Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Abraham The Father Who Released His Son │ Msg 314 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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Abraham The Father Who Released His Son │ Msg 314 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: We're thinking about great stories from the Old Testament in
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: this series we are involved in these days, and it
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  Speaker 1: seemed one that would be most appropriate for this hour
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  Speaker 1: is the story of the father who released his son.
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  Speaker 1: And of course the analogy between this earthly father who
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  Speaker 1: did that and our heavenly Father who did that on
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  Speaker 1: the great Christmas morn in its origin is undeniable, and
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  Speaker 1: you just can't see one without picturing the other. Really,
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  Speaker 1: I think what the greater message in this story is
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  Speaker 1: all about is the importance of holding all things loosely.
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  Speaker 1: Shortly before her death, Corey Tenboom spent worship hours in
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  Speaker 1: our church in Fullerton. It was always my privilege to
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  Speaker 1: see her in our congregations, so unassuming, quiet in her
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  Speaker 1: own way, and uniquely worshipful. I always wrestled a bit
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  Speaker 1: with feelings of intimidation, having a woman of that stature,
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  Speaker 1: and with her vast experience sitting of all things and
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  Speaker 1: my teaching. On occasion she would speak with me quietly
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  Speaker 1: as the service had ended. Now I will never forget
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  Speaker 1: one time when we got on the subject of our children,
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  Speaker 1: and during the growing up years of our little ones,
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  Speaker 1: she often took delight in watching them as they grew,
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  Speaker 1: and she said to me, knowing my love for my
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  Speaker 1: children and my wife, she said, you know, Pastor Chuck,
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  Speaker 1: she said, I have learned in my years that we
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  Speaker 1: must always hold things loosely. She said, because the more
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  Speaker 1: we love these these ones, the more we tend to
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  Speaker 1: hold them tightly, and it will hurt when the father
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  Speaker 1: pries our fingers from them and takes them from us.
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  Speaker 1: Now that most of my family members have grown and
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  Speaker 1: left the nest, I know a little bit about what
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  Speaker 1: she was referring to, but nothing like some of you know,
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  Speaker 1: who have in fact lost your children or lost your mate.
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  Speaker 1: There is something very stressful about holding precious things loosely
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  Speaker 1: only to have them taken, but even more so to
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  Speaker 1: hold them tightly and have them removed from us. While
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  Speaker 1: thinking about the importance of holding all things loosely, it
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  Speaker 1: occurred to me that there are two three four categories
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  Speaker 1: where this is very true. And I'd like for you
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  Speaker 1: before we look at the story in Genesis twenty two,
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  Speaker 1: for a brief period of time, I'd like for you
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  Speaker 1: to think first with me about some of the things
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  Speaker 1: that we tend to hold too tightly. First, and in
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  Speaker 1: no particular order, of importance. We would have to name
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  Speaker 1: things possessions, all the things that would fall into the
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  Speaker 1: category of that which has a price tag, things we purchase,
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  Speaker 1: or things that have been passed down to us in
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  Speaker 1: our family. Some of the most priceless things in our
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  Speaker 1: home are the things that we have received from my
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  Speaker 1: wife's parents, and some from even their parents, and a
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  Speaker 1: few things from my own family legacy. These things cannot
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  Speaker 1: be replaced. They are invaluable, we say, nevertheless, it is
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  Speaker 1: easy for us to become attached to things. Aw Towzer,
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  Speaker 1: in his days honor often wrote about the devastation connected
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  Speaker 1: with holding too tightly to things, and in what I
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  Speaker 1: consider to be his finest work, The Pursuit of God,
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  Speaker 1: he writes these words regarding the blessedness of possessing nothing.
