Sermon From Singapore #2

Hey all,

Just wanted to share what Pastor Dave Mann (Bartley Christian Church) spoke to us about because I feel that this is something very relevant to us youths, and applies to our daily life.

One of the most complexing passage of the Bible is Genesis 22, about how God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Now people ask, why would a loving God, whose love is the biggest love of all, ask someone to sacrifice his loved one? After all, Isaac is Abraham's one true son (vs Ishmael). Below are some points to show why.

Firstly, God knew what He was asking. That's quite duh right, I mean, God is omniscient, that's a well-known fact. Now that we have established that, we look at Abraham's unquestioning obedience. In Genesis 22:3, we read that his reply was immediate, he set off "early the next morning".

Now Abraham believed that Isaac would be raised (from the dead). After all, God promised earlier that "through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned" (Genesis 21:12). He told his servants that "WE (i.e. Abraham & Isaac) will come back to you" (Genesis 22:5). We can see this reasoning in Hebrews 11:17-19 too. Abraham knew God's promise, he just did not know how God was going to fulfill His promise, but through FAITH he followed His command.

This leads us to the next point. This is actually a phophetic prefiguring of Jesus' sacrifice for the world. God asked Abraham to go to Mount Moriah, which would later become Jerusalam, and the place where Jesus died on the cross. God will sacrifice his one and only son, Jesus. And just as Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice (Genesis 22:6), Jesus carried the cross.

Finally, we look at what came out of all these. The result was blessings came to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 22:17-18). God intended to bless Abraham from the very beginning. Consider this, whose benefit was the whole thing for? Did God need to test Abraham to make Himself sure? God already knew what was in Abraham's heart, He is omniscient, after all.

How do we apply all these to ourselves? The reason we struggle in life is because we doubt. We cannot understand everything (Abraham did not have all the answers). And the key to all peace in all things is to trust in God. And this trust has to be surrendered/unconditional trust. Then we go through a journey (Abraham to Mount Moriah) in which we need to re-establish a view of God that is bigger than the view of our problems. We must choose to release our burdens to God and worship Him for who He is.

So remember, when times come and we get confused, instead of questioning God, we need to get our mindset right and trust Him instead.

"When I look at the world I feel distressed,
When I look at myself I feel depressed,
But when I look at Christ, all is at rest."
- Corrie ten Boom