back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 1.10.2021
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First of all, as you guys saw when you were coming in, 00:10:43.200 |
but also obviously if you have personal needs, 00:10:49.200 |
we're asking everybody who's coming into the room, 00:10:55.200 |
so that we can have a place where we can pray. 00:10:58.200 |
And those of you who are serving in the church, 00:10:59.200 |
whether you're in the AB team or anything else 00:11:08.200 |
So if you're chatting or doing anything around, 00:11:11.200 |
if we can ask you to kind of do that outside of this room 00:11:14.200 |
so that the people can take some time to pray to do that. 00:11:34.200 |
and various things that we're gonna go through. 00:11:39.200 |
for those of you who are members in the church. 00:11:41.200 |
And again, those of you who are joining us as members, 00:11:52.200 |
and he'll give you the links to be able to do that. 00:11:57.200 |
Membership class is starting again on the 17th. 00:12:09.200 |
So if you desire to become a member of the church, 00:12:13.200 |
And then two more things--actually three more. 00:12:24.200 |
a ministry called Searchlight Campus Ministry 00:12:28.200 |
aside from the Bible study they're having on Friday, 00:12:35.200 |
and reaching out to students on campus at UCI. 00:12:38.200 |
And so they started our first meeting here on Wednesday 00:12:42.200 |
and then as soon as they're able to physically get on campus, 00:12:45.200 |
they're gonna start having their meetings on campus. 00:12:48.200 |
And so that's--they already started the first meeting 00:12:50.200 |
this Wednesday and they're gonna keep doing that 00:12:55.200 |
Again, so we encourage all of you who are of that age 00:13:14.200 |
and they're going to be according to the theme 00:13:22.200 |
And so at 2 p.m., they're gonna be meeting online 00:13:35.200 |
And then again, praise and prayer coming up on the 29th 00:13:37.200 |
and then afterwards, done with the praise set, 00:13:40.200 |
our brother Ron De Los Santos is going to be baptized today 00:13:49.200 |
All right, so let's take some time to pray for the offering. 00:13:51.200 |
And then again, if you brought something physical to give, 00:13:56.200 |
Otherwise, we'll give you some time to do that online. 00:14:01.200 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you so much, Lord God, 00:14:04.200 |
for giving us the privilege to be able to come 00:14:12.200 |
we have been distracted by, discouraged, anxious, 00:14:17.200 |
whatever it is, Lord, that we have entangled ourselves with 00:14:22.200 |
I pray that you would use this time to strengthen us, 00:14:25.200 |
to recalibrate us, to remind us, Lord God, of who you are, 00:14:30.200 |
that we may give you worship that truly is in spirit 00:14:34.200 |
May the offering that we give, that we give joyfully, 00:14:36.200 |
cheerfully, may it be multiplied for your use 00:30:01.200 |
It's pretty much by default in the Philippines. 00:30:04.200 |
I grew up in the Catholic Church all the way through the early parts of college. 00:30:08.200 |
Many things happened that made me question the sanctity of the Catholic Church. 00:30:12.200 |
And by the time I graduated college, I was no longer Catholic. 00:30:21.200 |
I dropped my major and joined a fraternity where I began-- 00:30:30.200 |
And in order to recover, I started taking ADHD drugs, 00:30:33.200 |
which helped me go from a 1.34 GPA to Dean's List by the time I was a senior. 00:30:43.200 |
I had a success story, and that's all that mattered. 00:30:46.200 |
That success story continued into my career in construction. 00:30:51.200 |
In my first job, I went from making copies and filing documents 00:30:58.200 |
But I continued to use drugs to help advance my career. 00:31:02.200 |
I had a list called the "How to be a Marketable Bachelor" list, 00:31:11.200 |
Over the years, I started checking off the boxes on the list, 00:31:17.200 |
I worked on the list for 10 years, and at the age of 33, 00:31:21.200 |
I was making more money than most of my friends, 00:31:26.200 |
a nice haircut, no cavities, low cholesterol, 00:31:29.200 |
wearing designer jeans, and I could sail a boat, 00:31:32.200 |
yet I didn't have a girlfriend to sail a boat with 00:31:35.200 |
and was addicted to drugs and feeling completely empty. 00:31:39.200 |
But one day I got an email that changed my life forever. 00:31:46.200 |
and during the transaction, the buyer invited me to a program 00:31:50.200 |
that was just starting at his Korean church in Irvine, 00:32:05.200 |
And I drove to Irvine from Manhattan Beach for this 8-week program. 00:32:10.200 |
During this program, I began to realize that the very manner 00:32:13.200 |
in which I accomplished the things on that list 00:32:25.200 |
I was trapped by addiction, and I feared that if I stopped, 00:32:28.200 |
I wouldn't be able to continue being the person I've built myself up to be. 00:32:33.200 |
Each one of the items on that list was a mask that I put on 00:32:36.200 |
thinking it was going to make me someone of value 00:32:41.200 |
so I can be accepted and maybe someday loved. 00:32:48.200 |
The very person who I made myself to be was a product of sin, 00:32:53.200 |
Working on my "How to be a Marketable Bachelor" list 00:32:59.200 |
and many years before that was merely preparation to accomplish the list. 00:33:03.200 |
I was a slave to the idea that I was in control. 00:33:10.200 |
"He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf 00:33:15.200 |
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him." 00:33:20.200 |
God provided me my only way out by sending me Jesus. 00:33:26.200 |
When he died on the cross, he took my sin with him, 00:33:32.200 |
During that 8-week program, it boggled my mind 00:33:35.200 |
that about 20 to 25 people gave up their Sunday night for me 00:33:46.200 |
Why did they do all that for me and ask for nothing? 00:33:53.200 |
What is this secret that they all seem to hold that I can't seem to find?" 00:33:58.200 |
