June
18, 2000 Jehovah Jireh
Gen. 22:1-14
(Heavenly Father’s Day)
by Ronald George Jr.
Returning
from Sunday School one day, where the Ten Commandments had been the topic, our
young son asked his father, "Daddy, what does it mean when it says, 'Thou
shalt not commit agriculture'?"
There
was hardly a beat between the question and my husband's smooth reply:
"Son, that just means that you're not supposed to plow the other
man's field," an answer satisfactory to both of them. -- Reader's Digest,
July 1979, p. 87
There was a neat greeting card for Father's Day.
On the front it read:
Dad, I
want you to know that if there's anything you need, like a soft pillow, an
afternoon snack, or a glass of lemonade...
Then on
the inside it said: Just let me
know, and I'll call Mom! See:
Psa 128:1-6
On this Father’s
Day let’s take a moment to remember whom the Heavenly Father is and how he
relates to us. Who is he and how do we resemble him?
How does he want us to resemble him?
Can you see the family resemblance?
We were created in the image of the Father according to Genesis.
But the effect of sin marred the creation of the Holy Father.
Now he wants to recreate us into the image of his Son.
Can you see the family resemblance?
Once we have been reborn into the family of God he seeks to mold us in
the image of his Son who is the exact image of the Father.
How did he relate to one of his son’s in the Old Testament? Will you
honor the heavenly Father this Father’s Day?
Scripture Text:
Gene 22:1 (KJS) And it came to pass after these things, that God did
tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, [here] I [am].
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and
get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering
upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3 And Abraham rose up
early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with
him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose
up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day
Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said
unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go
yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood of the
burnt offering, and laid [it] upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his
hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac spake unto
Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here [am] I, my son. And
he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where [is] the lamb for a burnt
offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb
for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9 And they came to
the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and
laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar
upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to
slay his son. 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and
said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I. 12 And he said, Lay not
thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know
that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son]
from me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind
[him] a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the
ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14 And
Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said [to] this
day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. {Jehovahjireh: that is, The
Lord will see, or, provide}
I.
Who is the heavenly Father?
1.
God wants you to know Him by name.
Hear the voice of the Lord, the Heavenly Father. He calls out your name
today. What does he call you?
He calls you intimately. Will
you be one of his children?
2.
God wants to be your heavenly Father.
He comes to you and calls to you today. Will you follow him, walk with him, and be with him throughout
your life eternal? Will you
recognize that he is the Father who is above you all and in you all?
3.
God wants to test you to strengthen you.
God did test Abraham
The test: Will
you be willing to give to God the best and most loved that you have?
The Lord tempts us to become Father’s like him.
II.
Who is the Father named Abraham? How did he respond to the Holy Father? How did he resemble the Heavenly Father?
1.
Abraham rose up early and went to the place, which God had told
him.
2.
Abraham took his son to worship. God
has brought us into the world through a family.
He desires that we honor, worship, and love him in our families.
3.
Abraham trusted the heavenly Father.
Where is the Lamb for your sacrifice?
My son, God will provide the lamb, and he told his servants that he and
Isaac would return again. God had
given him Isaac and God would also give him back.
4.
Abraham obeyed because of his great faith in God.
In obedience he bound his son, his only son and laid him on the altar
to be sacrificed. God has given us an altar today to make our living sacrifices
upon. Will you come to offer
yourselves as Abraham offered his son and God the father offered his?
5.
Abraham feared God. What
have you withheld from God? In the
mount of the Lord it will be seen. He will provide all that you need. Jehovah Jireh
6.
Abraham resembled the Lord in his life, ways, and commitment.
Can you see the resemblance?
Invitation:
Do you know the heavenly Father? Will
you honor your heavenly Father today? Do you know that he has provided for you a substitute?
Do you also realize that if you don’t accept his substitute for your
death then you will pay the price that he has already paid for your sin?
He is continuing to provide for your life the way that he has provided
for countless others. He is calling
on you to make yourself a living sacrifice in response to the substitute he has
already made.