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  Speaker 1: Listen to what he says. Before the Lord God made
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  Speaker 1: man upon the earth, he first prepared for him by
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  Speaker 1: creating a world of useful and pleasant things for his
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  Speaker 1: sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation,
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  Speaker 1: these are called simply things. They were made for man's uses,
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  Speaker 1: but they were meant always to be external to the
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  Speaker 1: man and subservient to him. In the deep heart, of
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  Speaker 1: the man was a shrine where none but God was
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  Speaker 1: worthy to come within him. Was God without one thousand
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  Speaker 1: gifts which God had showered upon him, But writes Tozer,
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  Speaker 1: Sin has introduced complications and has made those very gifts
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  Speaker 1: of God a potential source of ruin to the soul.
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  Speaker 1: Our woes began when God was forced out of his
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  Speaker 1: central shrine and things were allowed to enter. Within the
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  Speaker 1: human heart. Things have taken over. And then he writes,
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  Speaker 1: we must, in our hearts live through Abraham's harsh and
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  Speaker 1: bitter experiences if we would know the blessedness which follows them.
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  Speaker 1: The ancient curse, he warns, will not go out painlessly.
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  Speaker 1: The tough old miser within us will not lie down
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  Speaker 1: and die obedient to our command. He must be torn
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  Speaker 1: out of our hearts like a plant from the soil.
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  Speaker 1: He must be extracted in agony and blood, like a
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  Speaker 1: tooth from the jaw. He must be expelled from our
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  Speaker 1: soul by violence, as Christ expel the money changers from
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  Speaker 1: the temple. And we shall need to steel ourselves against
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  Speaker 1: his piteous begging and to recognize it as springing out
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  Speaker 1: of self pity. One of the most reprehensible sins of
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  Speaker 1: the human heart. Maybe the words are too dramatic for
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  Speaker 1: some of you, but I find them enough to get
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  Speaker 1: my attention. I often warn people to remember that when
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  Speaker 1: it comes to holding onto things, it's possible that one
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  Speaker 1: of us could, on some occasion, God forbid, drive home
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  Speaker 1: from a church service, or back from a wonderful retreat,
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  Speaker 1: or back from a romantic and delightful weekend with our mate,
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  Speaker 1: or an enjoyable time with our friends, only to come
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  Speaker 1: to a smoldering pile of ruins that was once our home.
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  Speaker 1: I made that warning several months ago, and I received
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  Speaker 1: a letter from a lady of all things, who said
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  Speaker 1: to me, that's exactly what happened. She said, I in
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  Speaker 1: fact heard your tape that had been made of the
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  Speaker 1: message where you mentioned that, and I thought to myself, Oh,
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  Speaker 1: that'll never happen. And yet I returned to my home,
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  Speaker 1: and I pulled down the street, and to my amazement,
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  Speaker 1: I saw everything that we had owned now in smoldering ruins.
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  Speaker 1: And she said, I realized that everything that was important
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  Speaker 1: to me was not burnt up in that fire. The memories,
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  Speaker 1: the relationships with my family and my friends, the important
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  Speaker 1: things in life had not been burnt up. When I
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  Speaker 1: talk about holding things loosely, I'm talking about things that
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  Speaker 1: can burn up in a fire. You can't burn up
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  Speaker 1: a memory. You can't burn up a relationship. The second
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  Speaker 1: category of holding onto things would certainly be our occupation
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  Speaker 1: and our work. You know, there isn't a week that
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  Speaker 1: passes that somebody doesn't lose their job. There isn't a
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  Speaker 1: week that passes that someone doesn't lose his job or
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  Speaker 1: his or her business. And that's not a problem if
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  Speaker 1: our image isn't tied up in our work. But difficulties
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  Speaker 1: come when somehow we become so emeshed in our work
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  Speaker 1: that the loss of an occupation becomes the loss of
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  Speaker 1: who we are, and that's devastating. A third category, after
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  Speaker 1: things an occupation, would be plans and dreams and long
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  Speaker 1: awaited desires. Who hasn't suffered through the death of a dream?
