Transcript of Given a Promise

Reflections on Scripture with Dr. Leins

Time StampTranscript
0:00[Music]
0:13hello
0:15today let’s talk about when Abraham was
0:19given a
0:20promise the text before us is found in
0:23the Book of Genesis CH
0:250.916666667
0:281-8 Abraham lived approximately 2,000
0:32years before the birth of
0:35Jesus so you may be wondering what does
0:38something that happened 4,000 years ago
0:41have to do with me well that’s a very
0:44good question in fact I think that’s
0:46exactly the right question for us to ask
0:50today let’s see what Abraham has to do
0:55with
0:56you point one God made made a
1:01promise Abraham was given a promise by
1:04God the story of Abraham really is about
1:07his ability to believe God’s promise
1:11Abraham was told that he would be the
1:13father of many
1:15nations he would have a son even in his
1:18old age his son would be birthed by his
1:21aged wife Sarah and his son would be
1:24named
1:25Isaac when Abraham was 100 years old God
1:30fulfilled his promise and provided the
1:32birth of Abraham’s beloved Son
1:35Isaac the child was surely the absolute
1:38Delight of his elderly Mom and Dad after
1:41Isaac’s miraculous birth and blessed
1:44childhood Isaac became a strong and
1:46healthy young man we might expect that
1:50marriage was soon to be planned for
1:52Isaac because Abraham would be the
1:54father of many nations through
1:57Isaac but in Genesis 2 2 God discloses a
2:02different plan God commanded Abraham to
2:06sacrifice his beloved Son as a burnt
2:10offering there is no doubt what was
2:13being required of the patriarch Abraham
2:16must kill his son the son of the promise
2:21but this appears to be the exact
2:22opposite of what God had already said
2:25Abraham was to be the father of many
2:27nations through Isaac how could that
2:30possibly be true if Abraham now were to
2:34kill Isaac it was a contradiction more
2:37than that it was an
2:39impossibility could Abraham believe
2:42God’s promise when at the same time he
2:45was required to kill God’s
2:49promise this chapter of Holy Scripture
2:51demonstrates that Abraham did believe
2:53God’s promise but
2:55how God who had created the heavens and
2:58the Earth God who had created all things
3:01out of nothing could keep his
3:04promise but how simply by the reason of
3:08his mind and the word of his mouth God
3:11had created all things God thought it
3:13and said it and there was light God
3:16thought it and said it and there was
3:19life now God who created Adam from the
3:22dust of the earth could recreate Isaac
3:25From the Ashes of his own funeral fire
3:30God gave Abraham a command take now your
3:34son your only son whom you love Isaac
3:38and go to the land of Mariah and offer
3:41him there as a burnt offering on one of
3:43the mountains of which I will tell
3:47you so the very next morning Abraham
3:52Rose early split the wood saddled his
3:55donkey took two of his servants and took
3:58Isaac his son
4:00they set off for the place which the
4:02Lord would show
4:04him when the mountain came into view
4:06Abraham told his servants to remain
4:08behind he and his son would go to the
4:11Mountaintop to worship then said Abraham
4:15they would return a statement of
4:20faith he placed all of the wood for the
4:22burnt offering upon Isaac and the two of
4:24them set
4:26out it’s almost impossible to imagine
4:30what was going on in the mind and heart
4:33of
4:33Abraham he walked with his beloved Son
4:37to the top of the
4:38mountain its name was Mariah for it was
4:41not yet called by the name that we know
4:45Jerusalem yes Isaac was to die on the
4:48Mount of
4:50Jerusalem Isaac asked my father where is
4:54the Lamb for the
4:55sacrifice Abraham said that God would
4:58himself provide the
5:01Lamb on the mountain Abraham built an
5:05altar there Abraham bound his son
5:08Abraham must have explained the
5:10situation to his son it seems that Isaac
5:12freely yielded his life in faith and
5:15obedience to God even as his father
5:18Abraham also surrendered in faith and
5:22obedience to
5:25God Abraham tied his son as he would an
5:28animal for sacrifice