I realized their desire for me to meet God was authentic. 00:34:03.200 |
They were weird and kind because they served with this unnatural joy. 00:34:08.200 |
The secret I thought they all seemed to hold was, in fact, 00:34:11.200 |
the thing they had been trying to share--the love of God. 00:34:16.200 |
I wanted to know the source of their unnatural joy. 00:34:19.200 |
In witnessing their relationship with God, I realized I didn't really know God. 00:34:23.200 |
So on the last day of the program, I prayed earnestly to meet him, 00:34:27.200 |
and I wept for the first time in my life when I finally met God. 00:34:31.200 |
From then on, I drove hundreds of miles to attend this Korean church in Irvine. 00:34:38.200 |
I am amazed when I realize God's hand in the events of my life in the past, 00:34:45.200 |
I believe there is a beautifully curated life that God has in plan for me. 00:34:51.200 |
Many times I have reflected on the events of my past, 00:34:56.200 |
and I am comforted that God's love for me has no concept of time. 00:35:00.200 |
I believe the very reason why God brought me to Irvine was to find Sarah. 00:35:09.200 |
and I'm excited to see the perfect plan God has in store. 00:35:12.200 |
It's been close to 10 years since, but I was never baptized, 00:35:16.200 |
so here I am to be baptized into Christ through immersion 00:35:19.200 |
as the symbol of my union with his death and resurrection. 00:36:13.200 |
All right, thank you, Ron, for that awesome testimony, 00:36:20.200 |
All right, if you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews 11. 00:36:31.200 |
but the focus of the message this morning is going to be specifically on verse 19. 00:36:48.200 |
"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, 00:36:51.200 |
and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son. 00:36:55.200 |
It was he to whom it was said, 'In Isaac your descendants shall be called.' 00:36:59.200 |
He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, 00:37:03.200 |
from which he also received them back as a type." 00:37:09.200 |
Heavenly Father, we pray for your grace, and may your word be anointed 00:37:14.200 |
to go forth so that your children may hear the voice of your son 00:37:21.200 |
Open our eyes, Lord God, that we may see a greater glimpse of your glory, 00:37:26.200 |
that what we give you, Father, each week, each day, 00:37:32.200 |
So we ask for your anointing this time. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 00:37:38.200 |
If I was to ask you, what is the greatest thing that has happened 00:37:46.200 |
or somebody has done for you or to you that reminds you of the greatest love 00:37:58.200 |
What is the greatest love or expression of love that you've ever received 00:38:10.200 |
I think most of us will probably say that it has something to do with our parents. 00:38:15.200 |
A lot of times we don't realize how much sacrifice our parents have put into us. 00:38:21.200 |
No matter how great or good, no matter what kind of complaints, 00:38:24.200 |
even if you come from a broken family, as you get older, you understand more and more 00:38:30.200 |
just how much it takes to raise a child, how much sacrifice. 00:38:34.200 |
I remember my father, before he passed away, years before, 00:38:42.200 |
Obviously, not many people read it. It was just meant for our family 00:38:46.200 |
and then some of the students that he was teaching. 00:38:52.200 |
I never Christianed his love, but I don't remember having that many deep conversations with him. 00:38:58.200 |
Especially because he was in ministry and I was going into ministry. 00:39:01.200 |
There are some books that he gave me that I didn't really take that seriously. 00:39:07.200 |
Because he was a Presbyterian, I was a Charismatic Baptist, at least at that time. 00:39:16.200 |
Years later, I picked up the book that he gave me. 00:39:19.200 |
One of the books that he gave me was actually from John MacArthur. 00:39:23.200 |
The name of the book is "Pagans in the Pews." 00:39:28.200 |
I never considered it, and then I looked at it and said, "Wow." 00:39:33.200 |
It was his way of preparing me for ministry, to get ready. 00:39:37.200 |
I remember one of the advices that he gave me when I was young, going into ministry. 00:39:41.200 |
He says, "If they treat you like a servant, it's because you are. Don't be shocked." 00:39:47.200 |
You're going into ministry to serve people, so sometimes they're going to treat you like one. 00:39:52.200 |
But don't be shocked. That was his preparation for me. 00:39:55.200 |
It's probably one of the best advice that I've gotten as a pastor. 00:39:58.200 |
I got to read my dad's autobiography several times. 00:40:04.200 |
At some point, one of my goals in life is to translate it into English 00:40:08.200 |
so that the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren will be able to read that for themselves. 00:40:11.200 |
There's a lot of things that I learned about my dad through that book. 00:40:15.200 |
He wrote about when he was a kid, what it was like going through the Korean War, 00:40:20.200 |
how he had to take care of the family, and immigrating to the United States, 00:40:24.200 |
what it was like to have each kid. He mentions each one of us by name, 00:40:29.200 |
what it was like, and how he loved his second son. 00:40:32.200 |
There's a lot of things that he wrote in there. 00:40:36.200 |
It's like, "Okay, I have greater appreciation for the things that my dad went through, 00:40:42.200 |
my mom went through, as a result of reading that book." 00:40:47.200 |
There's a lot of things that we don't truly appreciate. 00:40:49.200 |
We accept, we understand it, but the depth of what somebody has sacrificed for us, 00:40:53.200 |
sometimes it takes us a while for us to mature, for us to grow and be sanctified, 00:40:58.200 |
to be able to look back at that and say, "Wow, that was done for me." 00:41:02.200 |
Every parent goes through that when you're raising your kids, 00:41:04.200 |
