Episode 6

Journey of Faith - The Ultimate Test (North OC)

In this sermon, Marcel and Karina Hall wrap up our 'Journey of Faith' series, focusing on Abraham's ultimate test of sacrificing his son, Isaac, which he was willing to do out of obedience to God's command. The Halls emphasize that tests of faith are pivotal in our spiritual journey and serve to reveal, refine, and strengthen our faith and devotion to God. They also illustrate how God provides in times of need, including his ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ for humanity. Practical action steps are suggested to help listeners reflect on and apply the lessons from Abraham's journey of faith.

00:00 Introduction to the Journey of Faith

00:52 The Call of Abraham

01:44 Understanding Tests in Life

04:15 The Ultimate Test: Genesis 22

07:46 Abraham's Obedience and Faith

14:09 Personal Reflections on Faith

22:11 God's Provision and Sacrificial Love

27:47 Conclusion and Action Steps

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OC Church of Christ

Transcript
Marcel:

We are concluding our, , sermon series here, , the journey of faith

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that we've been studying out, , Genesis,

really, , Genesis chapters, , 12 and

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we'll finish up in, chapter 25 and

we're learning about the journey of

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faith that we go on and we're looking

at the lens or through the lens of the

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journey of faith that the, , father

of faith, Abraham went through.

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So we're studying this out on Sundays and

also on Wednesdays in our family groups.

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And we have a handout if you're, if you

haven't seen it in the church app, just

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go ahead and look in there in the inbox.

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And so I want to kind of recap this here.

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I know we always have some people here

that are visiting for the first time.

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Also want to mention that our

college students are out of town.

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That's why we're a

little bit lighter today.

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They're at the campus ministry retreat

over in Antelope Valley and they

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should be returning home this Sunday.

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But God called Abraham

to a journey of faith.

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And so he calls him out of

the land and tells him to go.

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And he won't tell him exactly where he's

going, but he'll tell him when to stop.

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So he's called to this journey.

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And he's also given these great

promises that God will make him.

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He's a, he's a senior

citizen at this time.

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And he tells him that he's going to

be a great nation and this nation will

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be a blessing to the entire world.

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And we know that was fulfilled,

ultimately, by Jesus Christ.

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And so, as we have seen throughout

our study here, there's many

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highs and there's many lows.

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There's some great choices and

there's some really poor choices that

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are made in all of the characters.

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And so we see great examples of faith and

we see great examples of not having faith.

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And so we're able to relate

on all these different levels.

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Now, before we get into the actual

text here today, let me ask you, I

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know we have some high school and

our college students aren't here, uh,

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but everybody can answer this one.

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Um, when you were in school or where

you are in school, do you like tests?

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People say that a little too quickly.

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You don't like tests, right?

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Most of us don't really like tests, do we?

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And so maybe it's the anxiety of the test.

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Uh, maybe the, you know, understanding

the ramifications of the test.

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Especially if it's a big test.

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I know I was pretty nervous

about the SAT, you know.

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And, uh, didn't do too

well the first time.

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And did so so the second time.

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I got another story about taking SAT

too that I'll share for another moment

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there that is pretty embarrassing.

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But, let me ask you this.

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Do you like pop quizzes?

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You don't like pop quizzes either, right?

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So we don't like the tests

that we know are coming.

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We really don't like the

pop quizzes that we receive.

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And so some of us, we get stage fright.

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We might know the material.

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But because it's on the spot or

just the pressure, sometimes we

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buckle or we maybe don't do as

well if it was a different setting.

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Now I know we have a number of teachers.

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Let me ask the teachers.

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Teachers, cause you're the

ones who give the tests.

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Can you please tell the teachers, what

are the purposes and benefits of tests?

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Accountability.

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Accountability.

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Eric said it real loud.

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Okay, yes, alright.

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Test

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Karina: are meant to drive.

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Marcel: Okay.

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I drive, they drive this.

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I, if I, if I test, I know what they

know, then I know what to teach.

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Okay.

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Any other teachers there want

to want to mention any other

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benefits or purposes of tests?

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To see what they're retaining?

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Okay.

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Yes.

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Yes.

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Track progress.

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Right?

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And just because you're evil, right?

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Exactly right.

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You just want to make life

hard for the kid, don't you?

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Right.

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We know that's number one, but you're

in church, you don't want to admit that.

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Just playing, just

playing, I'm just playing.

