1 00:00:14,059 --> 00:00:17,359 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,399 --> 00:00:24,100 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,660 --> 00:00:26,839 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:37,880 Good morning. How are we feeling this morning? Good? 5 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:46,460 That being a prayer that Chris had for Morgan, I remember when I met Morgan, 6 00:00:47,179 --> 00:00:50,259 she said that she didn't want to be a pastor's wife. 7 00:00:52,340 --> 00:00:59,000 And so here we are, and we love coming up. We get a pastor down at a church in Florida. 8 00:00:59,159 --> 00:01:04,379 It's so much fun, but it's always an honor to get to come up here and be really just with family. 9 00:01:04,620 --> 00:01:08,959 We feel like we're at home when we come and join this church. Before we dive in this morning, 10 00:01:09,099 --> 00:01:12,540 we're going to be in Hebrews 11. And so if you have your scriptures, you can open up to that. 11 00:01:13,340 --> 00:01:19,079 But in a time where we're getting ready to enter into Thanksgiving and into the holidays, 12 00:01:19,079 --> 00:01:27,060 it can be so easy to step into a time, a church on Sunday morning, and just kind of go with the flow, 13 00:01:27,299 --> 00:01:31,640 go through the motions and things just rush by. And so I want us to just take a second 14 00:01:32,500 --> 00:01:39,219 to really just allow ourselves to be present and in the presence of God. And so if you would, 15 00:01:39,299 --> 00:01:45,719 just take a couple of deep breaths. And we like to do this at our church. We talk a lot about 16 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:50,019 posture, that it's not only a heart posture and a mind posture, but we can actually physically 17 00:01:50,019 --> 00:01:56,079 posture ourselves to prepare to hear from God. And so if you would just open up your palms 18 00:01:56,079 --> 00:02:02,659 to the heavens right where you're at and we're going to pray. God, we thank you so much 19 00:02:03,159 --> 00:02:07,840 for who you are. But we ask that you would just come and fill this place, 20 00:02:08,500 --> 00:02:13,400 fill our hearts, fill our minds. God, would you clear our lives from distractions 21 00:02:14,259 --> 00:02:19,319 of maybe a crazy work week or maybe heading into a crazy week with Thanksgiving, Lord? 22 00:02:19,979 --> 00:02:26,520 Would we just allow ourselves to pause and realize that you are present, that you are real, 23 00:02:26,580 --> 00:02:35,039 that you are here? And would we prepare this place for you? Speak to us. Pray this in Jesus' name. 24 00:02:35,039 --> 00:02:41,599 Amen. Amen. Hey, we're going to be in Hebrews 11. I'm so excited to dive in. I know that y'all 25 00:02:41,599 --> 00:02:48,419 have been going through this, so it's great to just jump in and be a part. I want us to be 26 00:02:48,419 --> 00:02:53,240 reminded though of what we're reading and what we're diving into. And so we're going to start in 27 00:02:53,879 --> 00:02:59,599 Hebrews. I'm going to read Hebrews 1 and 2 just so that we can remember what it is that we're 28 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:05,400 diving into when it talks about by faith. We're going to be really learning, and we look at what is 29 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:10,259 known as the Hall of Faith, but when it says by faith, this is exactly what it's talking about. 30 00:03:10,659 --> 00:03:17,400 Hebrews 11 verse 1, it says, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of 31 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:27,300 things not seen for. By it the people of old receive their commendation. That faith is the things 32 00:03:27,300 --> 00:03:35,599 hoped for, the things not seen. We think that the opposite of faith is doubt, but the opposite 33 00:03:35,599 --> 00:03:48,560 of faith isn't doubt, it's assurance. That it's, hey, we're not doubting God. That's not the opposite 34 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:56,580 of faith. The opposite of faith is certainty. That if there is certainty in something, then 35 00:03:56,580 --> 00:04:02,699 there's no faith. It's like, well, God, I want to know exactly what you're going to do with my life. 36 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:09,080 If you knew that, you wouldn't have to have faith in God. God, how is this situation going to turn 37 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:14,919 out? If you knew exactly how the situation would turn out, you wouldn't need faith. 38 00:04:16,540 --> 00:04:20,920 And so while I think it's great to pray, God, God, give me certainty. Show me the way. Show me, 39 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:27,040 what about show me faith? God, build my faith. And that's what we really dive into in this 40 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:33,279 scripture. In Hebrews 11, we're going to be in verse 17 through 19, the story of Abraham and 41 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:39,759 Isaac, where they celebrate that it is by faith. Picking up in verse 17, it says, by faith. 42 00:04:40,259 --> 00:04:47,720 Got some pictures of my Bible. By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. 