Sunday Sermon

Wow! It's like a heat wave out here this morning! I haven't had to put on as many layers to take Rocky outside. Which is good because he gets impatient waiting for me!

Here's yesterday's question and answer:
Sat, Jan. 17 Fill in the blank: “The kingdom of heaven is like a ________ hidden in a field . . . . Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for __________. . . . Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a ____ that was let down into the lake. . . .” (Matt 13)
Matthew 13:44-47 44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. 47 "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.
And here's today's question of the day:
Sun, Jan. 18: Psalm 9:2 “I will be glad and rejoice in You”. . .
Name 10 things that you thank God for.

And, in lieu of a reflection, here is today's sermon for those of you who don't get to hear it live this morning!

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Please pray with me: Gracious God, Still our minds and quiet our worries; open our ears and hearts so that we might truly hear your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING Genesis 22:1-14
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

INTRODUCTION
I counted it up the other day and discovered that I have gone to school for 22 of my almost 30 years of life. And in those 22 years of high school and college and seminary, I’ve taken A LOT of tests. I’ve taken pop quizzes I didn’t know were coming, math tests that I DID know were coming (and that I never did very well on), a driving test (which I passed the first time, unlike some of my siblings), the SATs (took those twice, I think), and ordination exams which was one of the last steps in becoming a minister.

And of all those kinds of tests, pop quizzes were the worst. There’s nothing worse than going to class, knowing that you didn’t do the homework from the night before, and hearing the teacher say, “OK, put your books and papers away. We’re having a pop quiz.” Even if you DID the homework from the night before, the same sudden panic still hits you when you hear the phrase “pop quiz.”

Ugh. My heart still beats a little faster just thinking about them. I would guess I’m not the only one who feels this way about pop quizzes. The problem with pop quizzes is that you never know when they’re coming so you never know when to be prepared. Now, I think the teachers among us would say that’s why we ALWAYS have to be prepared for a pop quiz.

And don’t think that just because you’re not in school, you don’t have to worry about pop quizzes. Just ask Abraham. God surprised him with the mother of all—or rather, the FATHER of all—pop quizzes!

MOVE #1
God surprises Abraham with a pop quiz. Abraham didn’t know it was coming. It was a real pop quiz—he didn’t see it coming.

Verse one of our reading this morning says, “Some time later God tested Abraham.” God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice Isaac—the son that he and Sarah had waited for almost 100 years. . . the son who was a part of God’s promise to make their descendents as numerous as the stars in the sky.

This test from God must have been like a sucker punch to Abraham’s gut, don’t you think? It was unexpected and it was shocking, especially in light of how the Old Testament tells us that God hates child sacrifice, something that pagans practiced.

How could the God who had favored Abraham and Sarah throughout all their lives suddenly now demand such a sacrifice? How could God possibly demand the murder of a life, especially a life so clearly given by God’s own hand? It blows the mind to think about it!

There’s no way Abraham could have anticipated this command—it’s not just a request or suggestion, it’s an outright command from God Almighty. Verse 2 says, “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

This testing is something Abraham never could have anticipated. And it turns out that this pop quiz is a matter of life and death.

MOVE #2
This was a test Abraham never saw coming, but we know he somehow managed to pass the test with flying colors. He did exactly what God told him to—going so far even to bind Isaac and put him on the altar and to pick up the knife. He did each and every thing God told him to do—and at the very last minute possible, God intervened and saved Isaac, saying , “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son” (v12).

How did he do it? How did he know what the right thing to do was? How could Abraham, who had waited his whole, long life to be a father, have risked the life of his one and only son?

Abraham didn’t refuse. He didn’t argue with God. He didn’t try to bargain him down to some lesser test. These are all things he did with God successfully in the past. But he didn’t try to persuade God to change his mind this time.

The text doesn’t say what went through his head. It doesn’t reveal what must have been going through his head during the three day journey to the mountain in Moriah. It doesn’t even give a hint as to what Abraham was thinking when Isaac, his only son, says, “Father, the fire and wood are here but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” The text is silent.

But Abraham passed the test because he had faith; he trusted and obeyed. He looked at the track record he had with God, he thought of all the stories that had been handed down of God’s love and protection, and he trusted and obeyed that God would remain true to his character and provide a substitute for Isaac. Abraham was faithful.

MOVE #3
God did not give Abraham this pop quiz in order to watch him fail. God tested Abraham in order to increase his faith. The test is for his benefit, to strengthen his trust and his obedience.

But God doesn’t just give pop quizzes to Abraham; think about the testing Job had to go through and how his faith was increased. Think about Jesus being tempted—or tested—by the Devil in the desert. And God’s pop quizzes aren’t just a thing of the past.

God tests us to determine the depth and integrity of our commitment to him. God tests us to see how strong our faith is, to figure out how deep our devotion is. In order to pass a test from God, we simply need to trust and obey. We fail God’s test when we turn our backs on him in times of trouble, when we insist on relying on ourselves instead of on him. We fail God’s test when we refuse to make him the ultimate Lord of our lives.

I asked this question about Bible Study this week and I’ll ask it again this morning: where is God testing you today? What is God calling you to do? I’m sure it’s something crazy and uncomfortable. How can you trust and obey during this test?

It’s probably a situation that’s not pleasant and it’s not easy. It’s a test that is not meant to make you give up; it is a test meant to build up your faith, to show you that with God’s help you can do all sorts of things you never thought possible. It’s a test of trust and obedience, a test for you to persevere doing what GOD wants you to do and NOT doing what YOU want to do.

CONCLUSION
People fail God’s tests all the time. People are untrusting and disobedient when God springs a pop quiz on them. Even Abraham could have failed God’s test. He could have said no to God from the very beginning.

But he didn’t. He passed the pop quiz. Abraham obeyed God’s command, trusting that God would keep his promise. And his faith was increased and his obedience was rewarded by God.

God’s pop quizzes teach us that God always provides. He always gives us a ram caught in the thickets to get us out of a difficult situation. God always provides. The testing is what helps us build up our faith so that we really can believe that. Let not your hearts be troubled: God will always provide for you; all we have to do is trust that God provides and obey his commands.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.