and when it's hard to raise your kids, and the deepest part of your anxiety is like, 00:41:10.200 |
"Man, somebody did that for me," and we begin to appreciate our parents more when we get older. 00:41:15.200 |
The text that we're looking at in Hebrews 19, it says, 00:41:18.200 |
"What happened with Abraham and Isaac was a type," in 19 specifically it says, 00:41:24.200 |
"He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, 00:41:36.200 |
This story between Abraham, and you guys probably know that story about how God calls Abraham 00:41:42.200 |
At the very last minute, God tells him to stop, and then Abraham says, 00:41:46.200 |
"The Lord will provide," and saves Isaac at the last minute. 00:41:55.200 |
Now, whenever you see that, and the Bible spells out that this is a type, 00:42:00.200 |
it was meant for us to understand every intricate detail of that 00:42:04.200 |
because God placed that in history for a purpose. 00:42:07.200 |
That's why this morning, even though it's that one word and this one particular verse, 00:42:11.200 |
we're going to spend this whole morning looking at Genesis 22, 1-14. 00:42:19.200 |
But even before we get that, understand what a type is. 00:42:22.200 |
When the Bible says that is a type of Christ, that is a type of the gospel, 00:42:26.200 |
the word "type" in the New Testament, it comes from two Greek words. 00:42:31.200 |
In your Bible, it'll say "type," but sometimes it would be one word, 00:42:36.200 |
There's two words that have been translated as "type" in the New Testament. 00:42:40.200 |
The first one is "tupos," and "tupos" is where we get the word literally "to type." 00:42:46.200 |
And the word "type" literally means "to strike." 00:42:50.200 |
The best way to understand that is the typewriter. 00:42:55.200 |
How many of you have used a typewriter in your life? 00:42:59.200 |
There's a little bit more in this room than the first room. 00:43:01.200 |
The first service, I think there was maybe about 10. 00:43:07.200 |
I remember the computers came in sometime when I was in college, 00:43:11.200 |
and then I remember trying to transition to a computer when I was in seminary, 00:43:17.200 |
Because, one, I wasn't familiar with it, and two, I remember spending two days 00:43:22.200 |
writing a paper and had it plugged into the light switch, 00:43:32.200 |
But the typewriter, prior to that, when we were younger, 00:43:36.200 |
we had to write all our papers out on a typewriter. 00:43:39.200 |
A typewriter basically means that there's a little arm, 00:43:42.200 |
for those of you who have never seen a typewriter, 00:43:45.200 |
and there's little letters that are attached to these typewriters. 00:43:49.200 |
So when you press the letter, an arm would come out and it would strike the paper. 00:43:54.200 |
And whatever it is you are spelling, if you're spelling "love," L-O-V-E, 00:44:06.200 |
Whether it is print writing or paper writing, this is strikewriter. 00:44:12.200 |
So the literal understanding of the word "type" is to make a strike, make an impression. 00:44:18.200 |
So when the Bible says that the story of Isaac, and saving him and replacing him 00:44:27.200 |
it's saying that God struck in history to make an impression. 00:44:31.200 |
So that years later, when we look back at that, it's saying, "Oh, that's what God meant. 00:44:35.200 |
That's what he was doing. That's what a type is." 00:44:38.200 |
So we can say one of the clearest types in the Old Testament is the tabernacle. 00:44:43.200 |
Everything that happened at the tabernacle, the Book of Leviticus, 00:44:50.200 |
So if the word "type" means to make an impression, 00:45:02.200 |
that we would have a deep impression of what Christ did on the cross. 00:45:07.200 |
And so that's what that word "type" means, "tupas." 00:45:10.200 |
There's another word that is translated in the New Testament as "type," 00:45:15.200 |
and that word is "parabole," where we get the word "parable." 00:45:19.200 |
And that's the word that is used here in verse 19, "parable." 00:45:23.200 |
"Parable" is like a type to make an impression, but instead of striking, 00:45:27.200 |
it means to tell a story that it could refer to, make something else more clear. 00:45:36.200 |
And when he spoke in parables, he would take a spiritual truth, 00:45:40.200 |
but he would illustrate it through some sort of a story. 00:45:43.200 |
And so it's much easier to understand the story. 00:45:46.200 |
And so he would tell a short story to illustrate a spiritual principle. 00:45:53.200 |
That whether it is to make an impression or to clarify something, 00:45:58.200 |
God did everything that he did to prepare for the coming of Christ. 00:46:03.200 |
That's why Jesus says that you guys search for scriptures thinking that 00:46:06.200 |
if you did all of these things that there's life, he said, "All of it was really about me." 00:46:11.200 |
All of it was to prepare you and to show you. 00:46:14.200 |
Just like as I was reading my dad's book about his-- 00:46:17.200 |
what he did, what he went through, sacrifices that he made, 00:46:20.200 |
looking back at the Old Testament, Old Testament is a story of our adoption. 00:46:27.200 |
And I know we have several families in our church who have either adopted, 00:46:32.200 |
or we have Jason and Jen who just came back and adopted a child, 00:46:35.200 |
and we have others who are waiting to go and pick up their child. 00:46:38.200 |
The Old Testament really is a story about our adoption, 00:46:42.200 |
our adoption story of when did the story start, when did he think about us, 00:46:46.200 |
what did he do, how did he prepare, what sacrifices did he make. 00:46:50.200 |
So it wasn't just the time when you chose to pick that child up and brought him home, 00:46:55.200 |
but all the preparation that went into fundraising maybe, saving money, 00:47:00.200 |
making some sacrifices, preparing your home, getting the visa, 00:47:03.200 |
all that they had to go through in order so that that child can come home. 00:47:10.200 |
