Abraham's Greatest Test, Part 1

Turn with me if you would in your Bible to Genesis chapter 22, as we slowly but surely make our way through this book of beginnings, Genesis chapter 22, Abraham's greatest test.

In Genesis chapter 22, Abraham faces an exam. It's a pop quiz in the middle of his life, an exam unlike he had ever faced before. But today, in the next few weeks, the greatest of all tests, Abraham would pass. The greatest of all tests he would face unquestionably. And upon facing that test, he would be able to pass that exam and thus become an example to every man, to every woman, to every boy, to every girl, what it means to live for God. What it means to follow God unquestionably. Throughout our time in this chapter, we want to cover first of all the setting.

We'll move from the setting to look at the sacrifice. We'll move from the sacrifice to look at the substitution, or excuse me, the submission, and then the substitution, and then the summation.

That's where we're going to go. This morning though, we're only going to get through point number one, that is the setting.

Why is that? Because you need to understand the setting for your examinations. The text says in Genesis 22, verse number one, these words, Now it came about after these things that God tested Abraham.

That's as far as we're going to get today. It came about that after these things God tested Abraham. This is point number one.

This is the setting. What is it that happened in Abraham's life that would lead God to bring this exam to him? The setting is extremely important because you see in your life there is a setting surrounding the examination that you will face this week or next or whenever God decides to bring a fiery test your way. So you need to know the surrounding events. You need to know what God has been doing because if you miss what God has been doing, you will fail the exam. If you see what God has been doing and appropriate God's Word in your life, you'll pass the exam.

You will notice that as you go through the life of Abraham, when he didn't call upon the name of the Lord, when he wasn't walking with the Lord, he failed the test.

But when he called upon the name of the Lord, when he sought God, he passed the test. He was prepared. I want you to be ready. I want you to be so equipped that when God brings tragedy into your life, when God brings turmoil into your life, you're able to stand the test and pass it. The exam that Abraham faces about sacrificing his son is pretty severe. Remember, we know the end of the story. Remember, we can read all through Genesis 22. Remember, we can read the book of Hebrews. We can read the New Testament.

We know how it all ends up. Abraham didn't know. He just took it one day at a time. He didn't know what was gonna happen on top of the Mount Moriah. He didn't know. We know because we've read the story. Just like you don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow, God knows because He wrote the story. So what's the setting? After what things? Remember Abimelech came to him. And remember the first words out of Abimelech's mouth when he said these words in Genesis 21 verse number 22, God is with you in all that you do.

The pagan king knew God was with Abraham. And I believe it was at this time that Abraham finally realized that God was with him.

He finally realized that God had been with him from the very beginning. That's why when you come down to the end of Genesis 21, in verse number 33, it says that Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba. And there he called on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God, the eternal God, El Olam. For the very first time in Abraham's life, he realized the everlasting nature of God.

That God himself is eternal. That God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is ever-present with you. There was a recognition of the presence of God. It was after these things, what things? After Abraham realized the eternal nature of God, after Abraham realized that God was ever-present with him, that God would always be with him, it was after these things that God would bring upon Abraham the most severe test he would ever face. And the reason Abraham would pass this test is because he knew this about his God, that his God was everlasting.

That his God was eternal. That his God was ever-present with him. That is what made Abraham pass his exam. He realized in his own life, the father of our faith, finally realized some thirty years after God called him, that his God was everlasting.

So we know that Abraham for the very first time realized the eternal nature of God. He is everlasting. So Abraham realized that if his God is everlasting, if his God is eternal, that all of his attributes are eternal, are everlasting. Therefore, whatever he needed, the resources are never-ending. You know, if you need something moved, I can move it for you. Right? See, you call the pastor and say, hey pastor, I need this moved. So I go to your house and I pick up whatever it is you got to move and I'll move it for you.

But if you call me the next day and ask me to move something else, I might be too tired to move it. Because I don't have everlasting buffness. Everlasting power. God does. See, if you call upon God for strength today, he bestows his eternal strength upon you, he's not going to run out of strength for tomorrow or for the next guy. So if you need help and you call upon God and he helps you, I don't have to feel like I can't call upon him because he has no more power left for me. He does. Because he has eternal power.

He has eternal love, eternal mercy, eternal grace. Everything about God is everlasting. You need to understand that. Why? Because in your marriage, your spouse's love wanes, doesn't it? God's doesn't. Your spouse's love fluctuates. One day it's hot, one day it's cold. Two days it's cold, one day it's hot. Four days it's cold, a half a day it's hot. You get the point? But for God it's always hot because God is eternal. His love is everlasting. That's the setting. Now it says in verse number 33, He was in the land of the Philistines for many days waiting upon God to move him, waiting upon God to do whatever he's going to do.

