1 00:00:30,579 --> 00:00:33,211 How many of you enjoy hearing Brother Schuller sing and play? I 2 00:00:33,235 --> 00:00:36,651 really enjoy. Let me hear you say amen. Amen. How many of you know 3 00:00:36,675 --> 00:00:40,603 and believe that Jesus is gonna come back? Like he said, Amen. 4 00:00:40,651 --> 00:00:44,507 He'll come back. I love watching and hearing you sing. It's 5 00:00:44,523 --> 00:00:46,891 always interesting to me because he comes up here. Typically, 6 00:00:46,955 --> 00:00:50,715 he sings songs that are older songs, and he's not a spring chicken, 7 00:00:50,747 --> 00:00:55,771 per se, but he always has the most, the nicest things up here. 8 00:00:55,795 --> 00:00:58,393 This nice piano that hooks into. Or piano, piano, guitar that 9 00:00:58,401 --> 00:01:02,761 hooks into the system. He's got an iPad up here. He's up with 10 00:01:02,785 --> 00:01:05,689 the times. And so I appreciate what he sings, though. It's always 11 00:01:05,729 --> 00:01:08,473 a blessing. You can tell he means it when he sings it. Amen. 12 00:01:08,601 --> 00:01:11,705 Well, it's my distinct pleasure to introduce our speaker 13 00:01:11,737 --> 00:01:15,449 tonight. And you all know Mr. Lepper as he's called into school. 14 00:01:15,489 --> 00:01:19,257 But Brother Nick Leper serves at Northside Baptist Church, served 15 00:01:19,273 --> 00:01:22,489 here for three and a half years as the school administrator 16 00:01:22,569 --> 00:01:24,793 and worked with the Sunday school and many other programs in 17 00:01:24,801 --> 00:01:27,959 the church. God gave him great influence with many people here in 18 00:01:27,999 --> 00:01:33,239 our school, but also with many of you. And he has been used to see 19 00:01:33,279 --> 00:01:36,887 many lives changed here in our church. And still to this day, many 20 00:01:36,943 --> 00:01:39,511 students will give him a phone call at times just to ask and say, 21 00:01:39,535 --> 00:01:42,679 hey, what should I do here? Or God's working in my heart about this. 22 00:01:42,719 --> 00:01:46,311 And his influence has extended beyond his presence here. And the 23 00:01:46,335 --> 00:01:49,191 Lord's still using him to reach and help people here while 24 00:01:49,215 --> 00:01:52,225 he's serving just an hour and a half south of here in Nolenville 25 00:01:52,257 --> 00:01:55,617 at Northside Baptist. So he's the administrator and principal, 26 00:01:55,713 --> 00:01:58,849 the head of school at that school, also serving in the church. 27 00:01:58,929 --> 00:02:02,353 His wife serving along with him is the elementary principal, 28 00:02:02,481 --> 00:02:05,953 and so she keeps all of them in line. She spoke in our elementary 29 00:02:06,001 --> 00:02:08,721 chapel this morning. It was awesome. She even gave us a little 30 00:02:08,745 --> 00:02:12,865 science experiment up here. It was wonderful. And her husband preached 31 00:02:12,897 --> 00:02:16,593 in our secondary chapel and the Lord really used it. It was a 32 00:02:16,601 --> 00:02:20,587 great encouragement to our students to be able to see him again 33 00:02:20,643 --> 00:02:23,835 and to see and hear from his wife again. It's been a blessing 34 00:02:23,867 --> 00:02:26,059 having you all here tonight. We're glad that they're here. And 35 00:02:26,099 --> 00:02:29,003 so, Brother Lep, if you would come and please preach the word of 36 00:02:29,011 --> 00:02:29,563 God to us tonight. 37 00:02:29,611 --> 00:02:32,571 Amen. Thank you so much, man. Appreciate it so much. It is good 38 00:02:32,595 --> 00:02:35,931 to be back with friends and people we love. It's a blessing to 39 00:02:35,955 --> 00:02:39,691 see you here this evening. And we recognize most of the faces around 40 00:02:39,715 --> 00:02:42,395 the auditorium, but there are a few new ones, too, and we're encouraged 41 00:02:42,427 --> 00:02:46,937 by that. We've had a great day today and a good late night last 42 00:02:46,993 --> 00:02:49,753 night, fellowshipping with some folks that we love here. And 43 00:02:49,841 --> 00:02:53,721 can I tell you, it's not easy to leave a great place. God led us 44 00:02:53,745 --> 00:02:57,977 away from here just a few years ago and we had wonderful times 45 00:02:58,033 --> 00:03:01,193 here and God's blessing where we are as well. It's never easy to 46 00:03:01,201 --> 00:03:04,425 say goodbye to wonderful people. But can I tell you how encouraging 47 00:03:04,457 --> 00:03:07,209 it is to come back and see that God's at work and that things 48 00:03:07,249 --> 00:03:10,793 are growing and developing? So many things going on on this property 49 00:03:10,841 --> 00:03:14,001 tonight in master clubs and in the youth group and of course here 50 00:03:14,025 --> 00:03:17,825 as well in the auditorium and HBBI and just active ministry. We're 51 00:03:17,857 --> 00:03:21,857 encouraged by it. God's work is very big, isn't it? And we're 52 00:03:21,873 --> 00:03:24,817 thankful to have any part in it, and I know you are as well. It's 53 00:03:24,833 --> 00:03:27,841 a privilege to be back with you tonight and I do want to say 54 00:03:27,865 --> 00:03:30,833 how kind everyone here has been to us. Sometimes it's a little 55 00:03:30,841 --> 00:03:33,921 awkward to go back to the place you left, but it hasn't been. 56 00:03:34,025 --> 00:03:36,785 We felt very welcomed today and last night. We're so grateful 57 00:03:36,817 --> 00:03:39,361 for it. Take your Bibles, if you would, please. Turn to the book 58 00:03:39,385 --> 00:03:44,225 of Genesis, chapter number 22. Genesis, chapter number 22. We're 59 00:03:44,257 --> 00:03:48,545 going to talk tonight and study God's word a little bit tonight 60 00:03:48,737 --> 00:03:53,681 about climbing mountains. In fact, the title of the sermon is 61 00:03:53,705 --> 00:03:59,745 Climbing the Mountain. This may shock you, but climbing mountains 62 00:03:59,777 --> 00:04:02,865 may not be the easiest thing for me physically. Is that shocking 63 00:04:02,897 --> 00:04:05,489 to you? How many of you would find climbing mountains a little 64 00:04:05,529 --> 00:04:09,745 challenging at this stage in your life? Yeah, several of us. Climbing 65 00:04:09,777 --> 00:04:14,225 the mountain. One of my, maybe I should say most lasting memories. 66 00:04:14,257 --> 00:04:16,625 Ms. Tanya, maybe not favorite memory, but one of my most lasting 67 00:04:16,657 --> 00:04:21,745 memories. We were on a senior trip in 2022 and we went to Colorado. 