A type is a story of our adoption that has been implanted in the Old Testament 00:47:20.200 |
So as we study this, as we take a look at it, 00:47:24.200 |
and again, what he's referring to in verse 19 is displayed for us in Genesis 22, 00:47:33.200 |
If we read this as some history of Israel, you missed the whole point. 00:47:40.200 |
Now if I gave you my dad's autobiography, you're not going to be as excited to read it as I am. 00:47:45.200 |
Maybe a little bit because I know you, maybe, right? 00:47:49.200 |
But it's not going to have the same kind of impact because that's not your father. 00:47:52.200 |
That's my dad. So everything that he says in that book is personal to me. 00:47:58.200 |
Even if my name is not mentioned, it's personal to me because that's my dad. 00:48:02.200 |
If you read what happens in the Old Testament as a document, 00:48:06.200 |
as a historical thing that every Christian should know, 00:48:09.200 |
then you're really going to miss the impact of what this is. 00:48:12.200 |
Because everything that happens in this chapter is a revelation of God's love for us. 00:48:19.200 |
Just like one day, those of you who adopted your child, 00:48:22.200 |
and when your child is old enough, you may explain to them, 00:48:24.200 |
"Why did you choose to do that? What did you prepare? How difficult was it? 00:48:30.200 |
And all of that is an expression of your love toward that child. 00:48:34.200 |
So in the same way, the story of what happens between Abraham and Isaac, 00:48:41.200 |
is specific things that God was doing in order to pursue sinners like you and I. 00:48:47.200 |
So as we are looking at this, let's put that lens on. 00:48:51.200 |
That we don't just look at this as historical things that we need to understand about what it says, 00:49:07.200 |
"Now it came about that after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, 00:49:11.200 |
'Abraham,' and he said, 'Here I am,' and he said, 'Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, 00:49:21.200 |
There is a burnt offering on the one of the mountains of which I will tell you.'" 00:49:30.200 |
What God asked Abraham to do makes absolutely no sense. 00:49:36.200 |
Because Isaac was the fulfillment of his promise. 00:49:43.200 |
And the reason why Isaac is the only begotten son, 00:49:47.200 |
remember we talked about that, how Jesus is called the only begotten son, 00:49:50.200 |
that he's not the first one and that there isn't a second or third one, 00:49:57.200 |
Begotten means that he's the only one of his kind. 00:50:01.200 |
Just like for Abraham, Isaac is not the only son. 00:50:08.200 |
But when he says, "Isaac is my only begotten son," there's no one like him 00:50:11.200 |
because he's the one that God promised that all the promise that he made to him, 00:50:16.200 |
to Israel, and to mankind was going to be fulfilled through this child. 00:50:21.200 |
So for God to ask Abraham to give him up, to sacrifice him, 00:50:26.200 |
would make absolutely no sense from just a historical point of view. 00:50:33.200 |
But when we recognize that everything that he was doing 00:50:37.200 |
was really to strike in our hearts what he was going to do, 00:50:43.200 |
he wasn't really asking for Isaac's sacrifice. 00:50:46.200 |
That through this story, he's making an impression in our heart 00:50:50.200 |
to illustrate to us what sacrifice he was going to make for us. 00:50:55.200 |
Abraham just happened to be the object of this lesson. 00:51:00.200 |
It wouldn't make any sense because it says it's his only begotten son. 00:51:04.200 |
Not only is he only begotten son, we talked about this several weeks ago 00:51:08.200 |
when we were on this text, he said, "He is your beloved son, 00:51:11.200 |
the one that you love, the one that you adore." 00:51:16.200 |
In fact, Jesus himself described that way from God the Father in Matthew 12, 18, 00:51:21.200 |
"Behold my servant whom I've chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased." 00:51:29.200 |
He's not Isaac and Abraham, it was just an illustration to illustrate 00:51:35.200 |
that the one he loves, that he is pleased with, that he's going to offer him up. 00:51:42.200 |
In John 3, 16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, 00:51:48.200 |
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." 00:51:53.200 |
So as God is asking Abraham to sacrifice your only son, your only beloved son, 00:52:01.200 |
he was really referring to his only son himself. 00:52:08.200 |
All of this was really to illustrate not only to Abraham but to us. 00:52:15.200 |
This was a story of our adoption and this is the sacrifice that he was going to make 00:52:24.200 |
Ever since man fell, he says, "I'm going to send the seed of the woman 00:52:29.200 |
He prophesied that and he's been preparing that way before you and I were ever aware. 00:52:35.200 |
We typically study about Jesus' sacrifice in the New Testament and we read the epistles 00:52:40.200 |
and say, "Well, this is what God did for us," but our salvation history, 00:52:48.200 |
In fact, a thousand years later when Solomon finally builds a permanent temple, 00:52:58.200 |
Mount Moriah is where God called Abraham to take Isaac to make his sacrifice. 00:53:05.200 |
So this temple was linked to Abraham and Isaac's sacrifice so that every sacrifice 00:53:10.200 |
that they made pointed to the coming of Christ on that same place where Isaac was called 00:53:20.200 |
Not only that, but God called them to go there and give Isaac as a burnt offering. 00:53:26.200 |
Those of you who started with us the book of Leviticus, the burnt offering was one 00:53:30.200 |
of the five major offerings in the book of Leviticus. 00:53:34.200 |
But out of the five major offerings, it was the most important one because the burnt offering 00:53:40.200 |
was the offering that they had to give in order to make any other offering. 00:53:45.200 |
It was the offering of atonement, general atonement. 00:53:49.200 |
So there was peace offering, grain offering, guilt offering. 00:53:56.200 |