43 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:54,120 And he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 44 00:04:54,740 --> 00:05:02,699 on whom it was said, through Isaac, shall your offspring be named. He considered that God was 45 00:05:02,699 --> 00:05:10,459 able even to raise him from the dead, from which figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 46 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:15,319 To fully understand this, we're going to have to flip back to the very beginning of scripture 47 00:05:15,319 --> 00:05:20,339 in Genesis. And so we're going to be in Genesis 22. And I want us to fully understand what we're 48 00:05:20,339 --> 00:05:26,360 reading here in Hebrews 11 of by faith, the story of Abraham offering up Isaac. And so 49 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:31,560 Genesis 22, flip there with me, if you would, this morning, 50 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:38,720 it's going to be a lot of scripture, but I think to fully understand what we're going to dive into 51 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:43,800 in Hebrews 11, we need to understand the significance of this story and where we find 52 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:50,060 ourselves. We find ourselves with Abraham, who has just recently received the Abrahamic covenant, 53 00:05:50,300 --> 00:05:55,300 the promises of God to work through Abraham and give him land and to bless his family, 54 00:05:55,420 --> 00:06:01,800 and that the whole world would be blessed through his lineage and his seed. And we see pickup 55 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:10,139 in Genesis 22. Abraham has Isaac, which he's referred to as his only son in this scripture, 56 00:06:10,139 --> 00:06:18,199 but he actually has two sons, but one is with Hagar and the other is with Sarah and Isaac is the one 57 00:06:18,199 --> 00:06:26,740 who carries the promise and he is the really the only one that Abraham truly loves. I have two 58 00:06:26,740 --> 00:06:31,100 kids and so I wouldn't, you know, measure them up and be like, there's one that I love more than 59 00:06:31,100 --> 00:06:37,819 the other because that's not fair. But there is one that's been grumpy this morning, so he's a 60 00:06:37,819 --> 00:06:44,120 little bit lower on the totem pole, but that's okay. Hey, Genesis 22 verse one, it says, 61 00:06:44,500 --> 00:06:50,720 after these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, here I am. 62 00:06:51,199 --> 00:06:57,279 He said, take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love and go to the land of Moriah, 63 00:06:58,180 --> 00:07:07,800 and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. So 64 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:12,540 Abraham was a young man with him and his son Isaac, and he cut the wood for the burnt offering 65 00:07:12,540 --> 00:07:17,699 and arose and went out to the place of which God had told him. On the third day, Abraham lifted 66 00:07:17,699 --> 00:07:25,500 up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young man, stay here with 67 00:07:25,500 --> 00:07:31,500 the donkey. I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you. And Abraham took 68 00:07:31,500 --> 00:07:38,779 the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. He took in his hand the fire and 69 00:07:38,779 --> 00:07:45,959 the knife, so they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father, my father, and he said, 70 00:07:46,199 --> 00:07:52,639 here I am, my son. He said, behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt 71 00:07:52,639 --> 00:07:59,519 offering? Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. 72 00:07:59,519 --> 00:08:04,920 So they went both of them together. That's a fair question for Isaac to ask. He's like, hey, 73 00:08:05,519 --> 00:08:11,500 we're going to do this offering. In Isaac's mind, it's important, this is just a little side note, 74 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:18,180 that the early antiquity in this time of Scripture, God made his people declare that 75 00:08:18,180 --> 00:08:28,240 their first son would be given to God. So wouldn't it be ridiculous if he ended up having to 76 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:35,759 sacrifice his son? That it was this staple of their faith that, hey, the first son, 77 00:08:35,879 --> 00:08:41,019 and they didn't usually have to sacrifice him, but they had to declare and agree that the first 78 00:08:41,019 --> 00:08:49,600 son was for God. And so Isaac, knowing this honestly, is probably getting a little scared. 79 00:08:51,299 --> 00:08:55,680 Says, when they came to the place of which God told him, Abraham built the altar there and 80 00:08:55,860 --> 00:09:04,039 laid the wood in order and bound Isaac, his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 81 00:09:04,340 --> 00:09:10,480 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the 82 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:18,059 Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham, he said, here I am. He said, do not lay 83 00:09:18,059 --> 00:09:26,460 your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not 84 00:09:26,460 --> 00:09:33,919 withheld your son, your only son, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, 85 00:09:34,279 --> 00:09:40,139 behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and 86 00:09:40,139 --> 00:09:45,700 offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of this place, 87 00:09:45,700 --> 00:09:53,620 the Lord will provide. As it is said to this day on the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided. 88 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:59,759 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham in a second time from heaven and said, by myself I 89 00:09:59,759 --> 00:10:05,480 have sworn declares the Lord because you have done this and you have not withheld your son, 90 00:10:05,940 --> 00:10:12,980 your only son, I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of 91 00:10:12,980 --> 00:10:22,399 heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore and your offspring shall possess the gate of his 92 00:10:22,399 --> 00:10:27,240 enemies. Let's pray. God, would you speak to us this morning? Would you help us understand 93 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:34,779 what it is that you're teaching us here in Hebrews? We pray and we thank you in Jesus name. Amen. 94 00:10:35,980 --> 00:10:44,980 What we see in the scripture is that in Hebrews 11, Abraham is being celebrated for having faith, 95 00:10:45,580 --> 00:10:51,419 right? The hall of faith. And we look at this story where Abraham has this faith where he trusts 96 00:10:51,419 --> 00:10:57,179 God when it doesn't make sense. But not only does he trust God when it doesn't make sense, 97 00:10:57,299 --> 00:11:02,559 he trusts God with the gift that has been given him that is supposed to carry the promises 98 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:08,240 of God