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  Speaker 1: Who hasn't watched a long awaited desire fly way something
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  Speaker 1: you had planned on and worked for. Keep in mind
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  Speaker 1: those dreams often are taken away before they are fulfilled,
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  Speaker 1: and I warn all of us to hold them loosely. Fourth,
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  Speaker 1: and most significant of all would be relationships and people. Relationships.
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  Speaker 1: This includes mates, parents, children, family members, friends. Romances that
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  Speaker 1: are now flourishing may not continue to flourish. Partnerships that
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  Speaker 1: now seem solid and sure may not remain solid. Pastors
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  Speaker 1: move elsewhere as God leads them. You must always hold
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  Speaker 1: the leaders of the church loosely. You do not own us.
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  Speaker 1: We work together, we move together, but we all belong
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  Speaker 1: to the same Lord. And as He moves people from congregations,
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  Speaker 1: he also moves pastors from one church to another. Roommates
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  Speaker 1: move out, neighbors move on. Workmen and women alongside us
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  Speaker 1: are called elsewhere. Children are sometimes called home before parents.
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  Speaker 1: We must hold all of this loosely. And that's the
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  Speaker 1: lesson that Abraham had to learn. The story we're looking
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  Speaker 1: at in Genesis chapter twenty two is not the story
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  Speaker 1: about the loss of possessions, something that could be purchased
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  Speaker 1: for a price, or the loss of an occupation, or
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  Speaker 1: the loss of a dream, a long awaited desire. This
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  Speaker 1: is the loss of a person, or the potential loss
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  Speaker 1: of a person. And I have to be careful how
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  Speaker 1: say this, lest somebody be offended. But unless you are
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  Speaker 1: a parent, you really can't enter into the truth and
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  Speaker 1: the full feelings of Genesis twenty two. You have to
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  Speaker 1: be there as a dad or as a mom to
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  Speaker 1: really feel what Abraham must have felt. You can imagine it,
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  Speaker 1: but being a parent means you can really identify with
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  Speaker 1: the feelings. There are a lot of great father sons
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  Speaker 1: stories in the scriptures. I don't know if you've thought
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  Speaker 1: about that lately. It occurred to me while putting my
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  Speaker 1: thoughts together for this that there's the story of Noah
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  Speaker 1: and his three sons, which follows one particular line of thinking.
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  Speaker 1: There's the story of Jacob and his twelve boys, especially
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  Speaker 1: as his favorite Joseph. And then there's the story of
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  Speaker 1: Eli and his sons. It's a study and tragedy, as
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  Speaker 1: this priest has boys that he couldn't control and they
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  Speaker 1: became out of control. In fact, they became a scandal
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  Speaker 1: in the ancient tabernacle. And then there's the unforgettable story
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  Speaker 1: of David and his son Absalom and another son, Solomon,
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  Speaker 1: their interesting study. And there is in the New Testament
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  Speaker 1: the greatest of all stories aside from the coming of Christ,
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  Speaker 1: and that is the story of the prodigal Son, which
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  Speaker 1: I often think of as the wayward lad and the
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  Speaker 1: waiting Dad. I often returned to the story of the
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  Speaker 1: prodigal son. In counseling with people who are going through
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  Speaker 1: a heartbreaking experience. The lessons to be learned from the
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  Speaker 1: prodigal son are It seems unending, But this is the
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  Speaker 1: story of a father, an old and aging father whose
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  Speaker 1: delight of his life is his boy, and it's the
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  Speaker 1: story of his releasing his boy in the mystery of
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  Speaker 1: God's will to be taken from him. There's a command
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  Speaker 1: to be obeyed at the beginning of Genesis twenty two,
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  Speaker 1: and you can read it along with me. Just follow along.
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  Speaker 1: It came about after these things that God tested Abraham
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  Speaker 1: and said to him, Abraham, and he said, here I am.
