Text Box: weekly sermon 6-17-07 For the next few weeks we will be doing a series on some of what I find funny in this great book we call the Bible. When I told my wife I was going to do a sermon on something funny, she said, "you are not going to do something for father's day"? So I will combine the two this week, being that today is Father's Day. So now let us look at a great man who became a great father. Turn with me to Genesis 22:1. Now to give you a little background to the story, this is a story about Abraham, who was originally named Abram, and God told Abram to change his name to Abraham for God had made him a father of many nations. (Gen. 17:5) Abraham had a wife named Sarah that could not have children as she was barren. This is the first of the funnies here, because Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah his wife was 90, and they fell on their faces and laughed, saying how could someone this old bear a son. (Gen. 17:15) I do not find it funny because THEY were laughing, I find it funny because Abraham was noted as one of the most faithful, and here he was doubting what God could do, but this is not the part of the message I wanted to deliver. Anyway, Abraham and Sarah, doubted God so much that Sarah had Abraham cause her handmaid to conceive so that Abraham would have a child and hopefully a son to start the many nations. The handmaid did give birth to a son named Ishmael. But God of course had another plan, He caused Sarah to conceive and give birth to a son named Isaac. We have to know here that Isaac was Abraham and Sarah's ONLY son. Well it turns out that God comes to Abraham in chapter 22 verse 1, "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham; and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine ONLY son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." Here we have a man, who could not be a father at all, because his wife was barren, God gives him the ability to have a son, then turns around and tells him, hey Abraham go and kill your only son. How would you, as a parent, feel if God told you to kill your only child. This had to be the worst feeling for Abraham, yet he holds God first and goes to perform His request. We have some similarities here, Abraham has his only son with Sarah, and God has His only son. I am NOT implying that Abraham is or ever could be God, just showing the similarities. Abraham was to have his only son die, God's only Son did die. But let us look at this father, Abraham. Look at the faith in the "tempt" as it was called, when God asked Abraham to kill his son. We do not see that Abraham, hesitated, nor did he argue, or whine, or cry because God told him to kill Isaac. The only thing Abraham did, was exactly what God told him to do, rise and go and kill your son. This would have to take great faith, great obedience, and great love for an omnipotent God. I know that in our day and time, it would be hard to understand that we would ever be asked to kill our child for God, or even how we would react to that request. But if we put God first in our lives as Abraham did here, then God will always take care of us. Now Abraham goes to the mountain that God showed him, to kill his son. Here its getting intense, oh my gosh, he is really going to kill his son. This cant be good. Now the part I find funny, and yes I know what some of you are saying; how could anyone find something funny in this intense time of a father killing his son. Well here it is, Abraham tells his young men, "..abide here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." We can tell right here that Abraham already knew for a fact that Isaac was NOT going to die. Abraham told the young men that the both of them would go an worship and would come to them again. He knew that Isaac would be coming back down from that mountain. Ok maybe I'm the only one that finds that part funny. In later verses Isaac asks his dad, where is the burnt offering, and Abraham said God will supply. Just as Abraham was about to kill Isaac, as God requested, God stopped him. Abraham said that God would supply. We see that God did supply here. He supplied a ram that was caught in a bush for them to offer up as the burnt offering. So as we look at this, Abraham supplied, and God supplied. Abraham, a father of faith, supplied his only son to die as God had told him to. God supplied His only son, to die, on a cross for the sins of man. The offspring of Abraham, did produce children upon children to become many nations, just as God had revealed to Abraham long ago, as long as Abraham kept His commandments and was faithful and obedient. Abraham was a father among fathers. He loved and cherished Isaac, just as it said in the verse we read, "that thou lovest", and became the father of nations. What a father. There are many great fathers in the Bible, as well as in our lives now. But let us not forget our Heavenly Father when we wish ours a happy Father's Day. The Father that truly gave us life, everlasting life. The Father that loved us so much He gave us His Son to die just for us, his kids. That is a true Father. That is true love. If you do not know about this kind of true love, or if you do not know this Father, please say a simple little prayer that will change your whole life. It will show you love, it will show you peace, and it will show you compassion. Lord, come into my life, be my personal saviour, and change my soul to become as Jesus. Amen. If you said this simple prayer, we believe you have received salvation. If you have received this salvation, then please contact us, so we can rejoice this salvation with you, and send you a few things to help you in your new Christian walk. Happy Father's Day With love in Christ, Pastor Stone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

                                             

The Christian Counter
The Christian Counter