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Let's turn to Genesis and chapter 22.

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Genesis 22.

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We were looking at verse 10, where we

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see that Abraham lifted up the knife to

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slay Isaac, and we saw that Isaac was

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a young, healthy, strong man who could have

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resisted his father and got out of that

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situation.

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But he didn't do it, which shows something

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of the way in which Abraham had brought

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up his son.

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It would be quite something if we could

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bring up a son in such a way

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that when he's 25 years old, and we

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lay him on an altar saying, I'm going

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to kill you because God told me to

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do it, and he just lies down there

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and submits.

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We've really got to admire Abraham for the

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way in which he brought up his son

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in the fear of God, and more than

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that, in confidence in the fact that whatever

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my father Abraham says or does is the

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best for me, even if it means he's

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going to kill me, I'll accept it.

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It's really something fantastic.

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We see further in verse 11 that as

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Abraham was about to do that, the angel

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of the Lord called to him from heaven

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and said, Abraham, Abraham, and he said, Here

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I am.

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Now, there are only, as far as I

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can see, seven places in scripture where God

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calls a person with a double call, like

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here, Abraham, Abraham.

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It speaks of a time when God was

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so delighted with Abraham's obedience in this which

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was most costly for him.

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And just in passing, I'd like to mention

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where the other references are where God calls

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a person by a double call.

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Genesis 46, verse 2 is another reference where

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God spoke to Jacob.

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The interesting thing is that all these double

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calls of God are very significant.

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Abraham, Abraham is the first one.

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And Genesis 46, verse 2, we see God

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speaking to Israel in visions of the night

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and said, Jacob, Jacob.

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And he said, Here I am.

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God said to him, I'm God.

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Go down to Egypt because my purposes are

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going to be fulfilled there in Egypt.

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The third one is in Exodus chapter 3,

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verse 4, where God speaks to Moses by

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the burning bush.

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And the Lord saw that he turned aside

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to look.

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God called him and said, Moses, Moses, here

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I am.

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Now I'm calling you to deliver my people

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out of Egypt.

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He first spoke to Jacob to tell them

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to go to Egypt and now he calls

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Moses to, after 400 years, to deliver them

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out of Egypt.

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The next one is in 1 Samuel chapter

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3, 1 Samuel chapter 3, in verse 10,

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where the little boy Samuel was sleeping and

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the Lord came and stood and called, as

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at other times, saying, Samuel, Samuel.

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Samuel, Samuel.

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That's the next instance, the fourth one.

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And the fifth one is in the Gospel

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of Luke in the New Testament, Luke's Gospels,

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and chapter 10, Luke chapter 10, and verse

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41.

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But the Lord answered and said to her,

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Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about

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so many things.

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That is the fifth instance where the Lord

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again has something very significant to say.

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One thing is needful, He says in the

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next verse, and that is to sit at

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His feet and hear His word.

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Luke 10, 41.

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And the sixth instance is in Luke 22,

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and verse 31, where before Jesus goes to

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the cross, He speaks to Peter and says,

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Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to

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sift you like wheat.

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But I have prayed for you that your

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faith may not fail.

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And when you have turned again, strengthen your

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brothers.

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Again, a very significant word that the Lord

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spoke.

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And the seventh one is in Acts chapter

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9, verse 4, where the Lord is speaking

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to Saul of Tarsus, turning his whole life

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around, changing the direction of his life.

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He said, when Saul fell to the ground

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on the road to Damascus, the Lord spoke

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to him, saying, Saul, Saul, why are you

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persecuting me?

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In each of these instances, if you take

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time to look at them, you find that

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there is something significant that the Lord was

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speaking when He called a person twice by

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the name.

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He usually called a person once.

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But these are the seven double calls of

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scripture, and each of them is significant.

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And the first of these, as we have

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just seen, is in Luke 22, verse 11,

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where God has something special to say.

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He says, Abraham, Abraham.

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He says, don't stretch out your hand against

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the Lord.

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I never wanted you to kill him.

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I only wanted to test you.

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To see whether you fear God.

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He says, now I know that you fear

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God, since you have not withheld your son,

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your only son, from me.

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We see there that this is the proof

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of the fear of God.

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We saw earlier the fear of God mentioned

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in Genesis 20 in relation to sexual sins.

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Here is the second reference in the scripture

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to the fear of God, and the first

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time that God says concerning a human being,

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now I know that you fear God.

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What is the proof that we fear God?

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That when God speaks in secret, God spoke

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to Abraham in secret at night.

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He immediately obeys again in secret.