with it. So there's going to be moments where it feels like there's this tension and this 99 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:14,600 contradiction, but there's also this understanding that the greatest gift that Abraham has received 100 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:22,440 at this point, he's being asked to sacrifice. And in a world right now, we live in a world 101 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:29,419 where we magnify our gifts, our blessings, our achievements, our successes, our families, 102 00:11:29,419 --> 00:11:37,879 our kids, and they can quickly become our idols. See, I heard it said that the enemy isn't super 103 00:11:37,879 --> 00:11:43,259 busy with causing you to sin because you'll do that on your own a lot of the time. But what he 104 00:11:43,259 --> 00:11:52,120 wants to do and what he tries to do is replace God with other Gods. And most of the time, 105 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:56,700 if we're being honest in this place, we don't wrestle with replacing God with other Gods with 106 00:11:56,700 --> 00:12:04,960 bad things. We replace God with other Gods with the things that are good in our life. 107 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:14,940 And before we dive into this, I want us to just sit and think about what does this mean for me? 108 00:12:15,460 --> 00:12:19,399 Because very often we can come into church and we can listen to a message and we can go through 109 00:12:19,399 --> 00:12:22,960 and we can start to think, oh, well, this would be a great message for this person. 110 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:31,580 No, just me. Am I the only one guilty of that? But I think it's important that as we hear the 111 00:12:31,580 --> 00:12:36,000 word of God and God is speaking to us, that he doesn't do coincidences, that you're not here 112 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:41,980 by accident, that you're here for a reason to hear the word of God. And we have to allow 113 00:12:41,980 --> 00:12:48,240 the word of God to speak directly to our hearts first before we try to think, well, 114 00:12:48,299 --> 00:12:52,200 this would be a great message for that person. No, no, no. This is a message for you. 115 00:12:53,820 --> 00:13:02,320 And so what are the things in your life that maybe you wouldn't say are idols if you just 116 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:07,980 thought about it, but what are the things in your life that are good that can quickly become idols? 117 00:13:09,980 --> 00:13:17,519 Think about it for yourself, whatever that may be, your family, your career, your money. 118 00:13:20,259 --> 00:13:26,940 But then I want us to understand something too. So that's what we believe could possibly be idols 119 00:13:26,940 --> 00:13:32,480 in our life. And I think right now there's a Russell in the church that there's the orthodoxy, 120 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:39,500 which is the right belief, right? There's the right belief system, orthodoxy, the belief system, 121 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:44,299 but then there's the other side with the orthopraxy, which is the right practices. 122 00:13:45,379 --> 00:13:49,460 There's the way that we believe, and there's the way that we practice and obey. 123 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:54,379 And so when we think and we just thought about what are the idols, we just thought about the 124 00:13:54,379 --> 00:13:58,799 belief side of things. But what we have to do is we have to allow the belief side of things 125 00:13:58,799 --> 00:14:05,399 and then measure it with the practices. Because what can very easily happen is we can come into 126 00:14:05,399 --> 00:14:08,960 church and get a lot of information and hear a lot of things and believe, oh, yeah, I believe 127 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,879 that. I believe that. I believe that. But if you don't act on it, you will just get spiritually 128 00:14:12,879 --> 00:14:21,799 fat. And so now I want us, we thought about what are the things that could become idols. 129 00:14:22,259 --> 00:14:25,460 Now I want us to question what are the things that we're acting on 130 00:14:26,460 --> 00:14:30,019 that are our idols? How do you measure that? 131 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:40,639 It's pretty easy exercise. And you can get a lot deeper, but the simple question is, 132 00:14:41,279 --> 00:14:47,259 what do you allow to shape your practices that aren't obeying God? 133 00:14:49,779 --> 00:14:56,299 Like what do you put in place as excuses to not obey the commands of God? 134 00:14:58,460 --> 00:15:05,960 Let's ask. And if you don't have anything, you're like, that's not me. It's easy. It's pride. 135 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:14,059 But what are the things that make you not follow the instructions and obey the commands 136 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:20,320 and the things that God has shown us in scripture? What is it that stops you from tithing or giving 137 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:33,340 generously? Is it your money? Your financial security? What makes you not love your neighbor? 138 00:15:36,339 --> 00:15:42,399 Is it your ego? Is it your pride? Is it your political party? 139 00:15:45,679 --> 00:15:50,480 Here's a big one. What is it that makes you not practice the Sabbath? 140 00:15:53,500 --> 00:15:58,360 Is it your career? Is it your financial security? 141 00:16:02,139 --> 00:16:05,980 What is it that makes you compromise your integrity? 142 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:16,419 The career path? That, oh, I can't, you know, I just got to kind of go with the flow because 143 00:16:16,419 --> 00:16:21,120 that's what everybody else does to get promoted or lie about certain things. 144 00:16:23,759 --> 00:16:29,299 If you're honest with yourself, a lot of these things 145 00:16:31,620 --> 00:16:37,279 aren't necessarily bad things in themselves, but if they become ultimate things and you place them 146 00:16:37,279 --> 00:16:41,840 in front of God, and you might say, well, I don't place them in front of God, 147 00:16:42,980 --> 00:16:45,460 Orthodoxy. But what are you practicing? 