5:30Isaac waited with hands and feet bound
5:32and his face turned up to heaven Isaac
5:36exposed his throat for his father’s
5:40knife nowhere else in scripture is there
5:42such a picture of faith and obedience
5:45nowhere else except that of Jesus Christ
5:49on the cross on that same
5:53Mountain nowhere else is a father
5:55required to make such a sacrifice and a
5:57son so willing to yield up his love life
6:00nowhere else except on that same
6:03Mountain 2,000 years later when the
6:06obedient son Jesus willingly sacrificed
6:09his
6:10life Abraham raised his knife then at
6:14the very last possible moment the angel
6:16of the Lord stayed his hand Abraham
6:19Abraham do not stretch out your hand
6:21against the lad do nothing to harm him
6:24for now I know that you fear God since
6:28you have not withheld your son your only
6:30son from
6:33me this is the story of Abraham the
6:36story of God’s promise and the story of
6:40Abraham’s faith in God’s
6:44promise but why did God give us this
6:46story what is God’s message to us in the
6:50scripture of Genesis chapter 22 well I
6:53think there are several messages God is
6:55giving to us first God made a promise to
6:59Abra Abraham before the patriarch had
7:01done anything he did not earn God’s
7:04blessing it was a free gift given before
7:07Abraham had demonstrated any faith at
7:10all second God made the promise again
7:14and when Abraham believed God counted it
7:18as
7:19righteousness God is teaching us that we
7:22too are righteous by grace through faith
7:27alone Abraham had not yet put his faith
7:29into any action but solely on account of
7:32his faith in God’s promise God counted
7:36him as righteous
7:38third Abraham was not perfect when
7:41Abraham began to act he sinned he sinned
7:45with Hagar sleeping with Sarah’s servant
7:48instead of trusting in the promise of
7:50God and he sinned twice more once when
7:54he told Pharaoh that Sarah was his
7:56sister and once again when he told King
7:58AMC
7:59that Sarah was his
8:02sister but God was patient and merciful
8:05God’s promise remained true Abraham
8:08would be the father of many nations
8:10through his son
8:12Isaac
8:14fourth God required Abraham to perform
8:16an act of extraordinary
8:18Faith Abraham believed God’s promise and
8:22was prepared to act
8:24accordingly but God did not require
8:27Abraham to make the SA sacrifice of his
8:30son God kept his promise to Abraham and
8:34God required himself to make the
8:36horrible sacrifice on Jerusalem Mountain
8:39God sacrificed his one and only beloved
8:43Son
8:45Jesus point two God keeps his promises
8:50on Mount Mariah we caught a glimpse of
8:52what it looks like when a father is
8:54required to sacrifice his son it was
8:57heart-wrenching and horrible
9:00this was for our instruction so that we
9:03might begin to understand our Heavenly
9:05Father’s
9:07Heart God was caught between the Searing
9:10loss of his own son or the agonizing
9:14loss of all of those whom he would count
9:17as righteous and saved by grace through
9:20faith in Jesus Christ their
9:23lord so God sacrificed his son Jesus for
9:26the sake of all of us we must not take
9:30for granted the suffering of Father God
9:32or The Obedience of Jesus the son both
9:36the father’s suffering and the son’s
9:38obedience are
9:39demonstrations of how God keeps his
9:43promise you see the promise that God
9:46made to Abraham is not the only promise
9:49that God
9:50kept God made several promises in the
9:53Old Testament about the sending of his
9:55son and God kept each one of those
9:58promises
9:59here are just a few
10:02examples in the third chapter of Genesis
10:04we witness the fall of Adam and Eve
10:07immediately
10:08after God made a promise he said it to
10:12the serpent but he meant for everyone to
10:14hear I will put enmity between you and
10:18the woman and between your seed and her
10:21seed he shall bruise you on the head and
10:25you shall bruise him on the
10:27heel God promised that the seed of the
10:31woman would bring harm to the devil this
10:34seed the Lord’s Messiah would bruise the