68 00:04:21,937 --> 00:04:27,201 And of course Brother Crawford and I, I always loved traveling with 69 00:04:27,225 --> 00:04:31,655 him. He was as free as a bird when he traveled. And I was meticulous 70 00:04:31,687 --> 00:04:35,575 to a schedule when I traveled. And the two didn't always mix right. 71 00:04:35,727 --> 00:04:38,663 It was a little unique sometimes. We were down in Estes 72 00:04:38,711 --> 00:04:40,663 park, one of the most beautiful places in the country, 73 00:04:40,831 --> 00:04:45,367 and in this giant field filled with animals all around us and just 74 00:04:45,423 --> 00:04:47,991 beautiful place. And we decided we were going to take what 75 00:04:48,015 --> 00:04:52,567 I thought was going to be a very brief hike up in Estes Park. 76 00:04:52,623 --> 00:04:55,671 We're going to climb up the mountain a little bit. And I said 77 00:04:55,695 --> 00:04:58,103 to Brother Crawford. Now, this was at a stage, brother Crawford 78 00:04:58,151 --> 00:05:00,631 and Mrs. Crawford were exercising. I mean, day in and day 79 00:05:00,655 --> 00:05:04,765 out, best shape of their adult lives, I would imagine. And brother 80 00:05:04,797 --> 00:05:07,213 Crawford, of course, had something to prove at this stage, 81 00:05:07,261 --> 00:05:12,301 you know. So he said, hey, how far can we go on this hike? I said, 82 00:05:12,325 --> 00:05:14,445 well, we don't have time for much. We've got an appointment tonight, 83 00:05:14,477 --> 00:05:17,325 don't forget. You know, I'm trying to keep him on, on track, 84 00:05:17,397 --> 00:05:22,541 you know. And I said, plus, we know already as we drove into this 85 00:05:22,565 --> 00:05:25,821 park, we know the sign said that there's snow and ice after a 86 00:05:25,845 --> 00:05:28,571 certain level and it's dangerous. And I'm responsible for 87 00:05:28,595 --> 00:05:32,603 these young people, right as we did. They would lead at the front 88 00:05:32,611 --> 00:05:34,587 of the hike. We'd be in the back. And it really was for safety 89 00:05:34,603 --> 00:05:37,131 of the students and also so I could be at the back because I could 90 00:05:37,155 --> 00:05:41,483 take my time. And we had agreed we'd go maybe a mile up the 91 00:05:41,491 --> 00:05:43,931 hike and then turn around and come back. As soon as we hit the 92 00:05:43,955 --> 00:05:47,159 snow line, we were going to turn around and make our way back. 93 00:05:47,939 --> 00:05:53,291 And can I tell you, four and a half miles later, we had been struggling 94 00:05:53,355 --> 00:06:00,549 up this I icy trek. Ms. Tanya's tiny little bird feet were 95 00:06:00,589 --> 00:06:04,821 just skimpering on the top of the snow, no problem. And my giant 96 00:06:04,885 --> 00:06:09,381 size 14s with plenty of gravitational pull above them. We 97 00:06:09,405 --> 00:06:12,517 were on this little ridge where we had a little bit of hard 98 00:06:12,573 --> 00:06:16,005 surface we could keep our foot on. But if we stepped, no kidding, 99 00:06:16,037 --> 00:06:18,965 it couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 inches wide if we stepped 100 00:06:18,997 --> 00:06:24,255 anywhere here, I kid you not, was hip deep in snow. And the whole 101 00:06:24,287 --> 00:06:28,111 time, every step, my wife heard me say, what is he doing up 102 00:06:28,135 --> 00:06:32,527 there? What is he doing up there? Every step, you know, it's 103 00:06:32,543 --> 00:06:35,119 an amazing thing, by the way, everything was perfectly fine. Everyone 104 00:06:35,159 --> 00:06:37,631 was totally safe. I survived without having a heart attack before 105 00:06:37,655 --> 00:06:40,939 I got down to the bottom. It was a great. It was a fun thing. 106 00:06:41,479 --> 00:06:46,179 Can I tell you that hiking or climbing a mountain does have a purpose? 107 00:06:46,769 --> 00:06:50,041 There's some work involved in it. There's some labor that's necessary, 108 00:06:50,185 --> 00:06:53,129 but there's a great reward when you get to the end of it. That 109 00:06:53,169 --> 00:06:55,241 hike, even though we hiked through the snow and ice and all 110 00:06:55,265 --> 00:06:57,929 these things, we got to this clearing with this beautiful lake 111 00:06:58,089 --> 00:07:02,629 that was absolutely breathtaking. It was worth the work, 112 00:07:03,009 --> 00:07:07,753 but there was a lot of work to it. But it was worthwhile. Climbing 113 00:07:07,801 --> 00:07:10,025 back down is always a little easier, but not on this particular 114 00:07:10,097 --> 00:07:13,385 hike. We had Ms. Riley Jordan, who used to teach here. And my wife 115 00:07:13,417 --> 00:07:16,457 and I were kind of together in a little package. And every step 116 00:07:16,513 --> 00:07:19,913 that she took, she would slide and fall. And I'm talking for probably 117 00:07:19,961 --> 00:07:27,081 an hour. Every step, Every step. Just slick surfaces. But the 118 00:07:27,105 --> 00:07:30,265 hike was worth it. It's a lasting memory. I mean, a lasting 119 00:07:30,297 --> 00:07:34,105 memory and a good one, a fond one. We took a few different senior 120 00:07:34,137 --> 00:07:37,945 trips here in the academy, and one was there, and one was in Glacier 121 00:07:37,977 --> 00:07:40,905 National Park. We hiked up the mountains there. We went to East 122 00:07:40,937 --> 00:07:43,971 Tennessee in the Smoky Mountains. We hiked up there. All 123 00:07:43,995 --> 00:07:47,619 of those hikes were a little bit of work, but they had purpose. 124 00:07:47,779 --> 00:07:50,403 There was something that the people who went through that journey 125 00:07:50,451 --> 00:07:55,779 got to see that no one else got to see. It was worthwhile because 126 00:07:55,819 --> 00:08:00,611 there was value to it. Tonight in Genesis, chapter 22, we're going 127 00:08:00,635 --> 00:08:04,659 to look at two mountain climbers, two men who had to make 128 00:08:04,699 --> 00:08:09,821 a journey. And it was a difficult journey. In fact, I would 129 00:08:09,845 --> 00:08:12,701 say it was almost the most difficult journey up a mountain that 130 00:08:12,725 --> 00:08:18,765 anyone ever made. It was almost the most challenging journey 131 00:08:18,797 --> 00:08:22,381 that anyone had to make, both physically and spiritually. And I 132 00:08:22,405 --> 00:08:26,605 say almost because the most difficult journey had to be the journey 133 00:08:26,637 --> 00:08:31,085 that Christ himself took up, the Mount Calvary. He bore the sin 134 00:08:31,117 --> 00:08:35,341 of the whole world on that journey. But here in Genesis 22, 135 00:08:35,365 --> 00:08:39,697 we see two men, Abraham and Isaac, that had to make a very difficult 136 00:08:39,793 --> 00:08:43,601 journey. At the top of that journey, they were going to discover 137 00:08:43,665 --> 00:08:46,449 something that no one else had ever seen and no one else ever would 138 00:08:46,489 --> 00:08:50,817 see again. But they had to labor through the journey to even 139 00:08:50,873 --> 00:08:54,321 get to the point where they could see that special thing that 140 00:08:54,345 --> 00:08:58,193 God had for them. Can we look in Genesis, chapter 22? Look at verse 141 00:08:58,241 --> 00:09:01,569 number one with me. And we'll begin here. The Bible says, and it 142 00:09:01,609 --> 00:09:06,508 came to pass after these things that God did, temptation Abraham. 