Greatest faith

Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

18 of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called,"
19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense...
Genesis 22:1: Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
2 Then He said, "Take now 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."
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him....
5 And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you. (And so they did.  God stopped this awful event almost at its consummation...)
12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."

....

16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son ---

7 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

Many times, the question is not, "Do I believe," but, "How much do I believe?"  Am I certain about God's power, His will, His promises?  For Abraham, the answer was yes.  When you look at this event, the important thing to remember is that this was a TEST.  God did not intend for Abraham to actually take his son's life. God meant for Abraham to be willing to do ANYthing, including the sacrifice of all the promises God had made to him, to follow and obey the LORD, believing that God could and would still fulfill them.  In many ways, this is a crucial event in the Bible.  It is very difficult to discuss.  I can't think that God meant Isaac harm, and I believe that He always intended to protect Isaac.  There are many ministers who discuss these events without picking up the pathos and suffering involved here.

1. Abraham kept all this a complete secret.  The "young men" didn't know.  Isaac didn't know.  Sarah could not have known, because Abraham could never have explained.  So Abraham was utterly alone in this. Faith is always easier when it's exercised in a friendly group of people.  It can be exceedingly difficult when we must exercise it alone. In this case, it wasn't the faith that receives a new blessing we are discussing. It was the faith that says, "Whatever He tells me to do, I will." There is no more difficult faith to exercise than this, because you don't KNOW the outcome.  You may believe that all will be well, but fear and trepidation fill our hearts at times like this. You don't know how God is going to work this all out, and what if you're wrong? What if you have faith in a God who ISN'T there? What if you got the message wrong? At times like these, there's little help.  You stand alone. 

2.  There is no room for error.  If you make a mistake, your son is dead.  Talk about stress! It's almost like defusing a bomb--which wire do you cut? Better not be wrong.  Faith often has this component of immense risk, and you have to be right.  You don't dare to be wrong.  Too much depends on your decision. Abraham didn't hesitate, because he knew God's voice.  As for us, we have to be sure we are absolutely right in these crisis times.

3. Faith may involve other people, even though they don't know it.  Everyone in Abraham's circle was involved in this--Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, all his friends and servants.  What if he was wrong?  Making the wrong decision at this point makes you a murderer--and also makes you the man remembered as the nut who killed his own son because he thought God spoke to him.  

4. Still, when you truly do hear God's voice, it's well to act right away. Don't hesitate, because hesitating creates procrastination, which issues in disobedience, especially if the command is hard to bear or understand.

5.  The result was twofold:

• Abraham was vindicated and honored, and Isaac (I'm sure) had a new understanding of the depth of his father's commitment.  The fact that Isaac submitted to his father speaks volumes about their relationship, and about Isaac's understanding of God.
• God made a picture.  Abraham, willing to slay his son to obey God, was like a ripple in the ocean of history, showing that one day God Himself would allow His "only begotten Son" to die for mankind. This picture is more amazing because it's clear that the mountain on which Isaac was almost sacrificed was very near the spot where Jesus died on a Roman cross--perhaps on the very spot.  It's almost like God posted a marker at the beginning of the Hebrew race, saying, "Someday...My own dear Son will die for sinful men."  God spared Abraham's son, but we are told, "He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all..." 

What believing gets you

Abraham became a man of faith, and he never stopped believing. His faith grew by steps, until miracles became commonplace to him:
The first step of faith became the control point for all else:
Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Abraham's second step of faith brought him into a relationship with God that transformed his life even more:
Genesis 15:5-6: And the LORD brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if you are able to number them: and he said to him, So shall your seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Abraham's third step of faith was the promise of immediate fulfillment--even though the promise had been long in coming:
And God said, Sarah thy wife shall indeed bear you a son; and you shall call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him...My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

Faith is like a cup that receives the blessing of God. God calls us to exercise our faith--that is, to hold out our empty cups so that he may fill them. When we show Him that we really do want what He has to offer (sometimes by acting, sometimes by just listening and taking what He says to heart), our faith receives the blessing God is so willing to give.  

Genesis 18:9-15:

And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She is in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return to you according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah your wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I've grown old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? So the LORD said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh and say, Shall I bear a child, since I am old? Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied it, saying, No, I didn't laugh; for she was afraid. And he said, Yes, you did laugh.

And then, there was Sarah. She had to believe.  Even though she laughed at the prospect, her faith HAD to grow strong, like Abraham's, as her body changed back to the way it was during her childbearing years.... Imagine her surprise when she woke up one morning, full of desire for her husband, aware that her body was renewed, ready for his love. However, more than that had to happen She had to, dare to hope and believe that the ONE thing she had always desired, and for which she had completely given up hope, her own child, would one day be hers to hold and love.  And so it was, because Sarah opened her heart to what the LORD said, and to his gentle rebuke at her doubt. So many years of trying. So many years of ancient medicine, and even superstitious practices (Hagar, for example), all for nothing.  And now God called her to believe, just in Him. And so she did.  Sometimes the greatest challenge to faith is the failures of the past--but Sarah was equal to the call that God had given.  Sometimes the thing that awakens faith is just the LORD saying, "Is anything too hard for Me?" 

Always believe. Always trust. Always listen. Never give up hope.  He has a great deal for you that you have not yet received.  Remember the LORD's words:  "Is anything too hard for the LORD?"  It's a rhetorical question, of course.  NOTHING is too hard for Him. What He has promised, He will do. All you have to do is  hold out your empty cup and let Him fill it.