An Uncompromised Faith of a Father (Genesis 22:1-10) Introduction: ABRAHAM – The father of ALL NATIONS Genesis 17:4-6 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.” Father of all nations - is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. - 86 years old when he had Ishmael (Hagar) - 100 years old when he had Isaac 1. Faith requires listening. (Genesis 22:1) Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 1. Faith requires listening. Listening - the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. Listening is key to all effective communication. Without the ability to listen effectively, messages are easily misunderstood. 1. Faith requires listening. -Before you trust, you have to listen. (Romans 10:17, MSG) -Enhance your ability to understand betterespecially to understand God. -Putting our trust in Him demonstrates listening to His voice. (Psalms 29:3-5) -Listening is an act of love 2. Faith requires obedience. (Genesis 22:2-4) 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 2. Faith requires obedience. • Genuine Faith can only be demonstrated by obedient action. (James 2:17) • If we truly trust in God and His Word and promises, then we will fully obey Him. Anyone can say they have faith, but the people actually live by faith will act in obedience to God no matter where God leads them. (Hebrews 11:8) • We obey, because we love God. (John 14:23) 2. Faith requires obedience. “Noah had the unwavering faith to follow God’s commandments. May we ever do likewise. May we remember that the wisdom of God often times appears as foolishness to men; but the greatest lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and we obey, we will always be right” - Thomas S. Monson 3. Faith requires Worship. (Genesis 22:5) He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” 3. Faith requires worship. • Worship- showing a lot of love and adoration for God (Psalms 29:2) • A life of obedience and purpose fulfilling represent a form of worship. (Psalms 100:2-4) •Our worship provides a place of meeting with God. (Psalms 22:3) 3. Faith requires worship. There is no worship without faith and there is no faith without worship. It is faith that leads us to worship and worship that enlarges our faith. - Glenn Packiam, a MalaysianAmerican Pastor 4. Faith requires sacrifice. (Genesis 22:6-10) Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 4. Faith requires sacrifice. Sacrifice is an essential part of our faith. It connects us directly to Christ in the most intimate of ways. And when we surrender to Him and focus completely on Him, the worldly distractions to Christian living become irrelevant. 4. Faith requires sacrifice. Submit your plans to God. “ in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:6) 4. Faith requires sacrifice. Submit your life to Christ. “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 CSB Hebrews 13:15–16 CSB “Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.” Abraham, as a father, has showed and taught us what uncompromising faith really is! Church, listening to every bit of God’s word with the heart of obedience through actions, worshipping the one and only God and sacrificing ourselves are the requirements to an uncompromised faith that this generation needs. Let us stand as an example to this world! Take a step with our Faith and serve our purpose.