148 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:53,179 What stops you from showing up to church on Sunday? Is it your family? 149 00:16:54,799 --> 00:16:57,440 Well, my kids got a bunch of stuff going on, okay? 150 00:17:00,900 --> 00:17:05,180 We can't just think about what we believe because if we talk about, hey, yeah, I got, 151 00:17:05,339 --> 00:17:09,720 I believe this, I believe this, then we can look at faith and say, yeah, I got faith, 152 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:14,900 but this story that we're going to look at with Abraham, it's not just a faith, 153 00:17:14,980 --> 00:17:18,519 hey, saying it, but Abraham is acting on it. 154 00:17:22,759 --> 00:17:28,559 What are you practicing? What are you acting on? What are the things that could be gifts 155 00:17:28,559 --> 00:17:35,599 that God has given you, but you've turned that gift into God and you lowered God on the totem 156 00:17:35,599 --> 00:17:42,019 pole. And this was so convicting for me this week. That's like, I love being a pastor, 157 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:47,559 but it's really hard because these messages, I'm like, oh, all right, God. 158 00:17:49,500 --> 00:17:54,240 It's like every week I feel like God is working on my heart and convicting me of these things, 159 00:17:54,240 --> 00:18:00,700 and that's what we need to allow the scriptures to do. And so when we look at this scripture, 160 00:18:00,700 --> 00:18:07,359 I really want us to think about the people are not in the hall of faith because they said that 161 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:11,319 they had faith. They're in the hall of faith because they acted on faith. 162 00:18:13,559 --> 00:18:18,059 There's a difference of believing and acting. 163 00:18:20,660 --> 00:18:28,420 And so what we see is that Abraham acts on faith. And the beautiful thing that I love about Abraham, 164 00:18:28,420 --> 00:18:32,720 and I know Chris has kind of touched on this the last couple of weeks, is that Abraham didn't 165 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:39,039 get everything right. Yeah, he passed this test that we're about to look at, but there was plenty 166 00:18:39,039 --> 00:18:44,140 of tests before that he didn't pass. And so if you're in here and you're like, I don't know if 167 00:18:44,140 --> 00:18:48,119 I've been acting on faith or I don't know if I've been obeying what God has called me to. 168 00:18:48,460 --> 00:18:53,440 That's great. That doesn't count you out of becoming this type of person that has a firm 169 00:18:53,440 --> 00:19:00,700 faith and passed the test that God sends in our life. 170 00:19:03,740 --> 00:19:08,259 The test that we look at in Hebrews, there's a few things that we're going to learn. 171 00:19:09,799 --> 00:19:19,680 One is that the test of faith reveal our heart. It says this, by faith Abraham when he was tested, 172 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:24,859 it doesn't say if he was tested, it says when. And we have to understand that being tested is not 173 00:19:24,859 --> 00:19:32,700 tempted. That the word there, parazo, actually means to examine, to prove, or to refine with 174 00:19:32,700 --> 00:19:40,799 a purpose. That God is refining with a purpose when he sends tests in our life. And it does 175 00:19:40,799 --> 00:19:48,099 this, it refines with a purpose our heart, and it reveals the things that we cherish. 176 00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:58,599 And as tests, we have to understand they're not random. That they oftentimes reveal the areas of 177 00:19:58,599 --> 00:20:08,220 our heart that we think are like, hey, no, I got this part. No, that's easy. It's not, hey, yeah, 178 00:20:08,259 --> 00:20:15,099 God, test me on the things that I already do. That's not a test. A test we have to understand is 179 00:20:15,099 --> 00:20:20,880 when you come to that wrestle of following God might look foolish and not make sense. 180 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:27,619 That it doesn't make sense in the eyes of other people around you, and it might seem foolish, 181 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:37,700 but that's really when you trust God. That's the test. And it reveals our heart of what we cherish 182 00:20:37,700 --> 00:20:46,480 more. The gift that God has given us, and whatever sense that may be, or the giver. 183 00:20:48,980 --> 00:20:55,880 We talk about this at our church from a standpoint when it comes to what most churches refer to as 184 00:20:55,880 --> 00:21:03,920 giving. We call it bringing. And we've called it bringing because when we bring back what God has 185 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,900 given us and how we steward our time, our treasures, and our talents, we're actually 186 00:21:07,900 --> 00:21:14,259 bringing back to God something that He gave us in the first place. You can't give something 187 00:21:14,259 --> 00:21:25,140 that's not really yours. And so do we trust the giver and allow ourselves to bring our gifts to 188 00:21:25,140 --> 00:21:31,740 Him, or do we trust more in the gift and we try to take what God has given us and run with it 189 00:21:31,740 --> 00:21:40,039 and allow that to become our God. Abraham is tested, and then it says that when he was tested, 190 00:21:40,259 --> 00:21:46,799 he offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promise was in the act of offering up 191 00:21:46,799 --> 00:21:55,420 his only son. This is when the promise and the command collide, because Isaac is the carrier of 192 00:21:55,420 --> 00:22:02,000 that promise that Abraham's lineage is going to be blessed through this son, and it starts to 193 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:11,720 not make sense when he realizes, all right, God's asking me to sacrifice my only son through which 194 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:22,519 the promise is through. There's a collision here. Abraham is realizing, God, you made a promise to 195 00:22:22,519 --> 00:22:29,240 me, but you're asking me to kill the person that carries that promise. This doesn't make sense. 