Peace offering, grain offering, sin offering, guilt offering. 00:54:04.200 |
Out of those five major offerings, in order to give the other offerings, you needed to 00:54:10.200 |
So imagine the nation of Israel who had the tabernacle in the middle, the 12 tribes camped 00:54:15.200 |
around them, and the burnt offering was giving 24/7. 00:54:20.200 |
So not only did they know about it, they smelled it, and they saw the flames 24/7. 00:54:27.200 |
All the blood that was shed for the sacrifice, it was mostly for the burnt offering because 00:54:32.200 |
burnt offering had to be made in order for them to come and give the grain offering, 00:54:36.200 |
in order for them to come to give the peace offering. 00:54:42.200 |
Now what's interesting about this is that when God told Abraham to give Isaac as a burnt 00:54:53.200 |
And you and I know, if you study any part of the Old Testament, that God detests human 00:54:59.200 |
In fact, one of the main sins of why God says that Israel was going to captivity was because 00:55:04.200 |
they were so sold out to idolatry that there are certain points of Israel's history where 00:55:10.200 |
they were actually giving human sacrifices, and God was detesting that. 00:55:15.200 |
And yet here in this text, in Abraham's life, even before Israel started, he asked for human 00:55:27.200 |
See this human sacrifice that God gave was a restriction to put on mankind because he 00:55:41.200 |
It doesn't matter how many times Peter says that, but according to truth, mankind was 00:55:54.200 |
In fact, another thing that God detests in the Bible is we are not to drink the blood 00:56:01.200 |
That's one of the most sacrilegious things to do. 00:56:03.200 |
Yet in John chapter 6, Jesus tells the people who are coming to him that if you do not drink 00:56:08.200 |
of my blood and eat of my flesh, you have no relationship with me. 00:56:13.200 |
See that there's only one human sacrifice that God not only tolerated but had to give 00:56:23.200 |
His sacrifice was the only sacrifice that would have raised the value of mankind instead 00:56:29.200 |
of destroying it, and that was reserved for his son and his son only. 00:56:35.200 |
He required this because he was planning that everything that he was doing with Abraham 00:56:40.200 |
and Isaac so that it could make a strike, a parable in our hearts so that you and I 00:56:46.200 |
years later could look back at that and recognize that this was what God was doing in history. 00:56:52.200 |
Every part of the Old Testament history is walking step by step to teach us about the 00:57:01.200 |
He was chapter 9, 13 to 14, "For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of 00:57:06.200 |
hypher sprinkling, those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how 00:57:12.200 |
much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without 00:57:17.200 |
blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" 00:57:24.200 |
Imagine, again, put yourself in the shoe of God himself. 00:57:31.200 |
Oftentimes when we think of God, we think of him as an "it," a power up in heaven 00:57:39.200 |
that has done great things, so we appreciate him. 00:57:53.200 |
See, everything that Abraham was going through, everything that… 00:57:56.200 |
Can you imagine what Abraham was thinking and feeling when God commanded this? 00:58:03.200 |
And yet, God was only illustrating through Abraham, but God was actually going to do it. 00:58:10.200 |
Verse 3, it says, "So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey." 00:58:17.200 |
"By this time, Abraham already found out that you don't question God, even if things 00:58:24.200 |
He just obeyed and said, "Okay, you told me you're God. 00:58:29.200 |
Even the fact that I have Isaac was a miracle, so you gave me him. 00:58:37.200 |
"And he took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son." 00:58:43.200 |
I remember the first time reading this thinking, "Why did he take these two men?" 00:58:50.200 |
And I'm conjecturing here, but if I was a father taking my beloved son to sacrifice 00:58:59.200 |
to God, I don't know if I would want anybody else there. 00:59:06.200 |
It would be a long journey to get to that point. 00:59:10.200 |
And it just kind of made me think, maybe he took these two young men with him because 00:59:32.200 |
What if he realizes that what's happening and Isaac resists, that I might need these 00:59:40.200 |
I may be reading into this, but possibly he may have been doing that. 00:59:43.200 |
Can you imagine what was going on in Abraham's heart when he was doing this? 00:59:48.200 |
He said, "He split the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of 00:59:58.200 |
That all of this, God says that Abraham obeys, the two men go, and Isaac just kind of carries 01:00:06.200 |
All of this is done in obedience and in faith. 01:00:10.200 |
And that's how the Bible describes our salvation. 01:00:16.200 |
He tried so many other ways, but he couldn't. 01:00:24.200 |
And then he implemented, even thousands of years before that it ever happened, you can 01:00:30.200 |
see his careful, meticulous planning and taking the steps that was needed. 01:00:38.200 |
Ephesians 4, 1, 4 through 7 says, "Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of 01:00:43.200 |
the world that we would be holy and blameless before him, in love he predestined us to adoption 01:00:50.200 |
as sons through Jesus Christ himself, according to the kind intention of his will, to the 01:00:55.200 |
praise of his glory, of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the beloved." 01:01:03.200 |
God didn't try everything other possible way, and there was no other way, so at the very 01:01:12.200 |
And he said he planned this, he willed this, he purposed this, that this was his heart, 01:01:19.200 |
And we see it so clearly in what he was doing with Abraham and Isaac. 01:01:25.200 |
This was his heart, to give his only begotten beloved son. 01:01:35.200 |