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He took Isaac up to the top of

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the mountain and sacrificed him there without anybody

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seeing.

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An immediate obedience in secret to that which

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we have heard in secret.

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That is the proof that we fear God.

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There is no other proof.

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However much I may obey in those things

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where other believers can see me, it does

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not prove that I fear God.

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I may not fear God at all.

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The only test is when I have learned

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to obey God in those areas where other

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believers know nothing of what God has spoken

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to me in my conscience, in my heart,

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and where I have obeyed God in secret

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without a single other believer knowing anything about

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it.

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So when we examine our life to see

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whether we fear God or not, the test

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is this.

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In those areas where others cannot see me

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or know anything about my life, have I

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obeyed in secret before God.

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If there are no such areas in my

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life, I can sit in the best assembly

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in the world, but I do not fear

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Him.

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God cannot say, now I know that you

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fear God.

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God tests us.

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He tested Abraham nearly fifty years after he

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called him out first.

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And God will test us even fifty years

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after we are converted to see whether we

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fear Him.

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That is not a test that we say,

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oh, we passed that test long ago.

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He says, now I know.

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Now I know.

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Doesn't God know everything?

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Of course He knows everything.

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But yet He tests a man so that

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He can lead him on to something greater,

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so that we ourselves also know whether we

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fear God or not.

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Now I know that you fear God because

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you have not withheld your son, your only

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son, from me.

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And we learn something more there, that the

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test of the fear of God is in

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obedience in something which is very costly, not

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something which is easy to do.

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There are many areas where obedience is easy.

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We've used the illustration of a father telling

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a child, eat that ice cream.

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That's not difficult for that child to do.

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That obedience is very easy, because the child

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loves to do it.

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But when the father says, come and help

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mummy to cut the vegetables when he would

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like to play at five o'clock in

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the evening, that's a little more difficult than

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obeying the command to eat that cup of

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ice cream.

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You know that.

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There is an obedience which is easy and

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delightful, and there is an obedience which is

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costly and difficult.

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When Abraham obeyed God, it was not like

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eating a cup of ice cream.

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It was so difficult.

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And it is in that obedience, which is

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expensive and costly and costs me everything, that

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I know whether I fear God or not.

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In most areas, we all obey so easily.

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We, there are so many areas we obey,

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but the test is not in those areas.

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Many, many things we do, do not prove

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that we fear God.

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It's good to do those things, we are

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obeying God, but they are not the test

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of whether we fear God or not.

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That is in the secret area, and where

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obedience has really cost us some tremendous sacrifice.

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And if there has not been such areas

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in our life, then that is probably an

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indication that we are still quite a few

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miles away from being tested in this simple

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area of the fear of God.

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We haven't taken it seriously.

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We haven't taken our spiritual education seriously.

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So, let's take a lesson from that, the

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proof of the fear of God.

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Verse 13, Then Abraham raised his eyes and

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looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught

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in the thicket by his horns.

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And Abraham went and took the ram and

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offered him up for a burnt offering in

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the place of his son.

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And we can say that that is where

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the gospel was preached to Abraham, that instead

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of his son, a substitute dies in his

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place.

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A substitute dies in the place of his

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son, a ram.

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The first clear example in the Old Testament

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of a substitute, when Abraham said, when Isaac

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asked him, Where is the lamb?

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Abraham said in verse 8, God will provide

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himself a lamb.

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It was a word of faith, but he

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never saw it.

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He never knew, but he spoke out.

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But it was a prophetic word that God

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did provide there a lamb, a ram, and

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later on provided himself in the person of

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his son as the lamb.

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There's a word in John's Gospel, chapter 8,

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verse 56, when the Jews were trying to

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stone Jesus.

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Jesus said in John 8, verse 56, Your

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father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and

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he saw it and was glad.

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When did Abraham see the day of Christ?

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When did Abraham see the day of Christ?

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That was when he saw the ram that

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could be killed in the place of his

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beloved son.

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And we can say that to Abraham, Isaac

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was more dear than even his own life.

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He would have gladly given his own life

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rather than take Isaac's.

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So we can say that it was a

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picture of God providing a substitute instead of

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Abraham's own life being given up.

274
00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:37,820
And there, in some way perhaps, he didn't

275
00:14:37,820 --> 00:14:40,880
understand it fully, I'm sure he didn't, but

276
00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:45,460
in some mysterious way he saw the day

277
00:14:45,460 --> 00:14:46,280
of Christ.