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  Speaker 1: He said, take now your son, your only son, whom
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  Speaker 1: you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Mariah
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  Speaker 1: and offer him there as a burnt offering on one
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  Speaker 1: of the mountains of which I will tell you. You know,
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  Speaker 1: familiarity not only breeds contempt, it breeds boredom. And you
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  Speaker 1: read verses like this and you don't really enter into
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  Speaker 1: the feelings of them unless you stop and meditate for
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  Speaker 1: a few moments. Put yourself in the shoes of one
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  Speaker 1: hundred plus year old father whose long awaited boy has
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  Speaker 1: been born, and whose delightful? Whose most delightful memories have
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  Speaker 1: to do with the time spent with your boy Isaac.
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  Speaker 1: So you understand what it means when it says God
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  Speaker 1: tested Abraham. There are a number of ways the writer
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  Speaker 1: of the Genesis twenty two passage could have written tested,
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  Speaker 1: and he chose the most intense of all the Hebrews,
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  Speaker 1: who stems in the verbs. He intensely tested Abraham. He
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  Speaker 1: put him through an extremely difficult test. In many ways.
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  Speaker 1: It would have been easier if God had just taken
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  Speaker 1: Isaac from him, but he prolongs it by having Abraham
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  Speaker 1: carry it out. And Abraham is to be the instrument
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  Speaker 1: of death in the life of his boy. You can imagine,
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  Speaker 1: I can't only in my wildest imaginations. Now, why would
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  Speaker 1: a good God ask a kind and gentle and loving
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  Speaker 1: father like Abraham to do such a thing. Well, it's
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  Speaker 1: clear to put to test the validity the authenticity of
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  Speaker 1: the man's faith. Was Abraham more in love with the
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  Speaker 1: gift of God or God himself? Which is a question
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  Speaker 1: every parent has to ask himself periodically. Do I adore
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  Speaker 1: the gifts God gives me more than that I adore
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  Speaker 1: the giver of those gifts. Have I turned to worshiping
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  Speaker 1: the ones that God has granted me rather than the
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  Speaker 1: one who gave me these delights in my life? The
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  Speaker 1: word burnt offering really means a hole, burnt offering, whol e,
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  Speaker 1: an entire burnt offering, when that kind of olah is
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  Speaker 1: the word. When an olah was offered up, it was
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  Speaker 1: hoof tail, head, ears, body, carcass, all of it. The
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  Speaker 1: entire offering was burnt up before God. That's the word
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  Speaker 1: used by God. I want the entire body of this
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  Speaker 1: young man placed on the altar and given to me.
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  Speaker 1: You can't help but be impressed with the father's swift obedience.
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  Speaker 1: I'm impressed with that. Look at the speed of Abraham's reaction.
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  Speaker 1: There's no argument, there's no hesitation, there's no bargaining. There's
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  Speaker 1: not even a question or a hint of reluctance. Abraham
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  Speaker 1: rose early in the morning. He saddled his donkey. He
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  Speaker 1: took two of his young men with him, and Isaac,
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  Speaker 1: his son, and he split wood for the olah for
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  Speaker 1: the hole burnt offering. And he arose and went to
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  Speaker 1: the place of which God had told him there is
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  Speaker 1: a resignation in his father's actions, isn't there? He held
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  Speaker 1: nothing back, made the journey, took the wood, planned to
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  Speaker 1: bid his boy farewell, a final farewell. I'm impressed with
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  Speaker 1: the dad's simple, trusting faith. On the third day, Abraham
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  Speaker 1: raised his eyes and he saw the place in the distance.
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  Speaker 1: He looked in the distance and he saw the mountain.
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  Speaker 1: Somehow God must have communicated to him, that's the place,
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  Speaker 1: Mount Mariah. That's where I want your boy to be sacrificed.
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  Speaker 1: And Abraham said to his young men, who had made
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  Speaker 1: the journey thus far with them, stay here with the donkey.
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  Speaker 1: I and the lad will go yonder, and we will
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  Speaker 1: worship and return to you. It took several readings of
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  Speaker 1: this when I first looked at this passage to realize
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  Speaker 1: that this is a real statement of faith. I and
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  Speaker 1: the lad will go, I and the lad will worship.