And so when God finally calls and God says, Abraham, Abraham says, yes Lord. Abraham, take your son, your only son, for emphasis sake, and I want you to go to a mountain and I want you to sacrifice your only son. Abraham's response is what? Yes Lord. So, for Abraham then, for the believer today, you need to understand the eternal nature of God. And you need to understand what God is doing in the process. Why God is allowing all these things to come your way. And for that I want you to turn with me to a book in the New Testament called 1st Peter chapter 1.

And we'll spend the rest of our time here this morning. 1st Peter chapter 1. You need to understand this because this is the setting for your life. These are the surrounding circumstances that you need to grasp in order for you to pass your exam tomorrow. Abraham had to understand the eternal nature of God. Peter will address the eternal nature of God right smack in the middle of telling his people that he is writing to about the test they are facing. And let me read to you just three verses in 1st Peter chapter 1 that will change your life completely.

That will revolutionize the way you think about God and what He's doing in your life. 1st Peter chapter 1 verse number 6. In this you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while if necessary you have been distressed by various trials and the proof of your faith being more precious than gold which is perishable even though tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ and though you have not seen Him you love Him and though you do not see Him now but believe in Him you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.

Let me share with you four things you need to know about your test today. Four things. Number one is this.

Every, listen carefully, every test is temporary. That's number one. It's temporary. How do I know that? Because Peter says, even though now for a little while. You ever notice that when you're in the midst of it it seems like an eternity.

When you're in the middle of your trial you think it's never going to end. Where is the light at the end of the tunnel? Turn over to chapter 5 for a moment. Verse number 10, and after you have suffered for what? A little while. There it is again. Talking about the adversary going about like a roaring lion seeking whom He may devour. He says what? He says, and after you have suffered for a little while. Then what does He say? The God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in Christ will Himself do four things, perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

God's going to do that in your life. But He says remember after you have suffered for a little while this is what He will do. So the first thing you need to realize is that every test is temporary.

Number two, every test is timely. Every test is timely. Peter says if necessary. Even though now for a little while, if necessary. Listen, from God's viewpoint they are necessary. From our viewpoint they're not. From our viewpoint is I don't need this right now.

You ever said that? I don't need this today. And Peter says if necessary. In other words, from God's standpoint, since they are necessary they'll only be for a little while. But the point is they are necessary. If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times. If you got it, you need it. And so therefore Peter is helping us to understand the sovereign view of Almighty God. He deems it necessary. He says you need it. Why? If I'm going to strengthen you, as you said in verse 10 of chapter 5, if I'm going to confirm you, if I'm going to establish you, it is necessary for you to experience what it is you are experiencing this day.

That's important for us to grasp. Psalm 119.75 says this, in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me. That's why when you go through an affliction, the very first song you sing is great is thy faithfulness.

See that? Because in faithfulness God afflicts His people. So important to grasp. Remember Job, after he had lost his family, after he had lost his livestock, after he had lost everything that he owned except for his wife. His wife said curse God and die. She had seen the turmoil upon her husband and she said forget about it. Curse him and die. Let's be done. He said, oh foolish woman. Not to rebuke her, but to help her gain perspective. Perspective. It's the fool who says in his heart, what? Not there is no God.

It's the fool who says in his heart no God. That's what the text literally says. So he says, oh foolish woman, don't say no to God. Can we accept good from God and not accept adversity from Him? Job 2 verses 9 and 10. So he says, my dear wife, don't say no to God. That's foolishness. Say yes to God. That's wisdom. That's wisdom. Most of us know the story of Elizabeth Elliot, whose husband was killed by the Alcandians while they were on mission field. She would take her young daughter Valerie, go back to that tribe in which her husband was massacred, and begin to do a ministry among those people.

A ministry that far surpasses most ministries that have ever existed. And God used her in a mighty way. She wrote these words following her experiences. She said, only in acceptance lies peace. Not in resignation, nor in busyness. Resignation is surrendered to fate. Acceptance is surrendered to God. Resignation lies down quietly in an empty universe. Acceptance rises up to meet the God who fills that universe with purpose and destiny. Resignation says, I can't. Acceptance says, God can. Resignation says, it's all over for me.

Acceptance asks, now that I am here, what's next, Lord? Resignation says, what a waste. Acceptance asks, in what redemptive way will you use this mess, Lord? So Peter says, the tests, number one, they're temporary.

Number two, they are timely. Number three, they are taxing. For some, they are turbulent. For some, they are troublesome. For some, they are tragic. For some, they are tedious. But for all, they are taxing. Peter says it this way. If necessary, you have been distressed. It's a word that deals with physical anguish. Same word used of the Lord in the garden when he sweat great drops of blood. Same word used over those in 1 Thessalonians 4 who felt the anguish of the death of a loved one. You are distressed, man.