278
00:14:49,110 --> 00:14:50,770
We can say he had a revelation of

279
00:14:50,770 --> 00:14:56,110
Christ because he himself acted in the spirit

280
00:14:56,110 --> 00:14:56,690
of Christ.

281
00:14:56,690 --> 00:15:00,650
He would have never had that revelation if

282
00:15:00,650 --> 00:15:02,650
he had sat in the tent in his

283
00:15:02,650 --> 00:15:06,730
house and not obeyed God.

284
00:15:07,650 --> 00:15:10,870
He got that revelation on that mountain because

285
00:15:10,870 --> 00:15:13,690
he offered a costly obedience to God.

286
00:15:14,870 --> 00:15:16,850
And there we learn that we can never

287
00:15:16,850 --> 00:15:21,270
have revelation unless there is a costly obedience

288
00:15:21,270 --> 00:15:22,670
in our lives to God.

289
00:15:22,670 --> 00:15:28,960
Now, don't think, my brothers and sisters, that

290
00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:33,260
what we hear from another person is revelation.

291
00:15:35,050 --> 00:15:37,650
We can hear the truth from another brother

292
00:15:37,650 --> 00:15:41,670
who has got revelation, but we receive it

293
00:15:41,670 --> 00:15:42,870
as information.

294
00:15:44,410 --> 00:15:47,770
We have to obey God in our personal

295
00:15:47,770 --> 00:15:51,550
life and secret and private and sacrifice for

296
00:15:51,550 --> 00:15:53,730
that information which we got from that brother

297
00:15:53,730 --> 00:15:55,530
to become revelation.

298
00:15:57,900 --> 00:16:00,500
And I would say that most believers don't

299
00:16:00,500 --> 00:16:02,400
have any revelation in their lives.

300
00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:06,880
All that they know is second-hand truth.

301
00:16:08,820 --> 00:16:11,540
Yes, God uses others to communicate the truth

302
00:16:11,540 --> 00:16:13,560
to us, but that's not enough.

303
00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:17,700
We, each of us, have to get revelation.

304
00:16:18,180 --> 00:16:20,740
And if we are desperate, we'll get it.

305
00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:23,640
If we are satisfied without it, we won't

306
00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:23,960
get it.

307
00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:26,300
Think that there are believers who can drift

308
00:16:26,300 --> 00:16:28,420
through a whole Christian life, born-again believers,

309
00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:31,200
never get the revelation of God.

310
00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:35,520
Follow Abraham, and we will get revelation.

311
00:16:36,580 --> 00:16:39,520
Follow him, and you'll find that God opens

312
00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,680
up the word to you and reveals things

313
00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:44,260
that are hidden from the wise and the

314
00:16:44,260 --> 00:16:44,500
clever.

315
00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:48,200
If you follow Abraham up to that mountain

316
00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:50,900
in secret, not before the face of men,

317
00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,940
privately, obeying God in secret, obeying God in

318
00:16:54,940 --> 00:16:57,920
your thought life, obeying God in private, costly,

319
00:16:58,060 --> 00:17:02,260
sacrificial obedience, there is the place of revelation,

320
00:17:02,940 --> 00:17:04,359
increasing revelation.

321
00:17:05,020 --> 00:17:07,319
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day.

322
00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:08,040
He saw it.

323
00:17:08,300 --> 00:17:10,240
He saw something that was way into the

324
00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:11,780
future, two thousand years later.

325
00:17:13,380 --> 00:17:15,920
And that's the mountain that we need to

326
00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:17,740
go up also.

327
00:17:18,300 --> 00:17:21,319
There he saw Jesus as a substitute in

328
00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:23,619
the place of that ram, dying in our

329
00:17:23,619 --> 00:17:24,020
place.

330
00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:27,920
And Abraham called the name of that place,

331
00:17:30,620 --> 00:17:36,520
The Lord Will Provide, or as the Hebrew

332
00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:41,840
has it, Yehovah Yireh or Yahweh Yireh, The

333
00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:44,200
Lord Will Provide.

334
00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:48,360
This is where that phrase, The Lord Will

335
00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:49,480
Provide, comes from.

336
00:17:50,300 --> 00:17:52,040
The Lord will provide what?

337
00:17:53,140 --> 00:17:54,020
A substitute.

338
00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:56,780
It's referring to Calvary.

339
00:17:57,680 --> 00:17:58,340
He saw.

340
00:17:58,860 --> 00:18:00,220
The Lord will provide.

341
00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:02,940
Or as it is said to this day,

342
00:18:04,060 --> 00:18:07,320
in the mount of the Lord, in the

343
00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:09,040
margin it says, it will be seen.