196 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:34,279 There's a tension that's created, and I love tension throughout Scripture, because I think 197 00:22:34,279 --> 00:22:40,559 tension in the middle of tension is where God loves to work. That we see throughout the New 198 00:22:40,559 --> 00:22:46,559 Testament that God loves to work in the midst of the tension that is truth and love, and that 199 00:22:46,559 --> 00:22:50,539 both of them have to coexist. If you bring one and not the other, there's no tension. 200 00:22:51,819 --> 00:22:57,200 And that's where people get hurt. You have to allow these things to create tension and bring them at 201 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:02,119 the same time that there is a promise of God, and there is a command that we see in this Scripture 202 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:10,940 throughout this story that create the tension, and it doesn't make sense. But that's when you 203 00:23:10,940 --> 00:23:17,200 have to make the choice, all right, I need to trust the promissor more than the promise, 204 00:23:18,619 --> 00:23:24,059 that he will be faithful to finish whatever he wants to do, that I need to trust him even when 205 00:23:24,059 --> 00:23:28,140 it doesn't make sense. And this is the things that we have to understand. When it comes to the tests 206 00:23:28,140 --> 00:23:34,319 of God, it feels this way often. It's like, well, God says that he will provide, but he's asking me 207 00:23:34,319 --> 00:23:41,099 to give sacrificially. And there's tension in the midst of it. God says that he is faithful, 208 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:47,180 yet he's allowing for this season of silence, and there's tension in the midst. God's promise 209 00:23:47,180 --> 00:23:56,079 is purpose, yet I'm walking through failure right now. And there's tension. God promises peace, 210 00:23:57,500 --> 00:24:05,180 yet he leads you into a storm. God promises abundant life, yet he asks you to lay something down. 211 00:24:08,779 --> 00:24:14,640 That when the two things are at odds, we have to understand that we have to trust 212 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:22,039 the promissor and realize that the test is not the contradiction. The test is truly, 213 00:24:22,259 --> 00:24:32,080 do you believe God beyond the contradiction? Do you trust in him beyond the things that don't 214 00:24:32,079 --> 00:24:44,819 make sense? Do you trust in him beyond the things that are outside of your understanding? 215 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:52,960 And like we said earlier, do we not only trust in him 216 00:24:53,859 --> 00:25:03,240 belief, but do we trust in him with our actions? It's easy to say, God, I trust in you. Yeah, 217 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:09,619 this doesn't make sense. I trust in you, God. Are you going to act on it? God, I trust that 218 00:25:09,619 --> 00:25:14,680 you're calling me into vocational ministry, but it doesn't make sense because that would 219 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:21,240 mean that I would need to sacrifice the financial stability that I have. 220 00:25:22,570 --> 00:25:31,490 God, I'm trusting you with this relationship, but it doesn't make sense because I don't want 221 00:25:31,490 --> 00:25:41,210 to be lonely. God, I'm trusting you with my kids, yet I'm still controlling. 222 00:25:47,090 --> 00:25:50,450 Do we not just say we trust him, but do we act on it? 223 00:26:03,670 --> 00:26:08,190 I wonder what would happen, and I won't even just say in the world, 224 00:26:10,349 --> 00:26:17,269 I wonder what would happen in this country if Christians just didn't say things, but they acted 225 00:26:17,269 --> 00:26:28,529 on them. Like, I wonder if we really believe this book written from God and trusted that 226 00:26:28,529 --> 00:26:34,150 every word is from God and the commands that he has are from God, if we wouldn't just say 227 00:26:37,589 --> 00:26:41,750 we care for the poor, but we acted on it. 228 00:26:44,950 --> 00:26:53,009 If we didn't just say we believe in justice for the oppressed, but we acted on it, 229 00:26:58,870 --> 00:27:04,930 if we didn't just say that if Jesus asked us to lay everything down and follow him, that we would, 230 00:27:09,750 --> 00:27:14,250 but instead we truly just say, God, everything's yours and I want to follow you, 231 00:27:14,670 --> 00:27:22,230 and so I give it all over to you. See, faith isn't just words, it's action. 232 00:27:25,470 --> 00:27:34,230 Abraham in this scene in Genesis doesn't just say, God, if you want my son, you can have him. 233 00:27:35,410 --> 00:27:42,170 He puts his son on the wood and he ties him down. 234 00:27:45,509 --> 00:27:47,950 That doesn't make sense. 235 00:27:51,069 --> 00:27:55,509 I don't know if you have kids, but like, think about this. 236 00:27:57,130 --> 00:28:04,970 God, this doesn't make sense, but I'm going to trust you anyway. 237 00:28:11,750 --> 00:28:13,490 What is that gift for you? 238 00:28:16,309 --> 00:28:18,309 See, for Abraham, it was his only son. 239 00:28:19,750 --> 00:28:29,529 What's the only, like, the word there for only is really just pointing that he is like 240 00:28:30,950 --> 00:28:40,829 the miracle child, that mono genes, that he is the only begotten, beloved son of Abraham, 241 00:28:40,829 --> 00:28:47,690 and he's asking him to sacrifice that gift. 242 00:28:54,029 --> 00:28:59,490 What do you place your security in? What do you place your identity in? 243 00:29:03,509 --> 00:29:06,109 Like we said earlier, those can be good things. 244 00:29:09,370 --> 00:29:20,829 A relationship, a marriage, a child, a career, a calling, a ministry, a dream, 245 00:29:22,269 --> 00:29:28,970 a political party, your reputation, your success, your sense of control. 