From the beginning, he knew that the only burnt offering that would save sinners and 01:01:42.200 |
reconcile us to the author of life was the life of his son. 01:01:48.200 |
So he planned it, he purposed it, he prophesied it, and then he was walking through meticulously, 01:01:54.200 |
step by step, to strike in our hearts, to strike in our minds that this is what he was doing. 01:02:02.200 |
Way before we heard the gospel, way before he brought us home, way before we said the 01:02:09.200 |
sinner's prayer, God was planning, step by step. 01:02:20.200 |
He runs away, blows all his money, and only because he had no other choice, he chooses 01:02:26.200 |
You know, it's better for me to be a servant, my father's servant. 01:02:30.200 |
And the older brother is there, he's like, "Don't let him get away with that." 01:02:36.200 |
That parable that Jesus taught was trying to tell the Pharisees the heart of God. 01:02:46.200 |
He wasn't sitting and turned his back, see him coming, he's like, "Okay, let him come." 01:02:51.200 |
Let him come with his tail between his legs and be humbled. 01:02:54.200 |
Let him live like a servant so that he can learn his lesson. 01:03:00.200 |
Let him pay for some of the things that he did. 01:03:03.200 |
And maybe a year later, maybe 10 years later, maybe I might consider. 01:03:08.200 |
But that's not the story that we see in the prodigal son. 01:03:12.200 |
He tells that story to rebuke his older brother, the Pharisees, that you don't know your father. 01:03:19.200 |
He's waiting eagerly, and as soon as he sees his son in the horizon, he runs out and he 01:03:26.200 |
puts his robe on him, puts his slippers on him, and welcomes him back as his son and celebrates. 01:03:33.200 |
Jesus tells that story as a parable to teach us who God is. 01:03:43.200 |
He's meticulously, step by step, to make a deep impression in us about how he loved us. 01:03:54.200 |
In verse 4, it says, "On the third day, Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance." 01:04:01.200 |
Can you imagine what that three days journey was like for them? 01:04:06.200 |
That three days journey, every step that they took must have been a heavy step. 01:04:11.200 |
I don't think there was any jokes going around. 01:04:15.200 |
I don't think they were talking about anything frivolous. 01:04:21.200 |
And maybe the other people were thinking of Abraham, and Abraham's very quiet. 01:04:28.200 |
His only beloved son, only begotten son, three days journey, deliberately walking toward 01:04:35.200 |
the place where he would need to sacrifice him because God says so. 01:04:41.200 |
He raises his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 01:04:43.200 |
Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkeys, and I and the lad will go 01:04:48.200 |
over there, and we will worship and return to you." 01:04:53.200 |
If you can imagine how heavy Abraham's heart was taking those steps to get to Mount Moriah, 01:05:01.200 |
imagine our Heavenly Father, that every part of Old Testament history was God taking step 01:05:15.200 |
If you can imagine three days, or what those three days must have been like, can you imagine 01:05:21.200 |
what it would be like for our Heavenly Father? 01:05:26.200 |
Knowing that he would have to give up his only begotten son, that everything that he 01:05:32.200 |
was illustrating through Abraham, the anxiousness, the hardship, the sadness, the brokenness 01:05:38.200 |
that he felt, knowing that he's going to deliver him at the last minute, that God the 01:05:43.200 |
Father was doing this, and he was actually going to carry it out. 01:05:50.200 |
Every part of the Old Testament history, from the beginning until the suffering of Christ, 01:06:07.200 |
He says, "We're going to go over there, and we're going to worship." 01:06:13.200 |
I don't understand what he's doing, but he says, "So we're going to go and worship." 01:06:19.200 |
Isaiah 53, 7, it says, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, and yet he did not open 01:06:24.200 |
Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, like a sheep that is silent before its shearer's 01:06:38.200 |
Even though the Romans crucified him, even though the Jewish leaders yelled out, "Crucify 01:06:45.200 |
him," even though they beat him and they struck him with a spear, even though by their 01:06:52.200 |
hands he was crushed, he volunteered for this. 01:06:59.200 |
That's why he didn't open his mouth, because God the Father has been preparing this for 01:07:08.200 |
Every step that he took, every event in Israel's history was God taking one more step to the 01:07:17.200 |
Jesus himself says in John 10, 18, "No one has taken it away from me, but I lay it down 01:07:25.200 |
I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. 01:07:35.200 |
Verse 6, "Abraham took the wood, the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son." 01:07:45.200 |
I don't think you need to be a father or a mother to understand this. 01:07:52.200 |
Anybody can understand that this is a child you love, and he's laying the wood that's 01:08:02.200 |
going to burn his body, and said, "You carry this. 01:08:11.200 |
He took it in his hand and fired the knife, the knife that he was going to use to kill 01:08:21.200 |
Can you imagine what was going through Abraham's mind? 01:08:27.200 |
Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, "My father," he said, "Here I am, my son." 01:08:34.200 |
He said, "Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 01:08:44.200 |
Just in a few minutes, he's going to place his son upon the altar. 01:09:13.200 |
That's what I think maybe I would have been tempted to say. 01:09:24.200 |
God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." 01:09:34.200 |
Can you imagine the agony and the loneliness? 01:09:39.200 |
As Jesus was marching to Jerusalem from Bethany, the final few steps that he was taking-- 01:09:54.200 |
Even his own disciples were only concerned about who's going to be glorified with you when the kingdom of heaven comes. 01:10:01.200 |