10:39head of the snake though the serpent
10:41would bruise the heel of the
10:44Savior what else did God
10:47promise the Lord himself will give you a
10:50sign Behold a virgin will conceive and
10:54bear a son and she will call his name
10:58Emmanuel that is God With
11:02Us God promised that the Messiah would
11:05be born of a virgin a sign and that this
11:09son would be called God With
11:13Us what’s that sounds confusing how is
11:16it possible that a child would be God
11:19With Us there is more that God
11:23promised For unto us a child is born
11:27unto us a son is given and the
11:30government will be upon his shoulders
11:32and his name will be called wonderful
11:35counselor Mighty God Everlasting father
11:40Prince of Peace this child who is
11:46God would be the wonderful counselor the
11:49Mighty God the Everlasting father the
11:52prince of peace and if that were not
11:55magnificent enough the next promise is
11:58even more
12:01miraculous written more than 500 years
12:04before the birth of Jesus he was pierced
12:07through for our transgressions he was
12:10crushed for our iniquities the
12:12chastisement of our well-being fell upon
12:15him and by his scourging we were healed
12:18the Lord has caused the iniquity of us
12:21all to fall upon
12:24him God promised that the Messiah born
12:26of a virgin would be God in flesh and he
12:29would bear our sins and carry our
12:33iniquities as a result he would be
12:36crushed in other words his death would
12:39mean our eternal life for all who
12:44believe it was not Abraham alone who
12:47received God’s promise all Humanity
12:49received God’s promises and God keeps
12:54his
12:56promises point three God has promised
13:01you when Jesus the Messiah came to Earth
13:04he made some promises to
13:07you he who believes and is baptized
13:10shall be saved that’s a
13:14promise drink ye all of it this cup is
13:17the New Testament in my blood which is
13:19shed for you for the Forgiveness of sins
13:22do this as often as you drink it in
13:24remembrance of me that’s a promise and
13:29God so loved the world that he gave his
13:31only begotten son that whosoever
13:32believes in Him should not perish but
13:35have eternal life that’s a promise for
13:40you these are promises that God has made
13:43to you and if you believe his promises
13:46you receive what he has said You shall
13:48be saved you receive forgiveness of sins
13:51you have eternal
13:54life
13:55conclusion beloved 4,000 years ago
13:59God gave Abraham a
14:01promise because it came from God it was
14:04true God’s promise was true when Abraham
14:08was obedient and when he was not God’s
14:11promise was true when Abraham believed
14:14the promise and even when he doubted it
14:18Abraham wanted to be faithful and God
14:21wanted Abraham to be faithful but there
14:23were times when Abraham was not this
14:27story is for for your
14:30instruction because God gave you a
14:33promise too several promises really
14:37because they come from God they are
14:40true there may be times when you like
14:43Abraham have trouble with your
14:47obedience and there may be times when
14:49you even have trouble with your faith
14:53but this story was never about you
14:55having perfect Faith or you having
14:57perfect obedience only Jesus has
15:01that we have weak faith and even weaker
15:05obedience and the weak faith that we
15:07have wasn’t even our work it was a gift
15:10from
15:11God do you know what this story is
15:13really
15:14about it’s about God who gives you his
15:19promise and he keeps
15:22it yes that is what Abraham learned and
15:26that is what you and I are learning too
15:29ours is a God who gives us his promises
15:33and then he keeps them Incredible
15:38God God made Abraham a promise that
15:42Abraham
15:43believed and God made you a promise that
15:46you can believe too and when you believe
15:50you too are counted as righteous and you
15:54shall be saved and you shall receive
15:56forgiveness of your sins and you you
15:58shall have eternal life beloved God has
16:01given you his word and that’s a promise
16:05that God made to
16:09you
16:17[Music]
16:27amen