143 00:09:07,008 --> 00:09:11,880 And he said unto him, abraham. And he said, behold, here I am. And 144 00:09:11,904 --> 00:09:16,504 he said, take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou 145 00:09:16,536 --> 00:09:23,048 lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there 146 00:09:23,088 --> 00:09:26,568 for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell 147 00:09:26,608 --> 00:09:29,896 thee of. We'll continue reading in just a moment, but we're 148 00:09:29,912 --> 00:09:32,424 going to look at this challenging journey up a mountain 149 00:09:32,456 --> 00:09:35,499 that Abraham and Isaac took. And we're going to start with number 150 00:09:35,539 --> 00:09:41,643 one, the testing of Abraham. The testing of Abraham. In verse 151 00:09:41,771 --> 00:09:45,675 one, it says that God did tempt Abraham. That word tempt literally 152 00:09:45,707 --> 00:09:50,379 means to test or to prove. God was giving Abraham a challenge to 153 00:09:50,419 --> 00:09:55,915 test his love for God himself. To test, to see If God really was 154 00:09:55,987 --> 00:10:01,767 trusted in Abraham's heart and mind, God gave him this testing. 155 00:10:01,943 --> 00:10:04,903 When students take a test at school, it's supposed to measure 156 00:10:04,951 --> 00:10:07,671 their learning. There's no such thing as a perfect test. There 157 00:10:07,695 --> 00:10:11,415 are always errors on any test that's given. But the idea of a test 158 00:10:11,487 --> 00:10:15,159 is learning has taken place and let's measure to see if that 159 00:10:15,199 --> 00:10:19,559 learning is exactly what it's intended to be. Abraham had been 160 00:10:19,599 --> 00:10:22,743 learning all through his life up until this point. And can I tell 161 00:10:22,751 --> 00:10:25,623 you, that is what the Christian life is. God is giving 162 00:10:25,671 --> 00:10:29,055 us teaching and learning all throughout our lives and he's allowing 163 00:10:29,087 --> 00:10:32,543 us to grow as the Bible says about Christ himself in the nurtured 164 00:10:32,591 --> 00:10:36,575 admonition of the Lord, so that we can be ready for whatever 165 00:10:36,607 --> 00:10:41,215 that next test is that God has for us. The series of the Christian 166 00:10:41,247 --> 00:10:45,711 life in every moment of every day is that God prepares us for the 167 00:10:45,735 --> 00:10:49,487 next step and then he takes that and prepares us for the next 168 00:10:49,543 --> 00:10:52,895 one and the next one and the next one. But if we had experienced 169 00:10:52,927 --> 00:10:56,861 this late test early in life, not ready for it, the learning has 170 00:10:56,885 --> 00:10:59,821 not yet taken place. It'd be like taking a five year old to the 171 00:10:59,845 --> 00:11:03,901 senior class and giving them a very challenging test in whatever 172 00:11:03,965 --> 00:11:06,493 subject you'd like to say is challenging. It's different for all 173 00:11:06,501 --> 00:11:10,365 of us. They're not ready for doesn't mean they're not capable 174 00:11:10,397 --> 00:11:14,781 of it someday, but they've not been prepared for it yet. Abraham, 175 00:11:14,845 --> 00:11:18,733 all throughout his life had been asked by God to do some pretty 176 00:11:18,781 --> 00:11:22,759 challenging things. Abraham was told to leave his family and 177 00:11:22,799 --> 00:11:26,487 everything familiar to him. God made clear to him, if you're 178 00:11:26,503 --> 00:11:30,663 going to experience my full blessing on your life, you have to 179 00:11:30,671 --> 00:11:33,719 leave everything that's familiar so that I can work. And 180 00:11:33,759 --> 00:11:36,999 God allowed some learning to take place in Abraham's life. Through 181 00:11:37,039 --> 00:11:40,471 that he experienced the death of his father. He experienced the 182 00:11:40,495 --> 00:11:43,255 sin of his own life in doubting the Lord when God promised 183 00:11:43,287 --> 00:11:47,271 to make of him a great nation. Abraham bore that burden as part 184 00:11:47,295 --> 00:11:51,783 of his learning process. He had experienced famine and blessing 185 00:11:51,831 --> 00:11:57,047 and everything in between in his walk with the Lord. God never 186 00:11:57,103 --> 00:12:00,359 stopped working in Abraham's life. And by the way, he'll never 187 00:12:00,399 --> 00:12:03,479 stop working in your life if you'll let him. He'll never stop 188 00:12:03,519 --> 00:12:07,879 working in my life if I'll let him. God is at work at all times 189 00:12:07,919 --> 00:12:11,191 in the lives of every Christian, every one of his children. 190 00:12:11,375 --> 00:12:14,139 But sometimes we don't see it because we're not paying attention. 