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Alright, there might be a couple

teachers like that, but not you guys.

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But here's the thing, right, we can

understand, when we're taking the

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test, we really don't appreciate it.

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But we're on the other side, we can

understand, but when we take a step back,

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we can see kind of some of the reasons why

and also some of the benefits of the test.

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Now, in our spiritual journey, we

realize we also have tests in our faith.

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And we have many spiritual tests.

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And so that's what we're going

to study and look at today.

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And so the title of today

is the ultimate test.

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The ultimate test.

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So turn over in your Bible

to Genesis chapter 22.

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We'll have the scriptures on the

screen, but I know a number of us like

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to look at it on our phones there.

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And in Genesis chapter 22.

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I want to recap here again.

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Last week, Dallas Kauai preached

a great sermon to heaven.

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Dallas and Daniel just done

a great job preaching over

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the last several weeks here.

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They done a fantastic job preaching, guys.

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We're so proud of them.

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In the last chapter, chapter 21, Sarah,

Abraham's wife, gives birth to Isaac.

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And this is really big.

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This is the promised child.

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25 years have gone since God

said, Hey, why don't you move

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and I'm going to bless you.

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25 years and then finally the child is

born and that's a great thing and we

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see God's faithfulness to his promises.

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And then afterwards we see that

there's still some drama in the family

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that stems from some poor choices.

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And so now, the, uh, uh, Abraham's

second wife and child and Ishmael,

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they leave, but God protects and

He blesses them and He protects

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and He blesses Abraham and Isaac.

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And so now, here we are,

it's about ten years later.

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And so Isaac now is probably about

12 to 13, maybe 14 years old.

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And we take it up here in

Genesis chapter 22 church.

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Are you with me?

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Okay.

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You might be wondering why

is Karina still on stage?

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Does she have another announcement?

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No, she doesn't, but she's going

to actually be sharing some here as

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well as we go through the sermon.

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Amen.

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Are you guys with us here?

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All right.

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Amen.

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Genesis chapter 22 in verse 1.

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Let's read it sometime later.

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God tested Abraham.

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Let's stop right there.

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This is helpful for you and me as we

read this because we understand, okay,

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what's about to happen is a test.

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But the best thing to do when you read the

Bible, how you get the most, how you can,

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uh, really have the Spirit minister to

you, is to insert yourself into the text.

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And when you do that, then you start

to see things differently and the

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Spirit of God ministers to you.

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So I want you to insert yourself into the

text and put yourself in Abraham's shoes.

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OK, are you guys with me here?

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So he doesn't know that this is a test.

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Now we do.

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Let's go.

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So here I am, he replied.

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Then God said, Take your son, your

only son, whom you love, Isaac,

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and go to the region of Moriah.

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Sacrifice him there as a

burnt offering on a mountain.

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I will show you what

in the world was that?

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Did you hear what was said again?

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If you're Abraham, this you don't know.

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This is a test.

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But somehow God's

communicating to you here.

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Go, you remember that one kid who

you've been waiting on for 25 years?

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The promise, all the drama, all the

faithfulness, all the tears, the crying.

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Remember that child?

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I want you to go take him

up to that mountaintop and I

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want you to go sacrifice him.

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That's when you go, okay.

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No habla ingles, right?

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You don't, you, what are

you talking about, God?

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That sounds absurd.

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It doesn't make sense.

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How would you be feeling in that moment?

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How do you think Abraham was feeling?

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Wait, this is supposed

to be the promised child.

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There's descendants that it's supposed

to be a blessing through this one.

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If I sacrifice them,

how's that going to work?

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Let's continue reading verse

3 early the next morning.

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Abraham got up and loaded his donkey

took with him two of his servants

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and his son Isaac when he had cut

enough wood for the burnt offering.

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He set out for the place.

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God had told him about.

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How did Abraham respond?

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It says early in the morning.

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Was he praying all night?

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Was he trying to dissuade and

persuade God to have a different plan?

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Was he just anxious all night

and just couldn't sleep?

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And so therefore he got up regardless.

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We don't know.

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But what we do know is

he responded with what?

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Obedience.

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We continue.

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It says on the third day, Abraham looked

up and saw the place in the distance.

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Wow.

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Three day journey.

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Imagine what that was like

for Abraham as he's going.

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Not just one day.

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It wasn't a two hour walk.

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It was a three day journey.

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And in his mind, he knows

what God has called him to.