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  Speaker 1: Look at the plural pronoun we will worship, and I
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  Speaker 1: and the lad will return. Have you ever seen that before?
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  Speaker 1: How could Abraham know that? Well, if you will hold here,
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  Speaker 1: you'll find an answer to that question in Hebrews chapter eleven,
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  Speaker 1: verse I think it's verse seventeen. Yes, Hebrews eleven seventeen
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  Speaker 1: answers the question how Abraham could have said, we will go,
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  Speaker 1: we will worship, and we will return to you by faith. Abraham,
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  Speaker 1: when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who
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  Speaker 1: had received the promises, was offering up his only begotten son.
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  Speaker 1: It was he to whom it was said in Isaac,
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  Speaker 1: your seed shall be called Watch. He considered that God
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  Speaker 1: is able to raise men, even from the dead, from
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  Speaker 1: which he also received him back as a type. You
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  Speaker 1: know how Abraham thought they would return. He thought he
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  Speaker 1: would offer up Isaac and God would give him his
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  Speaker 1: life back. He knew that somehow God would resuscitate Isaac
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  Speaker 1: and bring him back down Mariah with him. That's how
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  Speaker 1: we can say what he said in verse five, we
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  Speaker 1: will go, we will worship, we will return. Oswald Chambers,
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  Speaker 1: in his eminent work, My Utmost for His Highest, writes
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  Speaker 1: about reckless abandonment. Listen to these words. Faith is the
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  Speaker 1: heroic effort of your life. You fling yourself in reckless
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  Speaker 1: confidence on God. God has ventured all in Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 1: to save us. Now he wants us to venture our
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  Speaker 1: all in abandoned confidence in him. The real meaning of
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  Speaker 1: eternal life is a life that can face anything it
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  Speaker 1: has to face without wavering. Again and again, you will
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  Speaker 1: get up to what Jesus Christ wants, and every time
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  Speaker 1: you will turn back when it comes to the point,
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  Speaker 1: until you abandon resolutely. Jesus Christ demands that you risk
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  Speaker 1: everything you hold by common sense and leap into what
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  Speaker 1: he says. Christ demands of the man who trusts him
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  Speaker 1: the same reckless spirit that is daring enough to step
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  Speaker 1: out of the crowd and bank his faith in the
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  Speaker 1: character of God. That's what Abraham does. I'm impressed not
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  Speaker 1: only with his speed and with his simple faith, I'm
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  Speaker 1: impressed with the thoroughness of his response. Keep reading here
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  Speaker 1: we will go, we will worship, and we will return
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  Speaker 1: to you. Now it's just the two of them as
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  Speaker 1: this story unfolds, So the servants are left back, and
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  Speaker 1: now it's Abraham and Isaac making their way up the
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  Speaker 1: mountain together. Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering
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  Speaker 1: and laid it on Isaac, his son. Now, when I
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  Speaker 1: was growing up in Sunday School, I remember seeing stories
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  Speaker 1: of Abraham and Isaac, and Isaac was always a little
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  Speaker 1: tiny boy who kind of walked along with his daddy,
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  Speaker 1: but little tiny boys don't carry enough wood for an offering.
