Dartmouth Bible Notes Notes from the Pulpit Ministry of Dartmouth Bible Church Series: General Scripture: Speaker: Rev
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Dartmouth Bible Notes Notes from the Pulpit Ministry of Dartmouth Bible Church Series: General Scripture: Speaker: Rev. Neil C. Damgaard, Th.M., D.Min. Date: June 16th 2019 Three Things We Don’t Say (or Hear) Enough Genesis 22:1-19 (ESV) After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba. Introduction I suppose this is the classic “Father’s Day passage.” Abraham is a Dad—an unlikely one—but a Dad, nonetheless. He has a son named Isaac. In our text God Himself noted that Abraham loved his son. And God tests Abraham. The “test bench” is Abraham’s being a Dad. I need to say that these days I am nervous to speak of fathering, AS a Dad. I’m not sure either of my daughters would endorse me as a good Dad. But the passage we have before us about Abraham illustrates three things that I think we need to say and hear more often from each other—not just as Dads. First of all, beyond the basic story in Genesis 22 we have other biblical commentary about Abraham: Romans 4 is Paul’s reflections on Abraham… just one verse (4:13) For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. Then, the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews explains too (11:17-19): By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. I think there are three things we do not say or hear enough. Let me put it to you this way—we need to hear these things from each other more often and we need to SAY them more often, or at least demonstrate them for each other. I. “I’ve got your back.” LOYALTY Isaac could have rebelled. He could have said, “I’m not going along with your faith, Dad.” And while Abraham is trusting God, and it is a fearsome moment—Isaac is going along with it. He is loyal to his Dad. Loyalty is a quality we don’t hear much about in the church. I don’t know why that is. It’s almost as if loyalty is perceived to be a carnal thing. I don’t know how many times in my ministry I have heard people state that their loyalty is only to the Lord and loyalty between people is somehow worldly. BLIND loyalty between people can be dangerous and toxic. But the general message between us of “I’ve got your back” and offering each other a dependable kind of protection and faithfulness is not only 2 honorable but I think Spirit-filled. One of the fruits of the Spirit in Gal.5 is faithfulness both to God and between believers. This is a hard sell among modern Christians because we are so proud of our independence and autonomy. But I think we need to hear, and say more often, “I’ve got your back.” “My loyalty to you will go a long way.” Loyalty is needed between Christian spouses, towards our children, towards our parents and towards our fellow church members. I think it should extend, selectively and carefully, to other Christian affiliations outside our own church too. A second thing we need to say and hear more among ourselves is, II. “I’m proud of you” This is the simple biblical principle of AFFIRMATION. It completely escapes me why we find it hard to say this. We certainly enjoy hearing it. I suppose we think this too is carnal. We misapply Bible verses that talk about pride and getting puffed up as if feeling good about each other is being puffed up. I am so very proud of so many in this church not only for your service here, but just for your walk in Christ and your hanging in there. I am old enough now that I have known a number of people whose faith has “shipwrecked” and they no longer hang in there. So of you, I am proud. Of course ultimately I am proud of the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit for working with us and hanging in there with us! Perhaps you could use a biblical example of this, other than what is implied between father and son of Abraham and Isaac, I suggest: Matthew 3:16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 17:5b “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” I would also suggest where Paul wrote to the Philippians (4:16,17) Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 3 Here are six things I think we should affirm each other for (NOT demand from each other), but when we see it we acknowledge it—that is the point of the “encouragements” section at the end of each one of our quarterly family meetings. 1. Hard work 2. Faithfulness 3. Heroism 4. Creativity 5. Trusting God Through Difficulty 6. Reaching across natural barriers III. “God is not finished with you yet” HE TAKES YOUR WHOLE LIFE TO COMPLETE HIS PLAN Abraham lived to be 175 years old and I think he needed that amount of time for God to complete his plan in him. It takes a long time. There is really no short-cut to sanctification. And so we need to remind each other along the way, frequently, that God isn’t finished with us until He is finished with us! One of the most powerful things (to me) Paul ever wrote is in Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Growing in Christ is no quick, immediate-gratification program. It requires patience, with each other and with ourselves individually.