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We continue reading the verse five.

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He said to his servants, stay

here with the donkey while

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I and the boy go over there.

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We will worship.

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And then we will come back to you.

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Abraham took the wood for the burnt

offering and placed it on his son Isaac.

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And he himself carried

the fire and the knife.

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As the two of them went on together,

Isaac spoke up and said to his

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father, Abraham, father, yes, my son.

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Abraham replied, the fire

and the wood are here.

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Isaac said, but where is the

land for the burnt offering?

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What a question.

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How was Abraham feeling at that moment?

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Isaac's starting to go.

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Hey, uh, where's the animal I've seen?

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I've seen you do this before.

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I've seen others do this before

we're getting close Where's

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the animal for this offering?

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How would you have

responded in that moment?

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Let's continue reading Abraham answered

God himself Will provide the lamb

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for the burnt offering my son and the

two of them went on together You When

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they reached the place God had told

him about, Abraham built an altar

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there and arranged the wood on it.

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He bound his son Isaac and laid him

on the altar on top of the wood.

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Then he reached out his hand and

took the knife to slay his son.

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But the angel of the Lord called

out to him from heaven, Abraham!

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Abraham!

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Here I am, he replied.

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Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said.

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Do not do anything to him.

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Now I know that you fear God

because you have not withheld

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from me your son, your only son.

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Abraham looked up and there in a thicket

he saw a ram caught by its horns.

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He went over and took the ram

and sacrificed it as a burnt

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offering instead of his son.

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So Abraham called the place

the Lord will provide.

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And to this day, it is said on the

mountain of the Lord, it will be provided.

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The angel of the Lord called to Abraham

from heaven a second time and said,

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I swear by myself, declares the Lord,

that because you have done this and have

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not withheld your son, your only son,

I will surely bless you and make your

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descendants as numerous as the stars in

the sky and as the sand on the sea shore.

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Your descendants will take possession of

the cities of their enemies and through

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your offspring, all nations on earth will

be blessed because you have obeyed me.

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Then Abraham returned to his servants

and they set off together for Beersheba

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and Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

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We'll stop right there.

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What a story, mysterious.

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It's nerve wracking, intense and

inspiring all at the same time.

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And the question we've asked ourselves

throughout this whole time in this

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study is what do we learn about

our spiritual journey from what

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we see in their spiritual journey?

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And what do we learn

about God through this?

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And so the first thing that stands

out to me is, first off, is this,

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is that our journey includes tests.

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Our journey includes tests.

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You know, Abraham went through

many tests and we'll look

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at some of these right here.

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There was the family test when he was

asked to leave his family and step

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out by faith to go to a new land.

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There was the famine test.

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This is when he's living in this new

land, but there's a famine is dry

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and he goes to Egypt to receive help.

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There was the fellowship test

where he gave lot first choice

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in the picking of the land.

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Then there was the fight

test when he defeated.

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With the other men, the kings, that

were at war and that took lots.

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There was the fortune test,

when he said no to Sodom's

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wealth that was offered to him.

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There was the fatherhood test, when

Sarah and him came up with this

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terrible plan, so that, you know,

that they can help God in some way.

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And that Hagar would have

Ishmael, a child, for them.

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And then there was the farewell test.

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In last chapter that we saw where

he sent Sarah, uh, I mean, excuse

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me, Hagar and Ishmael away.

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And we see these tests.

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Now, not all of these tests, does

it say in the text, were from God.

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And so some of the tests that you

and I face, they're not designed

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by God, they're not from God.

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It's just a part of life, but

they're tests nevertheless.

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And so as we can see in our

journey, we're going to have tests.

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There's going to be a test and what's

being tested our faith and our devotion.

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Our faith is being tested.

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Our devotion is being tested.

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Will you trust God enough to follow?

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Will you trust God enough to

follow even though you don't

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know where he is leading you?

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He didn't give you all of the answers.

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And then the other question, are

you devoted enough to God to obey?

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Am I devoted enough to you that

no matter how hard it is, I

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will still follow your word.

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Again, these tests are designed

for a purpose, just like the

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test that the teachers design.

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They want to know where we are, but really

what this does, it reveals and refines us.

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It reveals to us where

we are in our faith.

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It reveals to us where our hearts

are, and then it refines us.

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Because it strengthens us.

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I'll share this real briefly.

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You know, I didn't realize it was a

test, but by the grace of God, I'll

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try to share this real quickly here.