So they were shaking the palm branches, "Hosanna, Hosanna, come, deliver us." 01:10:16.200 |
He wept because he knew the judgment that was coming. 01:10:24.200 |
So those final steps from Bethany to Jerusalem were the very last steps that Jesus was taking to be a burnt offering for us. 01:10:36.200 |
Verse 9, "Then they came to the place of which God had told him. 01:10:41.200 |
And Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 01:10:53.200 |
By this time Isaac must have known what is going on. 01:11:00.200 |
My guess is Abraham was probably hoping, "This can't really be happening. 01:11:07.200 |
He can't possibly-- Why would he take my son? 01:11:13.200 |
Why would he make that promise? Why would he go through all that drama and then take my son? 01:11:19.200 |
That doesn't make any sense, and it doesn't make any sense. 01:11:23.200 |
Humanly speaking, it doesn't make any sense because taking him away means to reverse everything that God did in Abraham's life from a human perspective. 01:11:37.200 |
He was doing all of that to make an impression on us, to illustrate to us what he was going to do. 01:11:46.200 |
"Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son." 01:11:58.200 |
It's hard to discipline your kids that you love and adore. 01:12:05.200 |
Parents say, "Oh, it hurts me more than it hurts you." 01:12:11.200 |
You don't really understand what that means until you love something that much. 01:12:26.200 |
If my kids get picked on at school, I'd rather be picked on. 01:12:29.200 |
I'd rather take it because I want to preserve it, and every parent makes a decision, even if they go through a hardship. 01:12:36.200 |
I want to take the blows to preserve my children. That's our natural state. 01:12:40.200 |
So even when we have to discipline them, and we know it's good for them, even though they're going to cry, it's hard. 01:12:51.200 |
Is there a way for me to take the punishment? But we can't for their own good. 01:13:01.200 |
Not only because he was good, because you're taking the hit for this other kid. 01:13:09.200 |
He's bullying everybody, he's cussing everybody out, and he's hurting other kids, but the only way that he can survive is if my son gets hit. 01:13:19.200 |
I mean, it's hard to discipline a kid when he deserves it. 01:13:24.200 |
But to discipline a child, let alone offer him up? 01:13:34.200 |
Remember reading that book, Darkness and the Glory, from Dr. Harris, chapter 4 of that book? 01:13:40.200 |
Why did everything go dark in the second hour? At 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock, it says it went dark. 01:13:48.200 |
In fact, people even wrote songs about it, how the father turned his face away, because he couldn't bear the suffering of his son. 01:13:57.200 |
And for many years, I thought that's the only explanation that seems to make sense. 01:14:02.200 |
But Dr. Harris gave an alternative view in that book, Darkness and the Glory, which makes much more sense now. 01:14:07.200 |
God wasn't turning his face away, he was actually coming. 01:14:12.200 |
In every instance in the Bible, when God appears, he comes in darkness, because if he reveals his full glory, what happens to people? 01:14:21.200 |
Remember Moses, when Moses asked to see God, he says, "You cannot. If you see my full glory, you will die." 01:14:27.200 |
God covers him, and he passes by and allows him to see a glimpse of his glory, because he would surely die. 01:14:35.200 |
And that reflection of his glory on Moses' face was so terrifying, people asked him to veil himself and stay in the tent, because they were so afraid of his glory. 01:14:47.200 |
See, Dr. Harris says it went dark because the father was coming. 01:14:53.200 |
And then he gives evidence in the Old Testament, where whenever there's a covenant being ratified, he shows up in darkness. 01:15:04.200 |
And so, it makes a lot more sense that that's why it went dark, because the father came to him. 01:15:13.200 |
He wasn't handing his son over to the leaders of Israel. 01:15:18.200 |
He himself came, like Abraham took the knife and was about to strike. 01:15:24.200 |
He himself came. He who knew no sin became sin. 01:15:28.200 |
You know that you and I may become the righteousness of God. 01:15:41.200 |
He placed all of our sins in that while we were yet sinners, while we were blaspheming his name. 01:15:48.200 |
In order that you and I could live, he sacrificed his only begotten son. 01:15:51.200 |
So this whole drama between Abraham and Isaac was so that you and I can understand reading now, looking back at what he did. 01:16:10.200 |
All of that was to show us and to strike in us what this gospel is. 01:16:16.200 |
Verse 11, "But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham.' 01:16:23.200 |
And he said, 'Here I am. Do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing to him, 01:16:29.200 |
for I now know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.'" 01:16:35.200 |
It's not that God didn't know and he was surprised by Abraham's faith. 01:16:40.200 |
It was all to illustrate to us, to strike in us, to teach us that when Christ finally came, 01:16:48.200 |
one of these days when the parents who have adopted children tell the story of the adoption, 01:16:53.200 |
one of these days when they're older and more mature to understand, you will sit with them and tell them, 01:16:59.200 |
"This is why we decided to adopt you. This is what we had to go through during the pandemic. 01:17:05.200 |
This is why we chose you. This is what we were willing to do. This is how much it cost. 01:17:09.200 |
This is what we did. These are the struggles that we had." 01:17:11.200 |
All of that is to tell that child how much we love you. 01:17:19.200 |
All of this is our adoption story. This is what he did for us. 01:17:26.200 |
"Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. 01:17:33.200 |
Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son." 01:17:37.200 |
Can you imagine the jubilation for Abraham when God said, "Stop!" 01:17:42.200 |