246 00:29:31,089 --> 00:29:37,670 God tests us not to take away these good things but to ensure that these good things don't take his 247 00:29:37,670 --> 00:29:45,829 place. God is testing Abraham. He's not saying, hey, I want to see if you'll kill your son. 248 00:29:47,529 --> 00:29:50,970 No, no, no. He's saying, I want to see if you'll put me above your son. 249 00:29:55,789 --> 00:30:03,490 I have a mentor. His name is Andrew Matrone, and I love him to death, but he asks the most 250 00:30:03,490 --> 00:30:08,450 difficult questions. He's one of those people that he just, like, consistently challenges me. 251 00:30:10,630 --> 00:30:14,329 And I called him a few months ago, and I was going through this stuff, and I was just like, 252 00:30:14,470 --> 00:30:17,869 man, like, I'm just so fed up with this stuff, and, like, this is what I want to do, 253 00:30:17,869 --> 00:30:22,410 and this is all of these things. And he just challenged me. He's like, hey, 254 00:30:23,030 --> 00:30:29,390 God asked you to give it all up, would you? I was like, no, like, definitely not right now. 255 00:30:29,450 --> 00:30:33,789 And he's like, no, no, no. I'm not asking about timing or play. Like, would you give it up? 256 00:30:34,630 --> 00:30:43,049 Would you lay it down? And I'm like, ah. No, because, like, I got a family to feed. 257 00:30:44,050 --> 00:30:49,609 And he's like, so you're putting it above God? And I was like, 258 00:30:51,970 --> 00:30:55,089 well, no. And he's like, no, no. You are. 259 00:30:59,290 --> 00:31:02,930 What's the greatest thing in your life, and if God asked you to give it up, would you do it? 260 00:31:13,129 --> 00:31:20,069 Would you give up that job that pays the bills? No? 261 00:31:28,410 --> 00:31:31,450 Would you give up that activity that takes all the extra time? 262 00:31:32,509 --> 00:31:34,650 Would you just love it? Your passion about it? 263 00:31:37,769 --> 00:31:39,009 Here's the thing, too. 264 00:31:42,549 --> 00:31:47,250 Abraham was gifted Isaac and given a calling and a promise. 265 00:31:48,549 --> 00:31:51,650 Are you willing to give up the things that you feel like God has given you? 266 00:31:51,869 --> 00:31:55,130 Well, God blessed me with this. That's great. What if he wants it back? 267 00:32:08,389 --> 00:32:13,450 Think about it. Are you willing to give that up? 268 00:32:14,509 --> 00:32:18,769 That's what we see. That's the reason that Abraham is in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews, 269 00:32:18,769 --> 00:32:22,930 where we look back on the Old Testament and we celebrate these people. It's not just because 270 00:32:22,930 --> 00:32:29,650 he said that, yeah, you know what, I think I would, maybe. No, he was actually forced to act on it. 271 00:32:31,609 --> 00:32:41,829 And he did. And because of that, we see that God realizes that he can trust Abraham because 272 00:32:41,829 --> 00:32:52,049 he realizes Abraham will put nothing above me. Some of you, you want God to use you, 273 00:32:52,049 --> 00:32:57,889 but God doesn't trust you because you're putting things above him. 274 00:33:00,930 --> 00:33:03,789 Well, I want God to use me to do this, but you won't give up that. 275 00:33:08,730 --> 00:33:13,789 You want God to trust you, but you don't trust God. 276 00:33:22,049 --> 00:33:25,509 The end, it says in Genesis 22 and verse 15, 277 00:33:26,009 --> 00:33:29,210 and the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, 278 00:33:29,430 --> 00:33:35,490 by myself, I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and not withheld 279 00:33:35,490 --> 00:33:40,789 your son, your only son. What are you withholding from God? 280 00:33:45,049 --> 00:33:55,289 Abraham withheld nothing. And he used to. We see throughout scripture before that he withheld things 281 00:33:55,289 --> 00:34:00,690 and he lied because of it and he trusted himself, but it didn't work out. He came to the end of 282 00:34:00,690 --> 00:34:08,630 himself and said, okay, no matter what I'm trusting God more than myself. See, Isaac is not your 283 00:34:08,670 --> 00:34:17,170 savior. Isaac is not your security and Isaac is not your identity. Your career is not your savior. 284 00:34:17,530 --> 00:34:24,309 Your career is not your security. Your career is not your identity. Your family is not your savior. 285 00:34:24,610 --> 00:34:31,889 Your family is not your security. Your family is not your identity. Your political party is not your 286 00:34:31,889 --> 00:34:36,989 savior. Your political party is not your security. Your political party is not your identity. 287 00:34:38,670 --> 00:34:44,750 Your control is not your savior. Your control is not your security. Your control is not your identity. 288 00:34:45,190 --> 00:34:52,050 Your kids are not your savior. Your kids are not your security. Your kids are not your identity. 289 00:34:52,570 --> 00:35:01,670 God is saying, hey, I am your savior, I am your security, I am your identity. Do you have faith in me? 290 00:35:03,950 --> 00:35:08,030 And we celebrate and we look at Abraham today because he said, 291 00:35:08,670 --> 00:35:10,570 Yes, I do. 292 00:35:14,970 --> 00:35:20,289 I don't know about you, but as a believer, I want to have great faith. 293 00:35:20,489 --> 00:35:24,849 I hope that my kids remember me for having great faith. 294 00:35:25,989 --> 00:35:30,070 I hope that my grandkids remember me for having great faith. 295 00:35:30,929 --> 00:35:35,170 And I know many of us in here, we probably feel the same way. 296 00:35:42,429 --> 00:35:46,250 But do your kids see you trusting God with everything that you have? 297 00:35:48,289 --> 00:35:52,530 Or do they see you trusting your career, trusting your finances, 298 00:35:54,690 --> 00:35:58,869 trusting the party that you belong to, trusting in them? 299 00:35:59,909 --> 00:36:03,090 I know so many young adults. I work with young adults predominantly. 300 00:36:03,449 --> 00:36:08,309 They feel so much pressure because they're like, 301 00:36:08,309 --> 00:36:12,829 everything leans on me. It's like, well, it seems like your parents trust you as their savior. 302 00:36:13,389 --> 00:36:17,429 Yeah, it's kind of scary. Are your parents believers? Yeah, they love the Lord. 303 00:36:18,429 --> 00:36:24,170 Okay, cool. I think if we actually like broke it down, we're probably the same 304 00:36:24,170 --> 00:36:30,769 as like the outside world of putting the same pressure on our kids, living through them. 305 00:36:33,849 --> 00:36:41,730 What do you trust in? Not what you say. I don't care what you say. What do you show? 306 00:36:42,610 --> 00:36:43,710 What do you act on? 307 00:36:48,429 --> 00:36:52,690 I've come to this point where like, I literally do not care what people say anymore. 