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By the grace of God, we got

a free hotel stay in Hawaii,

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so we went earlier this year.

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And so we went to this hotel,

and it was supposed to be real

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cheap, but then all kinds of other

family members wanted to join us.

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So it went from just our

family to a whole family trip.

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You know what I mean?

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My mom came, and we had

all kinds of folks come.

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And so we're there, we're in

Hawaii, and we're on a Sunday,

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and then we had this Sunday, and

the night before, we're looking to

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see where the Hawaii church meets.

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And we're there, and I start

looking, and I go, wow, this is

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like the other part of the island.

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We still have a little part of the

island that we still want to see.

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There's still some

things on my to do list.

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And then I looked at the Uber

prices, and I was like, ooh,

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this is going to be expensive.

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I was like, man, the convenience, the

money, uh, I don't know about this.

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And so I'm really thinking, you

know what, we'll just do a family

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devotional in our, in our hotel room.

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And so I'm telling my mom, like, yeah,

mom, I don't think we're going to go.

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My mom's like, no, I want to go.

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I think we should go.

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We can make it work.

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I was so convicted.

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I was like, man, this is terrible.

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I was like, here, I'm a

minister of the gospel.

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And my mom was like, no

boy, we don't go to church.

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I'm so grateful.

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I really am.

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I'm so grateful because I

was like, wow, it hit me.

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And I had a quiet time many

months ago and it hit me.

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I said, wow, I was going to take

an opportunity for my kids to see

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the church in a different light.

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I'm never going to have that

chance to worship with my Hawaiian

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brothers and sisters again.

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And so I was going to take it.

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Because it wasn't convenient and

it was going to be a couple more

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dollars than I wanted to spend.

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But you know what happened is crazy.

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It hadn't the uber into being like 35

cheaper than it was supposed to be and

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it took a whole lot less to get there.

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I was like, God, you are gracious to me.

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But I look back and I go,

wow, I failed that test.

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But my mom and others, they passed.

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And even in our journey,

sometimes we don't, we don't

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pass the test like we should.

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Abraham passed the

test, but it refined me.

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So even though I didn't pass it

with flying colors, I would argue

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I failed it considerably, but it

refined my faith and it revealed

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to me, there's still some things at

times that have my heart's affection.

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There's still some things in my time

in which I don't completely trust.

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Can you relate at all?

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You see, during our journey of

faith, there's going to be tests.

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Karina is going to share

some more about this.

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Karina: Um, you know, Sarah,

Sarah didn't come with him.

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Uh, she, we don't hear that.

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He told her about this.

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I tend to think he didn't, um,

because I think he might've

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been on the altar before Isaac.

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Um, but

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I just can't imagine.

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I don't know.

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That test, like, I, I think as,

as my kids, like, I'd rather

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suffer before watch them suffer.

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And so, but, Abraham's

test was Abraham's test.

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Um, when, you know, they got to,

um, they got near the place, uh,

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where he was going to offer Isaac,

he had the servants stay back.

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The servants didn't go with him.

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And I think that's something that stood

out to me that we each have our own test.

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God knows us personally and knows

what we need and knows, um, what,

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what he, um, what we can handle.

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Even, uh, we have our own tests and

then we have to decide, are we going

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to obey and trust and worship God when

something is taken away from us or when,

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um, we don't receive what we asked for.

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Uh, for me, one of the One of

the toughest times, um, was

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when my brother passed away.

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Because I really had to wrestle

to believe in God's goodness.

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Um, because if I couldn't trust God's

goodness, then that would obviously

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affect my relationship with God.

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It would obviously affect how

much I would trust and obey Him.

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Um, and so that was,

that was a tough time.

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Um,

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I think also, you know, relationships

in the church, like being hurt

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by people, like, that's a test.

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It's a test to stay faithful to God.

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It's a test to, like, stay faithful

to the people He's put in my life.

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Um, those are tests, and I think

tests come in different forms.

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Um, health challenges, um, our, our

career, our finances, and, Our marriage,

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um, our kids, you know, when we have,

you know, our, there's times of testing

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with our kids, with our families, our

relationships, um, but, but God also

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knew the right timing for the test.

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God knew when Abraham

could handle this test.

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Abraham didn't have to sacrifice, um, or

he wasn't asked to sacrifice Isaac five

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years ago, he was asked at that time, and,

you know, you see Abraham, um, you know,

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God tells him to do this and he's ready.