And then he sees a replacement of this ram and takes that ram and offering up that ram. 01:17:47.200 |
I was thinking maybe Abraham did it really quickly just in case God changes his mind. 01:17:53.200 |
"There it is!" Boom, boom, boom. It was done in five seconds. 01:17:56.200 |
We did it. Can you imagine the joy in his heart when God saves his son? 01:18:08.200 |
But as joyous as Abraham must have been, as relieved as he must have been, 01:18:16.200 |
this is exactly what God was going to do. This is exactly what he was planning to do. 01:18:24.200 |
So as much as Abraham must have been celebrating, I can imagine God, 01:18:30.200 |
"One day I will have to do this, and there will be no replacement." 01:18:39.200 |
And Abraham called the name of that place, "The Lord will provide." 01:18:44.200 |
As it is said to this day, "In the moment of the Lord it will provide." 01:18:48.200 |
The word "Lord will provide" in Hebrew literally is Jehovah-Jireh. 01:18:53.200 |
If you grew up in Sunday school and went to VBS, you probably heard that term before, Jehovah-Jireh. 01:18:59.200 |
It's one of God's most prominent names, Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide. 01:19:04.200 |
Jehovah will provide. But oftentimes we use that, the Lord will provide. 01:19:11.200 |
If we're trying to buy this house and we're competing with all these people, 01:19:18.200 |
We get sick and we need God to answer our prayers, so we need to be healthy. 01:19:25.200 |
We're not sure exactly if I'm going to have a job after this pandemic. 01:19:28.200 |
I don't know what's going to happen. Don't worry, Jehovah-Jireh, he will provide. 01:19:33.200 |
And it's not that God doesn't promise us that he will take care of us. 01:19:37.200 |
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you." 01:19:40.200 |
But his name, Jehovah-Jireh, comes in the context of him promising Abraham and mankind 01:19:55.200 |
You know what's interesting? The word Jireh literally means to show. 01:20:03.200 |
So what he means by that is the Lord will declare, he will show. 01:20:08.200 |
Show what? His glory. He's going to show himself through his son. 01:20:13.200 |
And that's why when Jesus is going to the cross, he says, "It is time. 01:20:17.200 |
It is time to show yourself, God, that I will glorify you and you will glorify me." 01:20:23.200 |
And that's what he means, Jehovah-Jireh. He's going to show the world who he is. 01:20:28.200 |
1 Peter 3, 18, "For Christ also died for sins once for all, 01:20:35.200 |
the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, 01:20:39.200 |
having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit." 01:20:43.200 |
Now, if this is just a historical fact to you, it will have no effect. 01:20:54.200 |
Because it's just some story. It's like if you read my dad's autobiography. 01:21:00.200 |
It's better than reading somebody that you have no idea who he is. 01:21:03.200 |
It's just interesting. But it's not going to make an impact on you. 01:21:08.200 |
If you read the adoption history and you read it like it's a historical document, 01:21:16.200 |
it's just interesting. You've learned something new today. 01:21:21.200 |
And if somebody asks you about it, "Oh, that's a type. That's what a type is. 01:21:23.200 |
That's what Abraham did. That's what Isaac means." 01:21:25.200 |
And you'll be able to tell them that, but it will not change your life. 01:21:31.200 |
You just happen to be a better educated person. 01:21:38.200 |
But if this is God revealing how he loved you, how he loved me, 01:21:46.200 |
if this is my adoption history, what he did for me, 01:21:51.200 |
can I really believe this? How can this not change you? 01:22:10.200 |
It's God's love story revealed to us, and he is striking. 01:22:25.200 |
So that it would make such a deep impression in our heart 01:22:41.200 |
Lord, your love truly is beyond comprehension. 01:22:46.200 |
No matter how much we dig, no matter how much we exposit, 01:22:51.200 |
Lord, we know we're just scratching the surface. 01:23:01.200 |
how difficult it must have been for you to see your son suffering. 01:23:14.200 |
that you've planned, that you've willed in order to save us, 01:23:19.200 |
would make such a deep impression in our mind and heart, Lord God, 01:23:24.200 |
that we truly can't do anything else but to live the rest of our lives 01:23:33.200 |
Help us, Lord God, to love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. 01:23:41.200 |
Would you stand with me for the closing praise? 01:26:36.200 |
When I reach the Lord, I reach the fire of death. 01:27:29.200 |
Glory be to God the Father. Glory be to God the Son. 01:27:55.200 |
Glory be to God the Father. Glory be to God the Son. 01:28:41.200 |
Romans 519, "For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, 01:28:47.200 |
even so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous." 01:28:53.200 |
I pray that the truth of your love would resonate in our hearts, Lord God, 01:28:59.200 |
that we would be the aroma of Christ wherever you send us this week. 01:29:03.200 |
Help us, Lord God, to live worthy of the gospel that you've given, 01:29:07.200 |
that the world would know that there is hope in the name of Jesus Christ. 01:29:15.200 |
knowing, Father, that you do not give us a spirit of timidity but of power and self-discipline. 01:29:20.200 |
Help us, Lord God, to be the light that you've called us to be. 01:29:24.200 |
So we pray, Father God, that as you prepare the hearts of the unbelievers in our generation, 01:29:29.200 |
that you would bring revival, that you would raise up men and women, Lord God, 01:29:33.200 |
in this church and in many other churches to be bold in proclaiming the gospel. 01:29:42.200 |
that we may redeem the opportunities that you've given us for the sake of your name. 01:29:47.200 |
So bless them, renew them, strengthen them for the sake of your name. 01:31:25.200 |
Alright, again, if we can have this side go out that way, and then this side go out that way. Thank you.