the rest of the story
- Abraham builds the altar, binds Isaac on top and proceeds to sacrifice his
son, his only son whom he loved -

Was he trembling? Were
tears in his eyes? We don’t know. We can only imagine. We can try to change
places. 

One thing is certain;
real faith is a faith that works. Referring to Abraham’s sacrifice, James
writes - Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up
Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works,
and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was
fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO
HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see
that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. (2:21-24).
Abraham demonstrated his faith by his works.

The Intervention

Just like the U.S.
Calvary, but much, much better, God intervenes in the ‘nick-of-time’ and it is
always the right time.

But the angel of the LORD
called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said,
"Here I am." 12 He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against
the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you
have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." (11-12).

There was, I’m sure,
never a more welcome voice - 

God Provides Then Abraham
raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind [him] a ram caught in the
thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for
a burnt offering in the place of his son. 

Hearing God’s voice &
see the ram, the substitute offering took place in an instant. Never was there
a more eager sacrifice - the burnt offering declared to God, ‘all we have &
are is upon the altar, Oh God. Consume our lives to your glory.’

Abraham called the name
of the place, ‘The Lord Will Provide’. Jehovah Jireh. Abraham’s ambiguous “God
will provide” from v.8 has now been fulfilled.

We see here that God who
tests is also the God who provides. - The Tester is the provider.

He provides for every
true believer.

Abraham’s extraordinary
act of faith caused God to swear an oath by His own name. - Then the
angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said,
"By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this
thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly
bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens
and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate
of their enemies. 18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be
blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

What is encouraging is
that God will always keep His word, every single word, every promise of God is
kept. He made a unilateral, unconditional covenant, He would be flayed before
His word isn’t carried out - And the Lord God cannot, it is impossible for Him
to be flayed.

In Closing

This account, this story
of what transpired of extraordinary faith & obedience foreshadows the faith
& obedience of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, his only Son.

Abraham called Mt.
Moriah, Jehovah Jireh, God Will Provide. - Solomon built the Temple in the
exact spot where Abraham stratched Isaac on the altar - then sacrificed the
substitute - Calvary, Golgatha, also on Mt. Moriah, God will Provide, is about
700 meters - 2200 feet from the Temple. Mt. Moriah, where God bound Himself to
fulfill His promises.

On Mt. Moriah Jesus,
God’s only Son, in whom He is well pleased, carried His cross of wood on His
shoulders - He was the Lamb, the substitutionary sacrifice.

Jesus was provided by God
for us - He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin on our behalf, so that
we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 cor. 5:21); For Christ also
died for sins once for all, [the] just for [the] unjust, so that He might bring
us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
(2 Peter 3:18).

No one is perfect, in any
way shape or form; no one can pay for themselves and obtain salvation - There
is no way whatsoever for mankind, all are born in sin, separated, alienated
from God.

But God provides - He
Himself became man, born of a woman, He, the perfect God-man, Jesus.

He laid down His life for
us, our substitute - He was pierced through for our transgressions, He
was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being [fell] upon
Him, And by His scourging, we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

But you know that there
are many that make the mistake of thinking since Jesus died for the sins of the world,
everyone will go to heaven one day. This is incorrect. The substitutionary
death of Christ must be personally applied to each heart, in much the same way
that the blood of the Passover had to be personally applied to the door (John 1:12)- as many as received Him, to them He gave the
right to become children of God, [even] to those who believe in His nam; (John 3:16-18)- For God so loved the world, that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal
life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world,
but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 "He who believes in Him
is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has
not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.; (Acts 2:38)- Peter [said] to them,
"Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Before we can become
“the righteousness of God in Him,” we must exchange our old sin nature for His
holy one. God offers the Substitute, but we must receive that Substitute personally
by accepting Christ in faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)- For by grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; 9 not as a result
of works, so that no one may boast. 

Let close with these
words; those of you who have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News of
Salvation, who have not accepted Jesus’ call to receive the free gift of
eternal life, I urge you to call on Him, the Lord, He will place it in your
heart the truth. Then knowing the truth, don’t reject it; don’t put it off. The
choice is eternal life or eternal damnation: The Lord is not slow
about His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not
wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) - But if
you put it off and say tomorrow, the bible says that it is appointmented for man
once to die then the judgment - Do you want to stand in front of Jesus and hear
Him say to you, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire
which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. . .

Listen, today is the
day of salvation - no one is guaranteed tomorrow. You may die in a traffic
accident - 

Pro 27:1- 1 Do not
boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth. 

Jas 4:13-14- 13 Come
now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city,
and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." 14 Yet
you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are [just] a vapor
that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

            What do you have to do
you ask? Just call on the Lord God and say, God please save me, help me, guide
me. Show me the way to You. I guarantee, He will and you will know it.