308 00:36:53,809 --> 00:36:57,849 I don't. Show me. Show me what you believe. 309 00:37:05,170 --> 00:37:11,750 We see, as it continues on in Genesis 22, 310 00:37:14,610 --> 00:37:23,210 that the giver ends up providing the ultimate gift. Verse 10, Genesis 22 10 says, 311 00:37:23,389 --> 00:37:26,909 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 312 00:37:26,909 --> 00:37:31,690 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham, 313 00:37:32,610 --> 00:37:37,090 he said, here I am. He said, do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. 314 00:37:37,349 --> 00:37:43,530 For now I know that you fear God seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. 315 00:37:43,630 --> 00:37:50,269 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold behind him was a ram caught in 316 00:37:50,269 --> 00:37:57,309 the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went, took the ram and offered it up as a bird offering 317 00:37:57,309 --> 00:38:03,250 instead of his son. We see in this story that God provided a ram, 318 00:38:05,929 --> 00:38:08,289 but that was just a substitute for Isaac. 319 00:38:11,050 --> 00:38:15,909 But Abraham was really looking for, we see earlier in Genesis 22 verse seven, it says, 320 00:38:15,909 --> 00:38:19,909 and Isaac said to his father, my father, and he said, here I am, my son. He said, 321 00:38:20,269 --> 00:38:25,789 behold the fire in the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham said, 322 00:38:25,929 --> 00:38:31,849 God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. 323 00:38:34,090 --> 00:38:37,889 See, in this moment, God provided a substitute for Isaac, which was a ram. 324 00:38:38,849 --> 00:38:50,010 But then centuries later, God provides the lamb of God who was not Abraham's only son, 325 00:38:50,389 --> 00:38:56,369 but he was God's only son in Jesus. And this is a beautiful story 326 00:38:58,830 --> 00:39:05,250 that makes it clear that the entire point of scripture is to point to a man whose name is 327 00:39:05,369 --> 00:39:12,289 Jesus Christ, that from the very beginning in Genesis, we see this foreshadowing of the 328 00:39:12,289 --> 00:39:20,349 lamb that would come to be the sacrifice for all the world. And Jesus, and John makes it very clear, 329 00:39:21,269 --> 00:39:26,889 John the Baptist says, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world 330 00:39:26,889 --> 00:39:35,329 when he sees Jesus, that this lamb that Abraham spoke about in Genesis 22 331 00:39:36,389 --> 00:39:42,389 came in the form of a man who was his only son, God's only son. 332 00:39:45,230 --> 00:39:49,889 And this whole story just foreshadows the person that is Jesus. 333 00:39:52,110 --> 00:39:58,750 The giver, God, provides the ultimate gift. Who is Jesus? 334 00:40:01,670 --> 00:40:08,150 And Abraham at the time was asked, hey, do you trust God or you trust your son? 335 00:40:09,510 --> 00:40:14,230 But now we're asked, do you trust the gifts or the things that God has given you 336 00:40:14,230 --> 00:40:22,150 or do you trust the son of God who is Jesus? There are many gifts and blessings that we'll receive 337 00:40:22,150 --> 00:40:29,269 in this life, but do you trust the ultimate gift that is Jesus Christ that came to die 338 00:40:29,269 --> 00:40:37,969 for each and every one of our sins? I love the foreshadowing that takes place in Genesis 22 339 00:40:37,969 --> 00:40:49,469 in verse two. He instructs to Abraham, he says, take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love. 340 00:40:54,309 --> 00:40:58,329 This is the first place in all of scripture that love appears. 341 00:41:00,869 --> 00:41:06,090 It's not talking about a romantic type of love. It's not talking about a friendship type of love. 342 00:41:06,090 --> 00:41:11,889 It's talking about the love of a father and his only son. 343 00:41:13,570 --> 00:41:20,929 And it's the exact same love that we see in John 3 16 for God so loved the world that he gave his 344 00:41:20,929 --> 00:41:30,929 only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 345 00:41:32,570 --> 00:41:39,429 All of scripture is leading up to this point where God sends his only son. 346 00:41:43,829 --> 00:41:51,829 And I don't know if you realize this about God's love. I like to think there's times where I'm 347 00:41:51,829 --> 00:41:58,750 like, man, I feel like I'm fully understanding God's love. Like when we had our first son, 348 00:41:58,750 --> 00:42:04,630 Kingston, I was like, man, I feel like I understand the love of a father so much more. 349 00:42:06,789 --> 00:42:11,150 And then I'm like, man, I think that I understand God's love. And it's at that point that I realize 350 00:42:11,150 --> 00:42:17,489 that, man, I'm not even close because God's love is not the love that I have for my son, Kingston. 351 00:42:19,809 --> 00:42:23,369 I love my son unconditionally so much. 352 00:42:24,750 --> 00:42:33,389 But if y'all ask me to sacrifice my son for one of y'all, not a chance, because I love him so much. 353 00:42:34,610 --> 00:42:43,710 But God loves you so much that he was willing to sacrifice his only son to have you in the family. 354 00:42:46,250 --> 00:42:51,869 So when you think that you understand the radical love that God has for you, you got it wrong. 355 00:42:53,369 --> 00:42:59,489 You might be scratching the surface of God's love, but it's greater. It's far deeper. 356 00:43:03,929 --> 00:43:07,869 This is the first time that we see love appear in the Bible. 357 00:43:09,429 --> 00:43:12,309 It's just pointing to the ultimate love that we see on the cross 358 00:43:14,289 --> 00:43:18,590 of Jesus dying for our sins. And so how do we walk this out? 359 00:43:23,369 --> 00:43:28,550 When we read this scripture, we have to understand that the goal isn't ultimately to be like Abraham. 