Thursday, January 20, 2011

"The Test of Faith: Abraham's Supreme Sacrifice"

Dr Thomas Chung

Hebrews 11:17-19: It was faith that made Abraham offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice when God put Abraham to the test. Abraham was the one to whom God had made the promise, yet he was ready to offer his only son as a sacrifice. God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I promised." Abraham reckoned that God was able to raise Isaac from death and, so to speak, Abraham did receive Isaac back from death.

*God's eternal purpose would not be fulfilled without the coming of Christ
*We do not need any more light because Jesus is the light. Instead we will go in eternal life
*Hebrews 11:8-12, 17: It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God had promised to give him. He left his own country without knowing where he was going. By faith  he lived as a foreigner in the country that God had promised him. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who received the same promise from God. For Abraham was waiting for the city which God has designed and built, the city with permanent foundations. It was faith that made Abraham able to become a father, even though he was too old and Sarah herself could not have children. He trusted God to keep his promise. Though Abraham was practically dead, from this one man came as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, as many as the numberless grains of sand on the sea-shore.

It was faith that made Abraham offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice when God put Abraham to the test, Abraham was the one to whom God had made the promise, yet he was ready to offer his only son as a sacrifice.


1. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called.
*The call of faith. We ought the obey. The ultimate reason to live here on earth
The General Call
1. Call to follow Jesus. Deny himself, take up his cross and follow God.
*Recall of personal evangelism

The Specific Call
*Specific to a particular ministry
*There are things that God will personally ask us to do in particular
*Only we know what we ought to do, others might not
*That calling would only be pleasing to God
*John 6:44:  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him to me; and I will raise him to life on the last day.

*Everything wears off unless you know for certain what you want to do
*When the going gets tough, keep going

2. Obedience follows that call
*The paradox (Saying that when sees on the surface, its seen as contradictory) of the call of faith
*It can be specific or non-specific
*God asked them to go. Where? not knowing where
*Thats where the nature of the Holy Spirit comes
*We can't understand everything because God is so infinite but we ought to seek Him as much as we can.
*Getting out the people of Israel out in Egypt was no problem but to keep them in the desert for 40 years
*It was a ministry of deliverance
*Learning humility
*There are no shortcuts in Christianity
*We have 3 division - length, depth and width
*Abraham had a fourth division- every time he opened his eyes, he saw the city of God
*This enabled him to live by faith. He had a spiritual schizophernia. His body was on earth but He was living in heaven.
*Hebrews 11:5: It was faith that kept Enoch from dying. Instead, he was taken up to God, and nobody could find him, because God had taken him up. The scripture says that before Enoch was taken up, he had pleased God.

*The character of God which hated human sacrifices called Abraham to sacrifice his only son
*James 2:23: And the scripture came true that said, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous." And so Abraham was called God's friend.

"God would call him 'my dear friend'".

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

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