344
00:18:10,100 --> 00:18:12,780
In the mount of the Lord, you will

345
00:18:12,780 --> 00:18:13,560
have revelation.

346
00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:18,360
You will have provision, and you will have

347
00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:19,060
revelation.

348
00:18:20,540 --> 00:18:25,320
Revelation and provision in the mount of the

349
00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:25,860
Lord.

350
00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,100
But we've got to get there, in obedience,

351
00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:30,880
in costly, sacrificial obedience.

352
00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:32,960
And there God provides.

353
00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:34,620
The Lord will provide.

354
00:18:35,900 --> 00:18:39,320
That we walk up in faith, the Lord

355
00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:39,920
will provide.

356
00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:44,380
Even though it looks impossible, right up to

357
00:18:44,380 --> 00:18:46,000
the time that Abraham took up the knife,

358
00:18:46,220 --> 00:18:50,540
to the last second, there was no evidence

359
00:18:50,540 --> 00:18:52,400
that God had provided anything.

360
00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:53,600
It looked as if he was going to

361
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:54,140
lose his son.

362
00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:56,740
And very often God's provision is like that.

363
00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:58,160
Man's provision is quite different.

364
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,740
Man provides well in advance.

365
00:19:01,420 --> 00:19:04,580
Human fathers provide twenty years in advance for

366
00:19:04,580 --> 00:19:06,240
the dowries of their daughters.

367
00:19:07,540 --> 00:19:11,100
But God provides at the last second.

368
00:19:12,140 --> 00:19:13,240
Because that's miraculous.

369
00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:15,700
For a father to provide twenty years in

370
00:19:15,700 --> 00:19:18,220
advance, there's nothing miraculous about it.

371
00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,240
But God provides at the last second.

372
00:19:22,180 --> 00:19:24,160
When I lifted up the knife in obedience,

373
00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:25,200
God says, stop.

374
00:19:26,060 --> 00:19:26,900
I've got a way for you.

375
00:19:28,020 --> 00:19:31,960
Very often we'll find that in life's testing.

376
00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:35,420
It looks, it looks, it looks, it looks,

377
00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:37,980
it looks as though there's no answer to

378
00:19:37,980 --> 00:19:40,540
this problem, no solution.

379
00:19:40,540 --> 00:19:43,400
But if we hold on in faith at

380
00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:46,440
the last second, there's a solution.

381
00:19:46,900 --> 00:19:49,740
Because in all these six thousand years of

382
00:19:49,740 --> 00:19:53,440
human history, God has never disappointed a man

383
00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:56,080
who trusted Him till the very end.

384
00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:57,420
Do you know that?

385
00:19:58,400 --> 00:19:59,700
Do we know that, brothers and sisters?

386
00:20:00,260 --> 00:20:03,860
That in eternity in heaven, or at the

387
00:20:03,860 --> 00:20:07,360
judgment seat of Christ, no brother, no sister

388
00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:09,540
will be able to say to the Lord,

389
00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:12,140
Lord, I trusted you till the very end,

390
00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:13,780
and you let me down.

391
00:20:14,700 --> 00:20:15,220
Impossible.

392
00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:17,280
Impossible.

393
00:20:17,980 --> 00:20:20,000
There will not be one human being like

394
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:20,260
that.

395
00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:23,340
Those who have trusted till the very end,

396
00:20:23,940 --> 00:20:25,760
like we sing in that song, those who

397
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:29,920
trust Him fully, find Him fully true.

398
00:20:31,180 --> 00:20:33,660
The Lord will provide, and in the mount

399
00:20:33,660 --> 00:20:36,060
of the Lord, it will be seen.

400
00:20:36,060 --> 00:20:38,820
I want to point you out to something

401
00:20:38,820 --> 00:20:43,260
in 2 Chronicles 3, which is significant in

402
00:20:43,260 --> 00:20:43,820
this connection.

403
00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:53,260
2 Chronicles 3, when Solomon began to build

404
00:20:53,260 --> 00:20:58,120
a temple, the temple could not be built

405
00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:01,500
in any place in Israel, in Palestine.

406
00:21:02,500 --> 00:21:04,520
It had to be built in Jerusalem.

407
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:06,760
God had determined that.

408
00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,120
And also in Jerusalem, it could not be

409
00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:12,120
built in any part of Jerusalem that, you

410
00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:14,200
know, some architect went out and looked for

411
00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,100
some good site for the temple.

412
00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:16,840
No.