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  Speaker 1: Isaac isn't a little boy. Isaac is half grown. He's
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  Speaker 1: a young adult. Isaac is old enough to converse with
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  Speaker 1: his father and to understand something of sacrifice. Little boys
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  Speaker 1: don't know enough to ask this kind of question. Is
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  Speaker 1: this is a wonderful moment between a father and a
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  Speaker 1: growing son. And if you let the words speak as
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  Speaker 1: they are, you'll be impressed with their relationship. Isaac, look
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  Speaker 1: at this. Abraham took the wood and laid it on
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  Speaker 1: his son, and took in his hand the fire and
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  Speaker 1: the knife. Picture that, and the two of them walked
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  Speaker 1: on together. And Isaac spoke to his father and said,
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  Speaker 1: my father, He said, here am I my son. He said,
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  Speaker 1: behold the fire and the wood, But where's the lamb
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  Speaker 1: for the burnal offering? You forgot to bring the animal,
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  Speaker 1: which tells you that Abraham didn't tell Isaac all that
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  Speaker 1: they were going to be doing on their way up
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  Speaker 1: the mountain. By the way, when God tests you, he's
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  Speaker 1: not testing other people. He's testing you. When the test
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  Speaker 1: is designed for you. It isn't designed necessarily for you
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  Speaker 1: to share the whole story with everybody else here is
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  Speaker 1: a father being tested who doesn't tell his son the
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  Speaker 1: whole story. Even on his way up the mountain, the
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  Speaker 1: boys asking where is the sacrifice? Hey, dad, where's the lamb?
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  Speaker 1: I'm impressed with Abraham's answer. Isn't it great? How he
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  Speaker 1: answers Isaac Verse eight, Abraham said, God will provide. I
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  Speaker 1: like it that Abraham doesn't say to Isaac, well, you're
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  Speaker 1: the sacrifice. Now. It kind of blow a guy away
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  Speaker 1: walking up a mountain with a handful of wood, hearing
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  Speaker 1: from his daddy, you're the one we're gonna burn up
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  Speaker 1: we get up the top of the hill. There is
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  Speaker 1: a there is a place where you have to be
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  Speaker 1: wise when you when you deal with things like this,
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  Speaker 1: you talk about risk. Look at his answer. God will
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  Speaker 1: provide for himself. That's up to God. We're doing God's will.
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  Speaker 1: It's up to him to work it out. He knows
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  Speaker 1: the answers in the back of the book. He's able
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  Speaker 1: to put all this together. Isaac. Let's you and me
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  Speaker 1: trust him. If I'm willing to risk, I know you
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  Speaker 1: are too. Let's go at this together. By the way
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: of life without risk, is is a life, and it's
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: not worth living. I was amused in reading one woman's words.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: In a little work entitled God, but I'm Bored, Eileen
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: Gooter says, you can live on bland food so as
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: to avoid an ulcer. Drink no tea, coffee or other
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: stimulants in the name of health. You can go to
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: bed early and stay away from night life. Avoid all
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: controversial subjects so as never to give offense. Mind your
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: own business and avoid involvement in other people's problems. Spend
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: money only on necessities and save all you can. Yes,
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: you can break your neck in the bathtub and it'll
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: serve you. Right, that's the way you want to live.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: Live like that. Some of you are so careful. You
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: just he absolutely refused to risk. I mean, you wouldn't
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: get out of your own backyard if you didn't have
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: to go at the store. Absolutely, keep everything under control,
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: everything within border, everything within guidelines. I mean every dime
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: you can account for. And I see Abraham here throwing
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: his faith to the winds. You think children don't learn
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: when they have fathers like that. God will provide Abraham, Isaac,
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: God will provide. I'm trusting him. You trust him with me.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: Isaac's no dummy. He's got it figured out by now.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: In the tenth versus mind boggling, verse nine, they came
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: to the place of which God had told him, and
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: he ran to find his son because he is hidden. No,
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: there's no fight, there's no hide and seek. Isaac doesn't
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: by now figure it out and take off down Mount Mariah.
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: He's right there with his dad. I am pressed with Isaac.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: I've heard this preached on before, and I never heard
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: anybody speak much about Isaac. And he's the sacrifice. And
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: he crawls up on that altar, and his father binds
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: him to the altar, which was apparently a part of
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: the ritual. Mind boggling, He laid him on the altar
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: on top of the wood. Here is a father who
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: has released a son. I'm going to interrupt a wonderful
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: story for a moment and say that you may be
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: right there in another entirely different experience. I don't know
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: where you are. You and your son may be such
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: a relationship that you've come to the place where you
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: simply must cast him on to God. You would love
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: to be able to work out the details, and you
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: cannot and you know that God is a good God,
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: and God will provide an answer. But you cannot do it.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: You cannot work it out. And as it were, you
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: must lay your boy on top of the wood and
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: risk him to God. I don't know about other fathers.