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He gets up in the morning and does it.

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And I think Abraham had over the years

developed the knowledge that he needed

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to have faith in God, um, to, to be

able to trust God through this ordeal.

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Um, you know, he even gets to a point

where, you know, in Hebrews we learn

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in Hebrews 11 17 through 19 it says

by faith, Abraham, when God tested

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:

him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.

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He who had embraced the promises

was about to sacrifice his one and

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only son even though God had said

to him, it is through Isaac that

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your offspring will be reckoned.

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Abraham reasoned that God could even raise

the dead and so in a manner of speaking

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he did receive Isaac back from death.

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So Abraham had to get, Abraham

had to get to that point though.

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He had to get to a point where he

could embrace the promise And where

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:

he could reason that God could

bring back Isaac from the dead.

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He can raise the dead, so

therefore, it, it could, he could

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help him through this journey.

399

:

But, I think that wasn't always the case.

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:

Um, and so God uses, also,

tests to help our faith.

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:

I think God helped, um, Abraham

with his faith through this.

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:

Uh, you know, in, in, you know, When we

read, he, um, he tells them this command

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and then he, Abraham goes and does it.

404

:

And then after God repeats, the angel

of the Lord repeats the promise.

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And we see actually throughout Abraham's

journey, God was repeating the promise.

406

:

But typically we see that he would

tell, he would repeat the promise

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:

as he asked him to do something.

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:

So when he first told him, hey leave your

country, leave your family, and go to this

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:

unknown place, I'm going to bless you.

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I'm going to give you this,

this, and this and that.

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:

Like, so he gives him the promise as

he's calling him to this, uh, task.

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But this time the promises is

not told to Abraham until after.

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:

And I think that's, you know,

God uses this for our own faith.

414

:

And then God didn't forget the promise.

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I don't think God was

holding out on the promise.

416

:

I think this, hearing the promise after

he went through this gave, Abraham, a new

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:

level of confidence, a new level of faith.

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And I think, um, that's

what he does for us.

419

:

Like sometimes we need to hear the

promise before, you know, before

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we go out and obedience, but

sometimes we have to go through it.

421

:

We have to obey and we have

to see what God does for us

422

:

to, um, have greater faith.

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:

Marcel: And then

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:

also, not only do we, we, we see this,

but I think we see something about

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:

God as well is that God will provide

that's clear from the text there.

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:

And in fact, we go back, uh, in the text

there and it says in Genesis chapter 22

427

:

verse 16 again, he called that place.

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This is where the Lord will provide.

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:

And so we learn something about God.

430

:

We learned that's who God is.

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:

That's his character.

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:

He is the one who promises, but he

is the one who fulfills his promise.

433

:

And God will provide when we are in need.

434

:

God will provide, uh, the strength

when we feel like we don't have enough

435

:

to fulfill his call to sacrifice.

436

:

God will provide a way when we're tempted

by sin and evil or demonic forces.

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God will provide resources

when we have none left.

438

:

God provides the wisdom for handling

situations or relationships.

439

:

God provides peace when there's anxiety.

440

:

God provides hope when we're discouraged.

441

:

God provides love when we're hurt.

442

:

God provides relief when

we're under pressure.

443

:

But if we, if and when we trust

and obey, it will be provided

444

:

because that's who he is.

445

:

He is the God who will provide.

446

:

Karina want to share a

little more about that.

447

:

Karina: Yes, I think the

biggest thing that I saw was God

448

:

provides sacrificial love for us.

449

:

Um, you know, I remember, um, I

don't know if I saw this on someone's

450

:

Facebook comments or someone said

it, but I remember someone saying

451

:

that they couldn't worship a God who

would ask this of their follower.

452

:

Um, and I, and I, But I, I get it.

453

:

I get the sentiment because this

was a very difficult request

454

:

that God asked of Abraham.

455

:

Like, I think the, you know,

even just thinking about the

456

:

process of this sacrifice.

457

:

You know, to offer a sacrifice, an

animal, you would cut their throat

458

:

and then cut it up into pieces

and then burn it on the altar.

459

:

Like, That is what God was asking him

to do with his one and only son, Isaac.

460

:

Like that seems severe.

461

:

Um, but I also think Abraham had a

different view of this command than we do.

462

:

Like we don't have human sacrifices.

463

:

Um, and you know, that's not

what, you know, is around us.