191 00:12:14,889 --> 00:12:19,073 Sometimes we're so unaware of his working, our eyes are on ourselves 192 00:12:19,121 --> 00:12:21,777 or on other things we're doing, and we just miss what he's 193 00:12:21,793 --> 00:12:25,441 trying to do. And can I tell you that if we miss what he's trying 194 00:12:25,465 --> 00:12:28,465 to do, we're not making that journey up that mountain. And we'll 195 00:12:28,497 --> 00:12:31,937 never get that prize that he has for us. We'll never get that 196 00:12:31,993 --> 00:12:36,029 special thing that he has laid aside just for you and just for me. 197 00:12:36,649 --> 00:12:40,129 Abraham had been learning all throughout his life. And with each 198 00:12:40,169 --> 00:12:43,041 one of these trials and each one of these tests and each one of 199 00:12:43,065 --> 00:12:46,881 these learning and growing experiences, Abraham is scaling new 200 00:12:46,905 --> 00:12:51,809 heights all along the way. And all of that brings him to this point 201 00:12:51,849 --> 00:12:56,897 in Genesis, chapter 22, where God tells him to do something that 202 00:12:56,953 --> 00:13:03,921 is unfathomable to any of us and no doubt unfathomable to Abraham 203 00:13:03,985 --> 00:13:09,969 himself. God says to Abraham to take his son Isaac and to offer 204 00:13:10,349 --> 00:13:18,805 his human being son as a burnt offering, as a sacrifice. If we heard 205 00:13:18,837 --> 00:13:22,101 that people were doing that in our day, and there are people all 206 00:13:22,125 --> 00:13:24,773 around the world that still do participate in that kind of behavior 207 00:13:24,821 --> 00:13:30,485 with their own children, we'd be disgusted by it. We'd be so grossed 208 00:13:30,517 --> 00:13:35,871 out by the thought of it, so bothered by it. And God himself, 209 00:13:36,015 --> 00:13:39,791 our perfect, holy God, told one of his choice people to do that 210 00:13:39,815 --> 00:13:44,111 to his own son. Can I pause here for a moment and tell you? There 211 00:13:44,135 --> 00:13:47,139 are times that God will ask you to do things that make no sense, 212 00:13:47,799 --> 00:13:53,087 none at all. He'll ask you to go through things that are unfathomable 213 00:13:53,183 --> 00:13:58,559 to every one of us, things that'll break your heart, things 214 00:13:58,599 --> 00:14:03,337 that will rock your world, things that you will look at and 215 00:14:03,393 --> 00:14:07,625 think, God, how? How could I ever do this thing you're asking 216 00:14:07,657 --> 00:14:13,001 me to do? But can I tell you? If you're not willing to dwell with 217 00:14:13,025 --> 00:14:16,377 the Lord and climb that mountain he's put in front of you, 218 00:14:16,513 --> 00:14:20,069 you will never get that blessing he has for you at the top. 219 00:14:20,449 --> 00:14:25,225 God allows us to do things that seem impossible. This word Moriah 220 00:14:25,337 --> 00:14:30,195 means. Means foreseen of Jehovah. What a beautiful name. Mariah 221 00:14:30,227 --> 00:14:32,755 means foreseen of Jehovah. What does that tell us? It tells 222 00:14:32,787 --> 00:14:35,971 us that while Abraham and Isaac did not fully understand what 223 00:14:35,995 --> 00:14:38,787 was going to be at the top of that mountain, God was not taken 224 00:14:38,843 --> 00:14:43,091 by surprise. God knew exactly what he had already laid out to occur 225 00:14:43,155 --> 00:14:47,779 at the very top of Mount Moriah. He knew exactly what he had 226 00:14:47,819 --> 00:14:52,461 planned for Abraham's life and for Isaac's life. But they did not 227 00:14:52,485 --> 00:14:56,477 know. God always knows what he's doing in our lives and often 228 00:14:56,533 --> 00:15:00,445 we don't know what he's doing. But it's not ours to know. It's ours 229 00:15:00,477 --> 00:15:05,421 to trust. It's ours to trust God for who he is and because of 230 00:15:05,445 --> 00:15:12,525 what he promises us in his word, Abraham was tested. Secondly, 231 00:15:12,557 --> 00:15:17,461 we see the trust of Abraham. Not only did he have a test, he had 232 00:15:17,485 --> 00:15:20,885 a trust. And it was a special trust. Look at verse number three. 233 00:15:21,037 --> 00:15:23,861 The Bible says, and Abraham rose up early in the morning and 234 00:15:23,885 --> 00:15:27,125 saddled his ass and took two of his young men with him and Isaac 235 00:15:27,157 --> 00:15:30,549 his son and clave the wood for the burnt offering and rose up and 236 00:15:30,589 --> 00:15:34,629 went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third 237 00:15:34,669 --> 00:15:37,957 day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw that place afar off. 238 00:15:38,093 --> 00:15:41,141 And Abraham said unto his young men, abide ye here with the 239 00:15:41,165 --> 00:15:44,959 ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again 240 00:15:44,999 --> 00:15:48,895 to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid 241 00:15:48,927 --> 00:15:53,551 it upon Isaac his son. And he took the fire in his hand and a knife 242 00:15:53,615 --> 00:15:57,215 and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham 243 00:15:57,247 --> 00:16:00,719 his father, and said, my father. And he said, here am I, my 244 00:16:00,759 --> 00:16:04,511 son. And he said, behold the fire and the wood. But where is the 245 00:16:04,535 --> 00:16:09,167 lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham said, my son, God will 246 00:16:09,223 --> 00:16:13,951 provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went, both 247 00:16:13,975 --> 00:16:16,959 of them together, and they came to the place which God had told 248 00:16:16,999 --> 00:16:21,391 them of. And Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in 249 00:16:21,415 --> 00:16:25,599 order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the 250 00:16:25,639 --> 00:16:30,879 wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife 251 00:16:31,039 --> 00:16:37,681 to slay his son. Can you imagine as Abraham's hiking up this 252 00:16:37,705 --> 00:16:41,361 mountain and he's got Isaac there with him, the heaviness of 253 00:16:41,385 --> 00:16:45,425 his heart. Can you imagine the dread that's in his mind already 254 00:16:45,497 --> 00:16:48,897 about what's going to occur at the top? You ever been with someone 255 00:16:48,953 --> 00:16:51,809 and you know something about them that they don't know? You know 256 00:16:51,849 --> 00:16:55,169 something's coming in their lives and you're aware of it, but 257 00:16:55,289 --> 00:17:00,321 they're not. Yet you ever know that pain is coming their way and 258 00:17:00,345 --> 00:17:03,989 you wish you could help them or cushion them or prevent something. 259 00:17:05,009 --> 00:17:07,817 Abraham knew exactly what was about to happen, or at least he believed 260 00:17:07,833 --> 00:17:11,177 he did because God had commanded him to go up and sacrifice 261 00:17:11,273 --> 00:17:15,433 Isaac. No doubt there was a physical element to this challenge 262 00:17:15,481 --> 00:17:19,481 climbing up the mountain. But emotionally and spiritually it was 263 00:17:19,505 --> 00:17:23,369 much heavier than the physical burden. He was supposed to kill his 264 00:17:23,409 --> 00:17:30,803 son, to kill him. Remember, God made a covenant to Abraham a 265 00:17:30,811 --> 00:17:34,227 long time ago that he would make of Abraham, a great nation. 