413
00:21:17,820 --> 00:21:21,340
God had already determined, long before Solomon and

414
00:21:21,340 --> 00:21:23,300
David and King Saul and all were born,

415
00:21:23,820 --> 00:21:26,960
long before the Israelites had even occupied Canaan,

416
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:32,240
God had already determined the location of the

417
00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:32,540
temple.

418
00:21:32,540 --> 00:21:33,960
You know which it was?

419
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:35,720
Here it is.

420
00:21:35,820 --> 00:21:37,500
2 Chronicles 3, verse 1.

421
00:21:38,300 --> 00:21:42,080
Then Solomon began to build a house of

422
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:47,740
the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah.

423
00:21:48,660 --> 00:21:49,660
Mount Moriah.

424
00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,680
That's what we read in Genesis 22, where

425
00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:55,620
Abraham offered up his son.

426
00:21:55,620 --> 00:21:59,200
God said, that is the place where my

427
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,780
house is going to be built, because my

428
00:22:01,780 --> 00:22:03,300
house has got to be a house of

429
00:22:03,300 --> 00:22:04,080
sacrifice.

430
00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:06,380
Do you know where God's house is built

431
00:22:06,380 --> 00:22:07,380
today in the New Covenant?

432
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,720
It's not built every place where people can

433
00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:15,240
get a choir to sing a Christmas cantata

434
00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:19,220
and an Easter cantata and stage some Christmas

435
00:22:19,220 --> 00:22:23,020
drama or entertain people in some way like

436
00:22:23,020 --> 00:22:23,160
that.

437
00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:24,800
Well, that's not where God's house is built.

438
00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:30,200
God's house is built where he finds people

439
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:34,460
like Abraham who will give up their Isaacs.

440
00:22:36,860 --> 00:22:38,600
That's the place where God says, I'll build

441
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:39,280
my house there.

442
00:22:40,100 --> 00:22:42,220
So you see, when Abraham offered up Isaac

443
00:22:42,220 --> 00:22:45,160
on Mount Moriah, it was a very significant

444
00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:45,480
thing.

445
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,200
It is the place where the Muslims and

446
00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,460
the Jews are fighting for, the place which

447
00:22:52,460 --> 00:22:53,440
they are fighting for today.

448
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:56,940
Because the Muslims have built a mosque today

449
00:22:56,940 --> 00:22:58,240
on that very spot.

450
00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:00,760
That's why the Jews cannot build a temple.

451
00:23:00,940 --> 00:23:03,500
Even though Jerusalem is in the hands of

452
00:23:03,500 --> 00:23:04,580
the Jews, they can't build a temple.

453
00:23:04,780 --> 00:23:04,960
Why?

454
00:23:05,220 --> 00:23:06,720
Because they know the temple cannot be built

455
00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:07,300
in any place.

456
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:09,200
The temple has to be built in the

457
00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:10,580
same place where Solomon built it.

458
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:13,780
And a mosque stands there today.

459
00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:16,040
So how can they build a temple?

460
00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:20,160
That's the place where Abraham offered up Isaac.

461
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:24,350
And the Muslims respect Abraham too.

462
00:23:25,410 --> 00:23:27,610
They say he offered up Ishmael.

463
00:23:27,870 --> 00:23:30,450
And God has saved Ishmael from death.

464
00:23:30,790 --> 00:23:32,550
They've reversed the story.

465
00:23:33,830 --> 00:23:36,070
And they say that place is sacred to

466
00:23:36,070 --> 00:23:36,210
them.

467
00:23:36,330 --> 00:23:39,170
But apart from that, it's significant that the

468
00:23:39,170 --> 00:23:41,870
Lord chose that place to build a temple.

469
00:23:42,690 --> 00:23:44,390
And I want you to see another thing

470
00:23:44,390 --> 00:23:44,630
there.

471
00:23:44,990 --> 00:23:47,190
It is also identified as another place.

472
00:23:48,050 --> 00:23:50,650
On Mount Moriah, 2 Chronicles 3.1, where

473
00:23:50,650 --> 00:23:53,050
the Lord had appeared to his father David

474
00:23:53,050 --> 00:23:56,590
at the place that David had prepared on

475
00:23:56,590 --> 00:24:00,550
the threshing floor of Ornan, the Jebusite.

476
00:24:00,550 --> 00:24:03,870
And that story is in 2 Samuel 24,

477
00:24:04,790 --> 00:24:13,570
where when God had judged David's sin of

478
00:24:13,570 --> 00:24:14,390
numbering the people.

479
00:24:16,780 --> 00:24:18,880
That's one thing we see there, that God

480
00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:22,520
does not like our counting numbers.

