Messages with Meaning


Sermons delivered at Sanlando Springs by Pastor Jack Parrott

God Will Provide

Genesis 22:1-14
Presented June 22, 2008, © Dr. Jack Parrott
I. Life has its tests (see Genesis 22.1)
  1. There is no more difficult test than one involving family, particularly our children.
    (The writer uses the word "son" 13 times to describe Isaac; three times using the phrase 'your son, your only son'.)
  2. Confusion clouds certainty in the midst of crisis. I seem to know less for sure at times of pressure and pain than at any other time.
    1. Abraham believed God had told him that Isaac held within him the seed of a great nation. Now God seemingly was telling him to sacrifice his son Isaac. How could that be? Which was right? Was Isaac the first of a great nation? Or was God ending the life of Isaac as a sacrifice? Abraham didn't know the answer, but he trusted that God understood. He simply told his servants, "we [he and Isaac] will be coming back together! (v5).
    2. Sometime all we have to hold onto is God's Word.
  3. Abraham learned early that tests are part of life. His descendants, the people of Israel, faced challenges just as he had. They experienced a crisis of belief as they faced starvation while on their journey through the desert wilderness. See Exodus 16:5.
II. God gives testimony to his faithfulness
  1. Isaac asks, 'where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' That's our question: 'God, how's this going to work?'
  2. Abraham says (v8), "God himself will provide!"
    1. See Genesis 22.9-14
    2. See Exodus 16:4-9
  3. God has met our deepest need through Jesus Christ. See John 6.32-35.
  4. He will also take care of our more human needs. See Philippians 4.19.
    Paul knows from personal experience that God can provide for us during our hardships and sufferings. He says to the Philippians, just as God used you to help me, he will work through others to help you.
III. We have a tendency to forget
  1. When the crisis is over, and God has helped us, we tend to forget his provision. See Hosea 13.6.
  2. The purpose of these tests was to see if Abraham and Israel would follow the Lord's instructions. How far will you go with God? The Lord tells Abraham, "Through your descendants all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22.19).
  3. In Exodus 16.32 Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.' "
    1. The jar of manna, which is a sign of God's grace, is placed in the temple alongside the tablets of God's law. There you see God's eternal principles together with a reminder of God's ever-sufficient grace!
    2. When you face life's tests be sure to take along a 'jar of manna' so you will be reminded of God's grace and provision. We have a tendency to forget!
IV. There are truths we need to remember
  1. God is in the hard places with us.
  2. God provides what we cannot. This is what some call "God's ever-sustaining providence".
    We see examples of this in the ram in the bushes, and the manna and quail in the wilderness.
  3. Obedience opens the door to God's provision (the son is obedient to the father, the father is obedient to God; God honors them both)
  4. God does not ask anything of us that He is not willing to do himself. God "gave" his one and only Son on the cross for us.
  5. God's provision comes one day at a time.
    1. We sometimes pray "Give us this day our daily bread" - but do we trust God day-by-day?
    2. God walks with us and provides our needs on a daily basis [the manna spoiled if they attempted to store it overnight].

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