266 00:17:34,363 --> 00:17:36,595 That wasn't all of the covenant. He said, I'm going to bless 267 00:17:36,627 --> 00:17:39,955 them that bless thee and curse them that curseth thee. And through 268 00:17:40,027 --> 00:17:44,499 you, Abraham, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. But 269 00:17:44,539 --> 00:17:48,099 all of that covenant, that promise from God himself began with, 270 00:17:48,219 --> 00:17:53,139 I'm going to make of you a great nation. Imagine the thrill 271 00:17:53,219 --> 00:17:56,793 that would be to a father to know that he would be the patriarch 272 00:17:56,841 --> 00:18:02,025 of this giant family that's going to serve God. And now God tells 273 00:18:02,057 --> 00:18:06,361 him that his only son needs to be sacrificed. His only son, who 274 00:18:06,385 --> 00:18:11,145 has not yet had any children himself. Abraham's only opportunity 275 00:18:11,257 --> 00:18:15,849 to fulfill that covenant that God has made to him is gone, or would 276 00:18:15,889 --> 00:18:21,153 be gone soon. What must be going through Abraham's mind as he's 277 00:18:21,201 --> 00:18:24,801 experiencing this? I find it interesting that Isaac doesn't go 278 00:18:24,825 --> 00:18:30,401 kicking and screaming. He does ask the question, Dad, I see the 279 00:18:30,425 --> 00:18:33,873 wood and I see some other things we need, but it feels like 280 00:18:33,961 --> 00:18:36,949 there's one pretty important piece of this sacrifice missing. 281 00:18:38,889 --> 00:18:44,097 Where's the sacrifice? Isaac was not a small child, by the way. 282 00:18:44,153 --> 00:18:47,393 I think so often we see depictions and pictures that are 283 00:18:47,401 --> 00:18:50,945 a little confusing here. Most theologians believe Isaac was between 284 00:18:51,017 --> 00:18:56,817 20 and 30 years old at this time. Abraham's no spring chicken, 285 00:18:56,993 --> 00:19:01,937 nor is his son a baby anymore. Abraham has to be thinking, we've 286 00:19:01,953 --> 00:19:04,849 been developing him and investing in him for this long and 287 00:19:04,889 --> 00:19:09,185 now he's going to be gone. And we can't even perpetuate this promise 288 00:19:09,217 --> 00:19:14,165 God's given us to make. By the way, Isaac had to be surrendered, 289 00:19:14,337 --> 00:19:17,437 just like Abraham had to be surrendered. I don't know if you've 290 00:19:17,453 --> 00:19:19,773 ever tried to pick up a 20 to 30 year old man and throw him on 291 00:19:19,781 --> 00:19:24,173 an altar, but it's not the easiest thing, I imagine. Isaac had 292 00:19:24,181 --> 00:19:28,061 to submit his will to the will of his earthly father, and Abraham 293 00:19:28,125 --> 00:19:31,009 had to submit his own will to the will of the heavenly father. 294 00:19:31,749 --> 00:19:34,781 Can I pause there for a moment and say, dads, God has given us a 295 00:19:34,805 --> 00:19:40,525 role to be a picture of God on earth. The name that God chooses 296 00:19:40,557 --> 00:19:45,285 for himself when he describes himself is Father. And I as a dad, 297 00:19:45,317 --> 00:19:48,341 I'm supposed to be a picture of that heavenly father. That's a 298 00:19:48,365 --> 00:19:52,405 convicting thought, isn't it? Every word that I say should be pointing 299 00:19:52,437 --> 00:19:56,421 them to Christ. Everything that I do should be pointing them 300 00:19:56,445 --> 00:19:59,669 to Christ. Every reaction to their foolishness sometimes, because 301 00:19:59,709 --> 00:20:03,285 foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, should be pointing 302 00:20:03,317 --> 00:20:07,685 them to a heavenly father, who, by the way is immutable, doesn't 303 00:20:07,717 --> 00:20:11,419 change. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. What 304 00:20:11,459 --> 00:20:14,635 kind of emotional roller coaster as a dad can I be sometimes 305 00:20:14,667 --> 00:20:17,759 if I'm not careful that's not pointing them to the heavenly father. 306 00:20:18,419 --> 00:20:21,387 Abraham had to have faith in God, and Isaac had to have faith 307 00:20:21,403 --> 00:20:25,275 in his own father. And so he asks, well, where's the sacrifice? 308 00:20:25,307 --> 00:20:29,291 And Abraham said, God will provide one. Now, Abraham, in his 309 00:20:29,315 --> 00:20:31,947 mind, had to believe God had already provided one and he's carrying 310 00:20:31,963 --> 00:20:40,065 the wood. But he pointed Isaac in that moment to God himself. He's 311 00:20:40,097 --> 00:20:42,481 really saying, isaac, I don't know exactly what God's about to 312 00:20:42,505 --> 00:20:47,617 do, but I trust him. You ever had to look your kids in the eyes 313 00:20:47,633 --> 00:20:50,833 and say, I don't know what God's doing right now, but I trust 314 00:20:50,881 --> 00:20:56,177 him? Or maybe in the eyes of your spouse and say, honey, I don't 315 00:20:56,193 --> 00:20:58,321 know what God's trying to do in our home or trying to do in our 316 00:20:58,345 --> 00:21:05,675 life, but I trust him. I choose to trust him. We have a heavenly 317 00:21:05,707 --> 00:21:11,259 father that can be trusted. Abraham is a picture here of our 318 00:21:11,299 --> 00:21:15,179 own Christian life. We can do the will of the Father and we can 319 00:21:15,219 --> 00:21:18,859 trust him to carry out the things that we don't understand and 320 00:21:18,899 --> 00:21:22,171 to do them in such a way and carry them out in such a way that 321 00:21:22,195 --> 00:21:27,419 it's for our good and for his own glory. I've pictured so many 322 00:21:27,459 --> 00:21:32,455 times Abraham preparing this altar, knowing full well that Isaac 323 00:21:32,487 --> 00:21:37,255 himself is about to crawl up on that altar. He had to be trusting 324 00:21:37,287 --> 00:21:39,351 that God was going to do something. In fact, in the book of 325 00:21:39,375 --> 00:21:42,823 Hebrews, the Bible tells us that Abraham believed he probably 326 00:21:42,871 --> 00:21:45,687 would kill Isaac, but that God could bring him back from the dead 327 00:21:45,863 --> 00:21:50,999 by faith. Abraham trusted God. I've thought so many times, what 328 00:21:51,039 --> 00:21:53,367 must Abraham have been thinking every time he put a piece 329 00:21:53,383 --> 00:21:59,705 of wood on that altar? Every step of that process. Lord, we're 330 00:21:59,737 --> 00:22:05,029 almost here. We've made this journey. I've trusted you so far. 