464

:

But for Abraham, it was around him

and the pagan nations around him.

465

:

That's what they did.

466

:

They offered human sacrifices.

467

:

So I also think that, Abraham probably

had a different view, like, okay, well,

468

:

these other pagan gods ask this of their,

um, that's what the other people do.

469

:

So, I guess it makes sense, it's

in the realm of possibility, that

470

:

God, the true God, would ask this.

471

:

Um, and he didn't have the Bible to,

to tell him otherwise, or to know later

472

:

that, you know, this was forbidden by God.

473

:

Um, but it was still a big request,

and this is not to minimize

474

:

what God was asking of Abraham.

475

:

I think, um, the difference though, the

reason why I can worship this God is

476

:

because God did ask this of Abraham, but

he didn't make him go through with it.

477

:

And the plan was always for God to be

the one to provide and to show us the

478

:

extent of his love through his sacrifice.

479

:

I think, um, God isn't a God

who asks and expects this of us.

480

:

He is.

481

:

The God who takes the initiative to

make this type of sacrifice for us.

482

:

You know, in, um, in Genesis we

see that God provided a ram as a

483

:

substitute sacrifice in place of Isaac.

484

:

Um, and fulfilled Abraham's obligation

through that, through the ram.

485

:

Um, but years later we know now

that God would offer his, his

486

:

only son as a sacrifice for us

and fulfilling our obligation.

487

:

Um, Abraham didn't have to sacrifice Isaac

and Isaac didn't have to die, just like

488

:

we don't have to be punished for our sins.

489

:

Um, in, uh, Genesis 22 verse 2,

um, it, sorry, uh, it says, uh,

490

:

Then God said, take your son, your

only son, whom you love, Isaac,

491

:

and go to the region of Moriah.

492

:

Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering.

493

:

on a mountain.

494

:

I will show you.

495

:

But in john 3 16 through 17, it

says, for God so loved the world

496

:

that he gave his one and only son

that whoever believes in him shall

497

:

not perish but have eternal life.

498

:

For God did not send his son into

the world to condemn the world,

499

:

but to save the world through him.

500

:

And this is the God that we serve.

501

:

We serve the God who Blitz the

expectation like he tells Abraham

502

:

do this and I'll bless you.

503

:

Um, but he doesn't allow

Abraham to go through with it.

504

:

Instead, God takes the initiative

and offers his son as the sacrifice

505

:

necessary for eternal life.

506

:

So he says, I'm going to do this sacrifice

and I'm going to give you eternal life.

507

:

Like I'm going to give you eternal life.

508

:

Um, but I'm going to do the hard

part and that's, that's God's love.

509

:

That's, he provides the

sacrificial love that we need.

510

:

Marcel: Amen.

511

:

Amen.

512

:

Amen.

513

:

Amen.

514

:

And so as we close out, uh, want to

give some action steps here to really

515

:

allow God to minister to us here.

516

:

And so this week, here

are the action steps.

517

:

Number one, review Genesis

chapter 22 for yourself.

518

:

Go ahead and go over the scriptures and

and read the story again for yourself.

519

:

But then two, here's what I ask you

to do is to answer the following.

520

:

How should I view the test in my life?

521

:

How should I view the test in my life?

522

:

And then to follow it up with

what does it look like to obey

523

:

the Lord who provides this week.

524

:

So this week, what will it look like

to obey the Lord who provides and

525

:

I believe that the Holy Spirit will

minister to you and I and so that

526

:

we can have the right perspective.

527

:

So that leads us to the right faith.

528

:

That helps us to have the right heart

and therefore make the right choices

529

:

that are aligned with God's will.

530

:

And so as we conclude our journey

of faith, it includes tests.

531

:

And some are just life and

some are designed by God.

532

:

But God knows us and he

tests us individually.

533

:

And the same God who tests

is the same God who provides.

534

:

Our God will provide.

535

:

He provides love.

536

:

And through Jesus, he

provides eternal life.

537

:

And so we must decide to trust

God's character and promises

538

:

and obey his call and word.

539

:

Let's close out in Genesis

chapter 22, verse 14.

540

:

So Abraham called that place.

541

:

The Lord will provide until this

day, it is said on the mountain

542

:

of the Lord, it will be provided.

543

:

Brothers and sisters, I pray that you

and I will pass the ultimate test.

544

:

Amen.

545

:

Amen.

546

:

Amen.

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