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: I only know about this father. This is a father
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: speaking who would love to protect his children from all difficulties.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: And you may not be like that. I'm like that.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: I don't want them to have pain. I don't want
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: them to suffer hardship. I don't want them to know mistreatment.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: I don't want them to ever lose a job. I
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: don't want them to go through difficulties. If I could
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: possibly keep him from it, learning and learning as a father,
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: the wisdom as they have grown, to give them to
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: God and let him provide, and to become to them
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: the father that they will need when I'm out of
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: the picture completely. And so he laid him on the altar,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: on top of the wood. And there it is Verse ten.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: slay his son. This isn't some horror movie. This isn't
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: something that's gonna all of a sudden turn out good
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: as far as Abraham's concerned. He has a knife. He
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: has a son bound on an altar, and he brings
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: the knife up to bring it down into his chest
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: or to slice it across his throat. This is reality.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, God spoke, stop. Wait.
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: Isaac was rather relieved at that point, I would imagine,
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: but no, not more so than Abraham. That's enough, Abraham,
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: you passed the test. Look at what God says. The
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: Angel the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham,
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: And he said, here I am, what relief? Here I am?
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: He said, don't stretch out your hand against the lad
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: and do nothing to him. For now I know that
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: you fear God. The almost important word in that sentence,
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: I believe. Now you've proven it to me. You passed
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: the test, my son, my aging son. Now I know
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: that you really reverence me, since you have not withheld
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: my best gift to you, your only son. Abraham raised
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: his eyes and looked and behold behind him a ram
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: took the ram and offered him up for a olah
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: in the place of his son, and Abraham called the
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: name of the place the Lord will provide Jehovah Jirah,
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: in the mount of the Lord, it will be provided.
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: Did you know that very near this same spot Jesus
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: Christ died. You know that as the ancient days passed,
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: and as the sands of time covered over this sight,
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: and it was rebuilt, and it came to be known
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: as other names, and finally it came to be known
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: as that place where Christ died, the hill marked Calvary.
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: Do you know that? Which was a reminder of another
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: father who held loosely his son. And on that first
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: Christmas morn he smiled as that little precious baby was
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: born into the lives of Mary and her husband Joseph.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: And for the first time, Deity had a human voice,
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: and for the first time God had a human body,
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: and for the first time, men and women could see,
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: tangible see the living God because God willingly released his son.
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: I find a couple or three analogies that are worth
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: pondering when I think back over this wonderful story, And
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: the first one is the one I have just mentioned. God,
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: the Father showed us how to give when he released
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: his dear son to us. He did that at Bethley him.
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: He even did it nine months before Bethley him, when
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: he dispatched his son from heaven and all of its
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: glories and gave him to the helpless condition of an embryo,
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: and then fetal form, and then finally to an infant
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: that would breathe and cry and grow and learn and
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: suffer and die. God showed us how to give when
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: he released his dear son to us. The best kind
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: of gift you can give, by the way, is a
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: gift that represents yourself, something you that means much to you,
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: something you have that represents who you are. And this
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: is what the Father gave us. Now. The second analogy
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: is this, God, the Son showed us how to die
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: when he released himself to the Father. That's illustrated beautifully
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: by Isaac, who gave himself on the altar without a
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: fight that took place at Calvary. The third analogy is
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: God the spirit will show us how to live and
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: die when we release whatever has us in its grip possession.
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: Could it be that occupation? Could it be that some dream,
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: some person. I never know when I speak to a
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: group of people who's hearing what, But I do know
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: that when you present the truth from God's word, there's
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: always someone who needs to hear something that has been shared.