331 00:22:06,289 --> 00:22:13,161 Have you forgotten about me? I need you right now. I'm about to 332 00:22:13,185 --> 00:22:18,265 kill my own son. Abraham has taken the knife in his hand and raised 333 00:22:18,297 --> 00:22:23,731 it up. And he has to be wondering where God is. Has God ever 334 00:22:23,755 --> 00:22:25,923 brought you to a point where you're just wondering where he is, 335 00:22:26,011 --> 00:22:29,811 if he's forgotten about you? Lord, you've given me something impossible 336 00:22:29,875 --> 00:22:36,931 to do. Why would you ask me to do this? Don't you love me? But he 337 00:22:36,955 --> 00:22:42,259 does love us. He's allowing us to go through this journey, to get 338 00:22:42,299 --> 00:22:45,939 to this destination, to experience something so special from 339 00:22:45,979 --> 00:22:52,433 him. And Abraham did exactly that. Abraham trusted God even through 340 00:22:52,601 --> 00:22:57,681 this point where he was ready to slay his son and trusted God to 341 00:22:57,705 --> 00:23:02,273 take care of it. The testing of Abraham, the trust of Abraham, 342 00:23:02,321 --> 00:23:06,001 and now the truth of God. Number three. The truth of God. Look 343 00:23:06,025 --> 00:23:09,057 at verse number 11. And the angel of the Lord called unto him 344 00:23:09,113 --> 00:23:12,081 out of heaven and said, abraham, Abraham. And he said, here 345 00:23:12,105 --> 00:23:17,613 am I. And he said, lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither 346 00:23:17,661 --> 00:23:21,629 do thou any thing unto him. For now I know that thou fearest 347 00:23:21,709 --> 00:23:26,461 God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 348 00:23:26,605 --> 00:23:31,373 from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold behind 349 00:23:31,461 --> 00:23:36,941 him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and 350 00:23:36,965 --> 00:23:40,525 took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead 351 00:23:40,557 --> 00:23:45,757 of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh, 352 00:23:45,933 --> 00:23:50,637 as it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord it shall be 353 00:23:50,773 --> 00:23:56,141 seen. We see here two things from God. We see his protection of 354 00:23:56,165 --> 00:24:01,009 Isaac and His protection of Abraham, emotionally and spiritually. 355 00:24:01,349 --> 00:24:04,449 But even more than we see his protection, we see his provision. 356 00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:08,871 God provided the exact thing that Abraham and Isaac needed in 357 00:24:08,895 --> 00:24:14,935 the exact moment, in the exact location that they needed it. God 358 00:24:14,967 --> 00:24:18,151 loves you more than anyone else on earth will ever love you 359 00:24:18,175 --> 00:24:21,863 or ever could love you. And can I tell you, as you're dwelling 360 00:24:21,911 --> 00:24:24,631 in the presence of God and you're dwelling in his will, and 361 00:24:24,655 --> 00:24:28,695 you're living day in and day out, spending time with him and building 362 00:24:28,767 --> 00:24:31,911 your relationship with him and allowing him to remove things from 363 00:24:31,935 --> 00:24:34,531 your life that he does not want there, and add things to your 364 00:24:34,555 --> 00:24:38,931 life that he does want there. God is building you into what he 365 00:24:38,955 --> 00:24:44,083 created you to be. And every step of the way, God is providing 366 00:24:44,131 --> 00:24:48,595 for you new challenges and new heights and new scales that you never 367 00:24:48,667 --> 00:24:52,755 could have reached in your Christian life if you're letting 368 00:24:52,787 --> 00:24:58,439 Him. And can I say, if I'm letting Him. But there is an alternative. 369 00:24:58,779 --> 00:25:02,691 There's an alternative to hiking up this challenge. We can 370 00:25:02,715 --> 00:25:06,851 just stay put. We can never have the gifts that God has for us 371 00:25:06,875 --> 00:25:11,251 at the top of the mountain. We can just stay comfortable. We can 372 00:25:11,275 --> 00:25:14,611 avoid all the risks and avoid all of the challenges that we think 373 00:25:14,635 --> 00:25:19,827 we can avoid and just hang out down in the bottom, down in the valley, 374 00:25:20,003 --> 00:25:24,685 never achieve what God has for us. But if we choose that, we're 375 00:25:24,717 --> 00:25:28,253 missing out on all the good that God has for us. And by the way, 376 00:25:28,421 --> 00:25:31,085 even dwelling in the valley doesn't mean that bad times aren't 377 00:25:31,117 --> 00:25:33,501 going to come and challenges aren't going to be Facing us. But 378 00:25:33,525 --> 00:25:36,765 it does mean we're going to go through those things all alone, without 379 00:25:36,917 --> 00:25:41,485 God Himself guiding us through. See, as Abraham and Isaac 380 00:25:41,517 --> 00:25:44,669 were climbing this mountain, the two of them were together. But 381 00:25:44,709 --> 00:25:50,935 they, as two, were not alone. God was with them. God was guiding 382 00:25:50,967 --> 00:25:55,015 them every step of the way. He was helping them, he was providing 383 00:25:55,047 --> 00:25:59,479 for them, and they never even knew it. He was preparing Abraham, 384 00:25:59,559 --> 00:26:05,143 he was preparing Isaac. He was preparing the ram. As Abraham and 385 00:26:05,151 --> 00:26:08,871 Isaac got to the top of that mountain, they achieved way more 386 00:26:08,895 --> 00:26:11,351 than we got to see. In those beautiful views at the top of that 387 00:26:11,375 --> 00:26:16,993 mountain, there was a prize far better for them. Was it the ram? 388 00:26:17,121 --> 00:26:21,549 No. It was a small thing to God. He could provide that, no problem. 