360 00:43:30,309 --> 00:43:35,570 We want to have faith like Abraham, but really the goal is to be like Jesus 361 00:43:36,449 --> 00:43:39,750 who trusted God, his father beyond measure, 362 00:43:43,369 --> 00:43:44,849 even when it didn't make sense. 363 00:43:47,289 --> 00:43:55,090 And so how do we walk that out really quick in the band? I don't know. Is there a song on the back end? 364 00:43:56,610 --> 00:44:02,010 Yeah, the worship teams can come on up and we'll kind of land with this. 365 00:44:04,510 --> 00:44:09,469 How do we walk this out? How do we pass the test of faith? 366 00:44:12,490 --> 00:44:19,969 One, keep your eyes on the giver. Who is God? He's the giver of all things. 367 00:44:21,030 --> 00:44:27,630 Everything that you have in your life, every blessing that you received, every gift that you 368 00:44:27,630 --> 00:44:33,429 have, every good thing that you would say has the opportunity to maybe even become an idol. 369 00:44:33,429 --> 00:44:36,949 God has given you, and so you remember that. 370 00:44:38,630 --> 00:44:41,230 And you don't put anything that he's given you above him. 371 00:44:43,369 --> 00:44:48,010 Two, you trust God's character, even when you can't trace his hand. 372 00:44:48,929 --> 00:44:53,969 Throughout scripture, we see God move in so many different ways, but we always see his 373 00:44:53,969 --> 00:44:59,789 character remain the same. You trust his character that's the same yesterday, today, 374 00:44:59,789 --> 00:45:10,170 tomorrow, and forever. And you always remember the ultimate gift that is Jesus. 375 00:45:11,690 --> 00:45:17,730 There's nothing greater than that gift. And when you truly come to realize that, 376 00:45:17,869 --> 00:45:22,110 you realize that the giver and the gift are the same. 377 00:45:26,769 --> 00:45:33,829 The giver and the gift are one. They're God. 378 00:45:37,269 --> 00:45:41,610 But if you ever come to a moment in your life where the giver and the gift are something 379 00:45:41,610 --> 00:45:50,150 different, they will always be at ends with each other. Because God doesn't want anything 380 00:45:50,150 --> 00:46:00,369 to be above him. And so having faith is making sure that in everything that we do, 381 00:46:00,570 --> 00:46:07,269 we place God first, we trust his character, and we trust what he says. 382 00:46:12,849 --> 00:46:16,550 And so when it comes to the orthodoxy, I hope that we realize that, 383 00:46:16,550 --> 00:46:20,269 but I don't want us to stop there. How do we practice that? 384 00:46:22,730 --> 00:46:30,269 What does that look like for you? It's consistently reminding the areas of your 385 00:46:30,269 --> 00:46:33,449 life that might be good things, that they're not ultimate things. 386 00:46:37,910 --> 00:46:44,489 And it's asking the question, hey, right now, what are you withholding from God? 387 00:46:46,550 --> 00:46:51,289 What would you, if he asked you for it, what would you not be willing to give him? 388 00:46:55,570 --> 00:46:59,150 Because if there's something that you're not willing to give him that you're withholding, 389 00:46:59,329 --> 00:47:02,969 then that thing is taking place of God and it's guiding your life. 390 00:47:07,530 --> 00:47:12,390 I know what it is for me. I don't know what it is for you. Only you know that. 391 00:47:14,159 --> 00:47:19,079 And maybe some people in your life around you know that. They might see it and be like, hey. 392 00:47:23,019 --> 00:47:25,900 A lot of the times it's not something that you have to look too far for. 393 00:47:26,019 --> 00:47:28,159 There's things that popped into your mind and that's it. 394 00:47:32,239 --> 00:47:37,599 Make the decision to give it to God. Why? Because he gave everything for you. 395 00:47:39,539 --> 00:47:41,179 And it's his anyway. 396 00:47:45,639 --> 00:47:47,139 So I'm going to pray, 397 00:47:50,639 --> 00:47:59,199 but I really want us to sit on this. It's an A.W. Tozer quote that I love. 398 00:48:00,380 --> 00:48:07,480 It says, what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing 399 00:48:07,639 --> 00:48:17,340 about us. When you think about trusting God, what comes into your mind? 400 00:48:22,420 --> 00:48:26,820 God, we thank you for who you are. We thank you that you're 401 00:48:27,659 --> 00:48:31,420 the giver that gave the ultimate gift in your son Jesus, Lord. 402 00:48:33,340 --> 00:48:37,559 That you gave us a gift that we don't deserve, that we couldn't earn, Lord. 403 00:48:39,820 --> 00:48:43,239 God, you gave us a gift that it doesn't make sense from the outside. 404 00:48:48,239 --> 00:48:51,400 Lord, would we have faith in you? 405 00:48:55,460 --> 00:49:00,460 God, Abraham had faith that you would provide, Lord. Would we have faith that you already have 406 00:49:00,460 --> 00:49:07,699 provided? Would we trust you and would we not just say it with our mouths? Will we not just sing 407 00:49:07,699 --> 00:49:13,340 it with our lips and worship, but would we show it with how we live our lives? God, would you 408 00:49:13,340 --> 00:49:17,980 reveal in our hearts and in our minds the things that we cling on to, Lord, that we wouldn't 409 00:49:17,980 --> 00:49:29,239 be willing to give over to you, Lord? Let us live with open hands, God, giving you everything 410 00:49:29,239 --> 00:49:37,179 that we have, trusting that you can do more with what we have than we can do with it, 411 00:49:37,820 --> 00:49:40,980 that you can do more with our yes than we can do with our no. 412 00:49:44,679 --> 00:49:51,639 Speak to us, convict us of those things, Lord, and then correct us and place us on the path to walk, 413 00:49:51,639 --> 00:50:00,679 Lord, trusting and having faith in you, faith that surpasses understanding, faith that doesn't 414 00:50:00,679 --> 00:50:05,460 make sense, faith even when it seems foolish, Lord. Would we trust you? 415 00:50:12,559 --> 00:50:17,099 You're a good God. You're a good Father. 416 00:50:21,639 --> 00:50:27,659 Thank you for your love and who you are. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. 417 00:50:32,880 --> 00:50:38,320 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His word. 418 00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:44,460 Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. 419 00:50:44,460 --> 00:50:47,579 Be blessed and have a great day!