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: For all I know, I speak at this moment to
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: one of you who has a something tightly in your grip,
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: and you simply cannot let it go. Remember the words
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: out of can meet him as peace. Moses, when he
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: has him throw the staff down, it becomes a serpent,
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: and he has him pick it up again, it becomes
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: a rod, and he says in the song, throw it down,
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: let it go, let it go. God's trustworthy. He will provide.
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: If he's taking from you some cherished, some delightful situation,
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: he has something in its place. He has a ram
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: in the thicket. You can't see it right now. You
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: wouldn't guess where it is or how God will come through,
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: but he will. I read as I began this message
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: from Tozer's The Pursuit of God. I want to end
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: with a prayer that he concludes this same chapter, the
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: Blessedness of possessing Nothing, the same prayer he concludes with,
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: I want to read in conclusion, Father, I want to
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: know thee, but my coward heart fears to give up
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding.
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: And I do not try to hide from thee the
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come.
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: Please root from my heart all those things which I
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: have cherished so long, and which have become a very
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: part of my living self, so that thou mayst enter
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: and dwell there without arrival. Then shalt thou make the
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: place of thy feet glorious? Then shall my heart have
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: no need of the sun to shine in it, for
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: thyself will be the light of it, and there shall
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: be no night there. In Jesus' name. Amen, Let's bow
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: our heads for a few closing thoughts, moments of quietness together.
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: How simple and easy to refer to holding things loosely
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: simple it is to read an outline or share a
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: few thoughts from an ancient story. And I think we've
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: got the lesson down. I've learned and ministry, and that
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: what we hear, God very soon has a supply. I
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: have no idea what you or I may face. I
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: remember him the one who would keep you from pain.
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: But I'm not God. He sees benefit in pain and loss.
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: It would never be my plan, but it may be
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: the father's to root from you, some shrine, some relationship
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: that has become more than a relationship, some friend who
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: has become more than a friend, some gift that has
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: taken the place of the giver. These great old stories
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: are not given to scratch the itches of our curiosity.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: They're given really to change our lives. This is a
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: wonderful time of the year to reflect on the giver
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: of every good and perfect gift. Let's keep those things straight.
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: By the way, he still offers the gift of eternal
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: life to all who will believe. Before you step out
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: into this cool night air, and before you move into
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: your residence, which may be all alone, before your activities
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: begin in a busy morning tomorrow, pause and evaluate. Are
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: you holding all things loosely? Father? This man who writes
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: this prayer is right. Our hearts hate giving up their toys.
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: We find comfort, we find satisfaction, we find great pleasure.
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: We find relief in the comfort zone of the familiar.
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: The risk of change is always difficult. Some are on
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: the verge of a move, and the fear of the
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: move is a frightening thing. May we hold the familiar loosely?
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: Some are on the verge of a major decision, and
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: the unknown is in a throbbing reality. May we hold
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: changes loosely. Some of us are at a place where
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: we are forced to make some tough decisions, and we
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: realize that you're the only one worth holding on too tightly.
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: Provide Father, the things that we cannot provide for ourselves.
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: And I close by praying especially for those who happen
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: to have a son or a daughter, and they must
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: cast them on you, for you to work out the details,
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: especially if those children are grown. I pray that you
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: would give relief and faith and strength to the Abrahams
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: who hear these words today. And as you provide the
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: ram and the thicket, remind us again, Lord that you
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: are faithful. We pray together in the name of Jesus,
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: your best gift.
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: The preceding message, Abraham the Father who Released his Son
• 41:06
  Speaker 2: was copyrighted in nineteen ninety nineteen ninety two, two thousand
• 41:09
  Speaker 2: and one, two thousand six, twenty twelve, and twenty twenty four,
• 41:14
  Speaker 2: and the sound recording was copyrighted in twenty twenty four
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: by Charles R. Swindall Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide.
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: The duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly
• 41:25
  Speaker 2: prohibited