389 00:26:22,969 --> 00:26:26,161 Was it the fact that Isaac would learn to be submissive? No. 390 00:26:26,345 --> 00:26:30,961 Isaac did that joyfully. Was it some beautiful view there where 391 00:26:30,985 --> 00:26:35,921 they were? No. God had the greatest gift for them at the top 392 00:26:35,945 --> 00:26:44,651 of that mountain. It was himself, God in His fullness. And 393 00:26:44,675 --> 00:26:47,691 they could have never experienced him in his fullness had 394 00:26:47,715 --> 00:26:53,563 they not been obedient every step of the way. Can I tell you, 395 00:26:53,651 --> 00:26:55,947 I don't know everyone in the room, and I don't know what God's 396 00:26:55,963 --> 00:26:59,451 doing in your heart, but I think I can say with confidence that 397 00:26:59,475 --> 00:27:04,299 you're going through one of these great challenges. Now, how 398 00:27:04,339 --> 00:27:09,391 could I know that? Because I am. And I can't remember a time where 399 00:27:09,415 --> 00:27:13,951 I wasn't. Every part of the Christian life is going through new 400 00:27:13,975 --> 00:27:15,967 challenges and new difficulties and seeking the Lord 401 00:27:15,983 --> 00:27:19,263 and asking, lord, what are you doing here? What are you trying to 402 00:27:19,271 --> 00:27:23,359 teach me? And can I tell you, at the top of every one of those 403 00:27:23,399 --> 00:27:27,455 climbs, we experience the same thing Abraham and Isaac did. If we're 404 00:27:27,487 --> 00:27:30,367 following the Lord, we experience his gift. And his gift 405 00:27:30,383 --> 00:27:34,209 to us is not a beautiful view at the top of a hike. It's Himself. 406 00:27:34,629 --> 00:27:38,941 It's more of Him. And there's no greater gift that any of us could 407 00:27:38,965 --> 00:27:43,917 ever experience than more of Him. It's getting to live with him 408 00:27:43,973 --> 00:27:48,829 and live our lives and do the things God's called us to and allow 409 00:27:48,949 --> 00:27:53,837 him to change us from the inside out. And we know the end result 410 00:27:53,893 --> 00:27:56,717 once we've been there is that he's preparing us for something even 411 00:27:56,773 --> 00:28:00,941 more difficult, even more challenging. He is going to require 412 00:28:01,005 --> 00:28:06,221 more faith from us every time. But as that extra faith is required, 413 00:28:06,285 --> 00:28:12,529 we get even more of him. The Christian life is a pursuit of God, 414 00:28:12,949 --> 00:28:16,333 not of doing something for God, not of serving him in some way. 415 00:28:16,421 --> 00:28:21,981 It's Him. He's it. He's the best thing we could have at the top 416 00:28:22,005 --> 00:28:27,199 of that mountain. Can I tell you, God is going to ask of us what 417 00:28:27,239 --> 00:28:31,759 he's asked of so many people in Scripture. Time and time again, 418 00:28:31,799 --> 00:28:35,119 we see God challenging these Bible characters in Scripture. Which, 419 00:28:35,159 --> 00:28:37,759 by the way, we're not just Bible characters. They're real people, 420 00:28:37,799 --> 00:28:41,279 just like you are, just like I am. They lived real lives on this 421 00:28:41,319 --> 00:28:48,095 earth, just like we do. God told Adam and Eve to trust him. Don't 422 00:28:48,127 --> 00:28:54,905 eat of the fruit. Trust me. I'm protecting you. But they chose 423 00:28:54,937 --> 00:29:00,793 their own way, and the end of it was destruction. God told Noah 424 00:29:00,841 --> 00:29:05,401 to build a boat, and thankfully, Noah obeyed. And what 425 00:29:05,425 --> 00:29:09,625 did God do? He protected him and his house while everything around 426 00:29:09,697 --> 00:29:13,705 him was getting destroyed. Noah's family was just fine. God 427 00:29:13,737 --> 00:29:17,033 cared for them because of their obedience. God told Jonah to 428 00:29:17,041 --> 00:29:19,401 trust him and to go to Nineveh to reach souls for him. And at first 429 00:29:19,425 --> 00:29:24,525 he didn't do it. So what came? A whale to swallow him up? That's 430 00:29:24,557 --> 00:29:28,541 no good. Life. But it was due to a choice that he made to reject 431 00:29:28,605 --> 00:29:33,405 the truth that God gave him to do. Esther was told by God to trust 432 00:29:33,437 --> 00:29:37,245 him and that he would use her to save his people from a wicked 433 00:29:37,277 --> 00:29:41,533 king. Esther trusted God so much that she said, and if I perish, 434 00:29:41,581 --> 00:29:47,127 I perish whatever God wants. That's what I'll do. And God blessed 435 00:29:47,143 --> 00:29:50,279 her for it. And the entire nation was saved. Because of her 436 00:29:50,319 --> 00:29:55,975 faith and her obedience. Every one of us is climbing on this journey 437 00:29:56,007 --> 00:29:59,591 in the Christian life, or at least we should be. Maybe it's more 438 00:29:59,615 --> 00:30:01,927 appropriate to say God has placed a journey in front of every 439 00:30:01,983 --> 00:30:05,527 one of us and we have a choice to make, whether we're going to follow 440 00:30:05,583 --> 00:30:08,631 him and do what he tells us to do, no matter how difficult it may 441 00:30:08,655 --> 00:30:13,139 be. I don't think God's ever told any of us to slay our own child. 442 00:30:14,019 --> 00:30:17,359 I don't think he'll ever ask us to do anything quite that difficult. 443 00:30:18,339 --> 00:30:21,307 But he is going to ask us to face challenges that we didn't think 444 00:30:21,363 --> 00:30:25,899 were possible sometimes. And as we go through that journey with 445 00:30:25,939 --> 00:30:31,199 him, we discover more and more and more of Him. He's the prize. 446 00:30:32,579 --> 00:30:37,531 We shouldn't be seeking more of God to get something else. We 447 00:30:37,555 --> 00:30:40,669 shouldn't seek to be obedient to God, to try to achieve something 448 00:30:40,709 --> 00:30:44,189 else or get recognition in some way, or even feel better about 449 00:30:44,229 --> 00:30:51,405 ourselves. God is his own reward. Being with him is the greatest 450 00:30:51,437 --> 00:30:55,261 thing we could ever experience, and he desires for us 451 00:30:55,285 --> 00:31:02,589 to have him fully. We can believe God. We can Trust God. Even 452 00:31:02,629 --> 00:31:07,685 through these extremely difficult times. What great mountain 453 00:31:07,717 --> 00:31:11,029 of faith has God put in front of you right now? I don't know your 454 00:31:11,069 --> 00:31:15,813 life and you don't know mine. God has put challenges in front of 455 00:31:15,821 --> 00:31:20,389 me right now. Heavy burdens, difficulties, things that, once again, 456 00:31:20,429 --> 00:31:23,253 I'm going to the Lord and saying, lord, I don't know how this 457 00:31:23,261 --> 00:31:31,621 is going to work out. I don't know. I need you. I'm trusting you, 458 00:31:31,645 --> 00:31:34,249 Lord, even though I'm looking at the circumstances and thinking, 459 00:31:34,619 --> 00:31:38,403 this is not going to be a good one. How could this possibly end? 460 00:31:38,491 --> 00:31:43,571 Well, a word of just brief personal testimony, then we'll be 461 00:31:43,595 --> 00:31:47,219 done. A couple of Saturdays ago, we were spending time together 