481
00:24:23,340 --> 00:24:26,880
When David counted numbers, God judged him.

482
00:24:27,660 --> 00:24:29,080
Why do you want to count numbers?

483
00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:31,220
To see how many people you are a

484
00:24:31,220 --> 00:24:31,600
king over?

485
00:24:32,780 --> 00:24:34,280
Why do you want to keep a membership

486
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:35,220
list in your church?

487
00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:37,560
To see how many people there are in

488
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:37,860
the church?

489
00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:39,460
It was only 50 people once.

490
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:40,460
Now we are 150.

491
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:43,280
That is the sin of David.

492
00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,740
And thousands of Christians have got no light

493
00:24:46,740 --> 00:24:47,100
on it.

494
00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:49,960
God judged David severely.

495
00:24:50,620 --> 00:24:51,460
He said, why do you want to count

496
00:24:51,460 --> 00:24:51,780
numbers?

497
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:52,580
You leave that to me.

498
00:24:53,380 --> 00:24:54,340
You just trust in me.

499
00:24:54,660 --> 00:24:55,700
That's why the judgment came.

500
00:24:55,780 --> 00:24:56,360
That's in passing.

501
00:24:56,820 --> 00:24:58,420
But then God said, all right, you've got

502
00:24:58,420 --> 00:24:58,680
to come.

503
00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:00,700
And his prophet came to him and said,

504
00:25:00,780 --> 00:25:03,400
now you've got to erect an altar in

505
00:25:04,780 --> 00:25:07,320
2 Samuel 24.18 on the threshing floor

506
00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:08,240
of Ornan, the Jebusite.

507
00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:10,340
This is the same place where Abraham offered

508
00:25:10,340 --> 00:25:11,540
up Isaac on Mount Moriah.

509
00:25:12,260 --> 00:25:14,000
We saw that in 2 Chronicles 3.1.

510
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:16,340
And David went there.

511
00:25:16,740 --> 00:25:18,860
And when Araunah, who was an ordinary citizen,

512
00:25:19,020 --> 00:25:20,480
saw the king coming, he said, why have

513
00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:20,980
you come here?

514
00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:25,820
David said, I've come to buy this place,

515
00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:28,960
to offer an offering and to buy the

516
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:30,480
oxen and wood.

517
00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:35,960
And Araunah said, please take it free.

518
00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:37,380
I don't want you to buy it from

519
00:25:37,380 --> 00:25:37,560
me.

520
00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:38,340
You are my king.

521
00:25:40,540 --> 00:25:44,780
Take the oxen, the wood, the yokes, everything.

522
00:25:45,460 --> 00:25:49,540
And the king said, verse 24, no, I

523
00:25:49,540 --> 00:25:51,000
will not take it free.

524
00:25:52,100 --> 00:25:53,560
I will pay for it.

525
00:25:56,110 --> 00:25:57,290
And that is not easy.

526
00:25:58,530 --> 00:26:00,570
As a king, people like to take things.

527
00:26:01,830 --> 00:26:02,950
I am an authority.

528
00:26:03,110 --> 00:26:04,130
Why can't I take it free?

529
00:26:04,890 --> 00:26:08,170
And besides that, all of us have a

530
00:26:08,170 --> 00:26:10,590
flesh which loves to get things free.

531
00:26:11,950 --> 00:26:12,490
You know that?

532
00:26:13,210 --> 00:26:14,870
Have you discovered it, when somebody gives you

533
00:26:14,870 --> 00:26:15,170
a gift?

534
00:26:15,950 --> 00:26:17,430
How you love to get it, it is

535
00:26:17,430 --> 00:26:17,710
free.

536
00:26:19,110 --> 00:26:21,670
Particularly we find Christians in our country love

537
00:26:21,670 --> 00:26:23,290
to get everything free.

538
00:26:23,390 --> 00:26:24,830
They love to get tracts free, they love

539
00:26:24,830 --> 00:26:26,490
to get books free, they love to get

540
00:26:26,490 --> 00:26:28,250
tapes free, they love to get everything free.

541
00:26:29,350 --> 00:26:31,050
That's why they never progress in their life,

542
00:26:31,310 --> 00:26:32,870
because they love to get everything free.

543
00:26:32,970 --> 00:26:34,590
They never think of payment.

544
00:26:35,430 --> 00:26:38,010
They use somebody else's things and never pay

545
00:26:38,010 --> 00:26:38,350
for it.

546
00:26:40,780 --> 00:26:42,260
Everything they love to get free.

547
00:26:42,380 --> 00:26:44,040
They love to get gifts from other people.