You're out of it. Every test is taxing. Notice the text says, distressed by various trials, many colored trials.

They come in different shapes. They come in different sizes. But no matter what shape or size they come in, they will be distressful to you. They will be taxing on you. He doesn't set aside one particular test that says, well, your test of a death of a loved one is a greater test than the other person who has the test of a loss of a job. No, because they are multicolored kind of tests. But all of them are distressful to some degree for the person in whom they affect. You see, God has a specific grace designed for your specific test.

That's why Paul could say in 2 Corinthians 12 that what the Lord said to him, my grace is sufficient for you, Paul. Paul would pray for the for the thorn in his side to be removed. And God said, no, my grace is sufficient. I have exact amount of grace to handle your exact need. And so Peter comes back and says, you have been distressed by many different kinds of trials. But God's grace comes in many different forms to match every single trial that you encounter. See, Peter firmly believed in the eternal nature of God.

Why? Because he said every test is temporary. God is not. He is eternal. God lasts forever. Your test does not. Every test is necessary. Why? Because God, who is eternal, designed it to happen at a very specific time. He's timely. But here's the best one. I'll say the best for last. Are you ready? Number four. Every test is thrilling. How can you say that? I didn't. That's the good news. Peter did. He says what? In this you greatly rejoice. He said it again down in verse number eight. You greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.

Peter said it. I didn't say it. I just quote it. Every test is thrilling. You rejoice greatly. Why? Why? I'll give you five reasons. Five reasons. Number one.

Number one is this. It's thrilling because Peter tells you it proves the genuineness of your salvation. He says you've been distressed by various trials that the proof of your faith. Every test will prove the genuineness of your salvation. Every test will prove the fact that you truly believe in God. Don't prove it to God because God knows your heart, right? Who's your faith proven to? Yourself. There are many professing people who receive the word with joy. If Jesus is going to do that, then I want Jesus.

But all of a sudden the genuineness of their faith is proven amidst the persecution and trials that come because of the word and they fall away and they prove that their faith was not genuine. It was superficial. James said it this way in James chapter 1 verse number 2. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, multi-colored trials, trials that come in every different shape and size because they're like polka dots. Some are big and some are small. Knowing that the testing of your faith.

There's a test for your faith. Do you have genuine faith? The reason they're thrilling, number one, is because they prove the genuineness of your salvation.

Number two, they produce something for you. They produce patience. They produce steadfastness. They produce a forbearing spirit. They produce endurance. That's what James says in James chapter 1. He says, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, a steadfast fidelity, an uncompromising life. That's what tests produce. So not only do they prove something, they produce something. They give you endurance. They give you stability. They give you forbearance. They give you the ability to bear up under the difficulty.

Number three, James says it this way, and let endurance have its perfect result that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Evidently, Peter says they're necessary. And the reason they're necessary is because James says you lack something. So therefore, the test comes. So you don't lack anything. Therefore, that test proves something. It proves the genuineness of your salvation. It produces something. It produces steadfast endurance. And thirdly, it perfects something.

It perfects the believer's life, because there's something that needs to be added. There's something that needs to be supplied. There's something that needs to be mended. And therefore, that test comes in order to do that in your life. Now go back with me to 1 Peter, and Peter says, number four, it's this. It purifies something. Peter says the proof of your faith being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire. It purifies something. It proves something. It produces something.

It perfects something. And it purifies something. What does it purify? It purifies your life. The purifying element. God wants to purify your life. He says, but the difference is in the gold, it's perishable. Your faith is imperishable. The gold's perishable. It will be done away with. But your faith will last forever. And Christ says, I want you to look just like me.

That's why every test is thrilling. It proves the fact that you are a child of God. And lastly, number five, the reason they're thrilling is simply because they promise something. Do you know what they promise? Praise, glory, honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. What a thrill. One day for the God of the universe to praise you. And lastly, there's honor. That's his reward. All that to say is that's the setting. You need to understand all that before you tackle Genesis chapter 22. You had the wonderful opportunity to do this.

Abraham couldn't read first Peter. Couldn't read James 1. You can. Abraham's greatest exam, greatest test, he would pass. He doesn't know a tenth of what you know. But that tenth he did know, he applied to his life and he lived it. He would pass this exam with flying colors. I want you to be able to pass your next exam. I want you to be prepared. God's going to do something that no one else can do in your life. And when he's all done, you can say, as Job did, he has tested me. He has put me through the refiner's fire so that I can come out looking like gold.

Let's pray.