462 00:31:47,259 --> 00:31:51,799 as a family, and I stood in the kitchen speaking to my wife, 463 00:31:52,139 --> 00:31:55,443 and I said, shared a little challenge that we were facing. I 464 00:31:55,451 --> 00:31:57,235 said, you know, I trust the Lord completely. I'm not even worried 465 00:31:57,267 --> 00:31:59,939 about it. God's going to take care of it. What a moment of great 466 00:31:59,979 --> 00:32:04,993 things, faith, huh? Within about two hours, I was the biggest 467 00:32:05,121 --> 00:32:08,881 baby you've ever seen in your life. Worried sick about this little 468 00:32:08,905 --> 00:32:12,817 problem. Not physically sitting in the corner in a fetal 469 00:32:12,833 --> 00:32:16,513 position, wringing my hands, but pretty close, pretty close. I 470 00:32:16,521 --> 00:32:20,193 don't know. What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? Any of 471 00:32:20,201 --> 00:32:23,233 you natural worriers. I've got to fight that all the time. It's. 472 00:32:23,281 --> 00:32:28,411 It's part of my sin, my flesh. My wife had had enough of it, but 473 00:32:28,435 --> 00:32:35,227 in her kind Christian spirit, she was being sweet. But we ended 474 00:32:35,243 --> 00:32:40,059 up talking about it, and she said, in godly wisdom, in the right 475 00:32:40,099 --> 00:32:42,827 spirit. Didn't you just tell me this morning you were trusting 476 00:32:42,843 --> 00:32:46,639 the Lord for this? And I said, close your mouth, woman. No, I didn't. 477 00:32:47,459 --> 00:32:49,883 I said, yes, but everything's changed. Things are different than 478 00:32:49,891 --> 00:32:52,363 they were just a few hours ago. I'm sorry you don't feel the 479 00:32:52,371 --> 00:32:57,507 same burden I feel feeling pretty good about myself. In about 480 00:32:57,563 --> 00:33:00,291 45 minutes after that discussion, God took care of the 481 00:33:00,315 --> 00:33:09,619 problem completely. Completely. And we did nothing. We 482 00:33:09,659 --> 00:33:16,579 just discovered it. We found out that God had done it. And while 483 00:33:16,619 --> 00:33:19,507 I would have liked to, in my flesh, go back to her and say, see, 484 00:33:19,563 --> 00:33:24,337 I was right about this. I had to go to her and say, honey, I'm 485 00:33:24,353 --> 00:33:28,097 sorry. But before I could even do that, I had to go to the Lord 486 00:33:28,113 --> 00:33:35,105 and say, lord, I'm sorry. You can be trusted. How do I know God 487 00:33:35,137 --> 00:33:38,989 can be trusted? Because I've experienced it every day of my life. 488 00:33:39,289 --> 00:33:43,873 How can you know that God can be trusted? You've seen him do Things 489 00:33:44,041 --> 00:33:47,931 that are not explainable. You've seen him care for you and 490 00:33:47,955 --> 00:33:51,291 care for your family and provide beyond your needs every day 491 00:33:51,315 --> 00:33:56,283 of your life. And if you're like me, even though we've seen that, 492 00:33:56,451 --> 00:34:01,211 our eyes often start to drift away from him and they get on our 493 00:34:01,235 --> 00:34:06,203 circumstances or they get on ourselves and we forget. We forget 494 00:34:06,251 --> 00:34:10,875 how capable and able our mighty God is. But even when we forget, 495 00:34:10,907 --> 00:34:13,541 it doesn't change the fact that he's still mighty. He's still 496 00:34:13,565 --> 00:34:19,397 able. God has in front of each one of us right now a journey. It's 497 00:34:19,413 --> 00:34:21,301 different. Mine's different than yours and yours is different 498 00:34:21,325 --> 00:34:24,309 than mine. And I don't pretend to know what some of you are going 499 00:34:24,349 --> 00:34:28,501 through right now. But can I tell you, at the top of every one 500 00:34:28,525 --> 00:34:34,821 of these mountains, God is there. He's everywhere. But there's 501 00:34:34,965 --> 00:34:38,569 some of him we've never experienced at the top of that mountain. 502 00:34:39,159 --> 00:34:42,767 And if we'll follow him in faith, step by step, every moment 503 00:34:42,783 --> 00:34:47,215 of every day, allowing him to work as he desires to work, we're 504 00:34:47,247 --> 00:34:51,871 going to see something beyond what we imagined. You tell me, is 505 00:34:51,895 --> 00:34:59,339 God good? God is good. Is he able to take care of you? He's able. 506 00:35:00,759 --> 00:35:04,631 Then trust him to do it. And I'm preaching it me tonight, not 507 00:35:04,655 --> 00:35:08,551 you. Trust him to do it. Let him care for the things. And just 508 00:35:08,575 --> 00:35:13,379 like he provided that ram in those bushes, let him clear the way. 509 00:35:13,759 --> 00:35:16,711 And then he's going to give us all an opportunity to testify for 510 00:35:16,735 --> 00:35:20,231 him and say, I know you're going through a difficult time. Can 511 00:35:20,255 --> 00:35:24,855 I tell you by testimony God's able? Can I share with you how God's 512 00:35:24,887 --> 00:35:29,271 taking care of me in the difficult times? Abraham's life is 513 00:35:29,295 --> 00:35:35,195 a testimony in and ours are as well. God desires to use us. He desires 514 00:35:35,227 --> 00:35:39,323 to fill us with himself. And then he gives us these testimonies 515 00:35:39,371 --> 00:35:43,323 to share to encourage one another. Can we bow our heads and 516 00:35:43,331 --> 00:35:48,955 close our eyes together for just a moment? Lord, we're so grateful 517 00:35:48,987 --> 00:35:52,587 for your word and for the truths we can glean as we dig into 518 00:35:52,643 --> 00:35:59,689 your word. God, our desire is and always is to have more of you. 519 00:36:01,509 --> 00:36:05,325 But to have more of you, we must experience the things that you've 520 00:36:05,357 --> 00:36:10,525 laid out and set out in front of us. And by the way, Lord, you've 521 00:36:10,557 --> 00:36:13,565 never asked us to do something in climbing this difficult journey 522 00:36:13,597 --> 00:36:19,661 that you've not done yourself. You gave your only begotten Son as 523 00:36:19,685 --> 00:36:24,151 a sacrifice for our sins. As our example, you've asked us to do 524 00:36:24,175 --> 00:36:30,215 the same thing that you've already done for us. God help us 525 00:36:30,367 --> 00:36:34,391 to take this walk of faith and follow you. And Lord, help us to 526 00:36:34,415 --> 00:36:37,095 discover you in a new way beyond anything we've ever discovered 527 00:36:37,127 --> 00:36:42,279 before as we follow you. In Jesus name, amen.