548
00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:47,120
And you can't build a house of God

549
00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:47,400
there.

550
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:49,300
The house of God is not built where

551
00:26:49,300 --> 00:26:50,620
people are loving to get things free.

552
00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:52,460
The house of God is built where people

553
00:26:52,460 --> 00:26:54,020
like David say, I will not take it

554
00:26:54,020 --> 00:26:55,740
free, because then if I offer it to

555
00:26:55,740 --> 00:26:57,540
God, I've offered God that which cost me

556
00:26:57,540 --> 00:26:57,760
nothing.

557
00:26:58,300 --> 00:26:59,180
That's what he said here.

558
00:26:59,620 --> 00:27:01,320
I'll pay for it, because I'm not going

559
00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:03,320
to offer a cheap offering to God.

560
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,220
I will give to God that which cost

561
00:27:05,220 --> 00:27:05,740
me something.

562
00:27:07,020 --> 00:27:08,360
It has to cost me something.

563
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:10,420
Do you give a service to God?

564
00:27:10,580 --> 00:27:11,620
It must cost you a sacrifice.

565
00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:14,260
It doesn't cost us anything to come three

566
00:27:14,260 --> 00:27:15,240
times a week to a meeting.

567
00:27:15,900 --> 00:27:16,300
No.

568
00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:18,820
Does it cost us anything to come three

569
00:27:18,820 --> 00:27:19,660
times a week to a meeting?

570
00:27:21,580 --> 00:27:22,260
Hardly anything.

571
00:27:23,820 --> 00:27:26,800
But where what we give to God has

572
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:32,920
cost us something, cost us sacrifice, cost us

573
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,380
pain perhaps, there we know that the house

574
00:27:36,380 --> 00:27:37,640
of God can be built.

575
00:27:38,340 --> 00:27:40,280
That is the place, we read in 2

576
00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:44,500
Chronicles 3.1, where Abraham offered Isaac, where

577
00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:47,940
David offered that sacrifice which cost him something.

578
00:27:48,460 --> 00:27:50,320
God said, that is the place where my

579
00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:51,100
house will be built.

580
00:27:52,060 --> 00:27:53,700
God's house is built in the place of

581
00:27:53,700 --> 00:27:54,120
sacrifice.

582
00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:58,960
Very important lesson for all of us to

583
00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:02,780
learn, that we can never build the house

584
00:28:02,780 --> 00:28:04,060
of God by learning a doctrine.

585
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,920
That's the stupidity that a lot of people

586
00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:07,300
have.

587
00:28:07,380 --> 00:28:08,700
They think, ah, I've got the doctrine, now

588
00:28:08,700 --> 00:28:10,460
I can build the body of Christ somewhere.

589
00:28:10,980 --> 00:28:12,960
I found that, brothers and sisters, here in

590
00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:13,820
our country, in India.

591
00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:16,460
There are people who've seen that God has

592
00:28:16,460 --> 00:28:19,600
done something in our midst, and they said,

593
00:28:19,660 --> 00:28:21,140
ah, it must be the doctrine.

594
00:28:21,140 --> 00:28:21,780
Doctrine.

595
00:28:22,020 --> 00:28:24,060
Okay, we'll take the doctrine, preach the doctrine

596
00:28:24,060 --> 00:28:24,520
elsewhere.

597
00:28:25,060 --> 00:28:26,160
And there are people who preach the doctrine

598
00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:27,340
and don't get the same results.

599
00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:30,120
They use the same songbook and they don't

600
00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:30,960
get the same results.

601
00:28:31,660 --> 00:28:33,620
Because it's not got to do with the

602
00:28:33,620 --> 00:28:34,820
doctrine or the songbook.

603
00:28:36,540 --> 00:28:38,740
It's not a songbook that Abraham used on

604
00:28:38,740 --> 00:28:39,380
Mount Moriah.

605
00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:41,480
It's not a doctrine.

606
00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:44,180
It's an attitude towards God.

607
00:28:45,860 --> 00:28:49,320
And where that attitude of sacrifice and obedience

608
00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:52,880
and devotion to God is there, even if

609
00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:55,100
they don't use the same songbook, the body

610
00:28:55,100 --> 00:28:55,960
of Christ will be built.

611
00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:01,440
We can become a cult, thinking that those

612
00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:03,060
who use the same songbook are part of

613
00:29:03,060 --> 00:29:03,720
the body of Christ.

614
00:29:03,820 --> 00:29:04,880
That's a lot of garbage.

615
00:29:05,620 --> 00:29:07,660
I throw that in the garbage bin, that

616
00:29:07,660 --> 00:29:08,340
idea.

617
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:12,300
It's those who have the same spirit of

618
00:29:12,300 --> 00:29:14,720
devotion, of obedience to God, in secret and

619
00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:17,060
private, who are part of the body of

620
00:29:17,060 --> 00:29:17,280
Christ.

621
00:29:17,380 --> 00:29:18,480
Even I don't care if they don't use

622
00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:19,240
the same songbook.

623
00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,020
I don't belong to a denomination or a

624
00:29:22,020 --> 00:29:22,240
cult.

625
00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:25,220
I want a fellowship with those who have

626
00:29:25,220 --> 00:29:28,220
the same spirit of devotion to Christ that

627
00:29:28,220 --> 00:29:30,740
Abraham had, that David had, that doesn't want

628
00:29:30,740 --> 00:29:31,220
anything free.

629
00:29:31,220 --> 00:29:32,200
It's a lot of people who use the

630
00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:33,760
same songbook, who love to get things free,

631
00:29:36,030 --> 00:29:37,630
who don't have the spirit of Abraham and

632
00:29:37,630 --> 00:29:37,770
David.

633
00:29:37,970 --> 00:29:39,190
A lot of people who believe the new

634
00:29:39,190 --> 00:29:41,590
and living way, theoretically in their head, who

635
00:29:41,590 --> 00:29:43,170
don't have the spirit of Abraham and David.

636
00:29:43,430 --> 00:29:45,190
There's no body of Christ being built there.

637
00:29:46,150 --> 00:29:47,490
And it can be that people can come

638
00:29:47,490 --> 00:29:50,930
into our midst, appreciating the preaching, perhaps, or

639
00:29:50,930 --> 00:29:53,570
the fellowship or something like that, but they

640
00:29:53,570 --> 00:29:55,270
don't have that spirit in their hearts that

641
00:29:55,270 --> 00:29:56,150
Abraham and David had.

642
00:29:56,450 --> 00:29:58,850
They will find themselves outside the body of

643
00:29:58,850 --> 00:29:59,190
Christ.

644
00:29:59,190 --> 00:30:02,590
That's a sad thing, after being many years

645
00:30:02,590 --> 00:30:04,430
in a fellowship and ending up outside the

646
00:30:04,430 --> 00:30:05,110
body of Christ.

647
00:30:06,130 --> 00:30:08,170
This is where God builds his house.

648
00:30:09,310 --> 00:30:10,530
And so we see that that's a very

649
00:30:10,530 --> 00:30:11,450
significant thing.

650
00:30:12,610 --> 00:30:15,470
The temple is the place of sacrifice, not

651
00:30:15,470 --> 00:30:16,670
the place of listening to messages.

652
00:30:17,690 --> 00:30:21,110
God didn't choose Moriah because Abraham delivered a

653
00:30:21,110 --> 00:30:22,450
wonderful message there one day.

654
00:30:23,030 --> 00:30:24,890
No, the place of sacrifice.

655
00:30:24,890 --> 00:30:27,110
Not because he got a fine choir to

656
00:30:27,110 --> 00:30:27,370
sing.

657
00:30:28,770 --> 00:30:29,130
No.

658
00:30:30,290 --> 00:30:32,110
It's not even the place of miracles.

659
00:30:32,890 --> 00:30:33,950
It's the place of sacrifice.

660
00:30:34,090 --> 00:30:37,110
Mount Carmel, that's where Elijah brought the fact

661
00:30:37,110 --> 00:30:38,190
from the truth.

662
00:30:40,710 --> 00:30:44,590
We need to understand very, very clearly that

663
00:30:44,590 --> 00:30:46,990
God is building his house even today.

664
00:30:48,750 --> 00:30:49,270
Where?

665
00:30:49,670 --> 00:30:51,350
Not in the place of miracles or sermons

666
00:30:51,350 --> 00:30:53,970
or songs, but in the place of sacrifice

667
00:30:53,970 --> 00:30:54,870
and devotion.

668
00:30:55,470 --> 00:30:57,270
And how can I contribute to the building

669
00:30:57,270 --> 00:30:57,950
of God's house?

670
00:30:58,270 --> 00:31:02,610
By having that same attitude that Abraham and

671
00:31:02,610 --> 00:31:03,130
David had.

672
00:31:03,230 --> 00:31:05,230
If I come to the church—not to just

673
00:31:05,230 --> 00:31:05,610
the meeting.

674
00:31:06,290 --> 00:31:07,690
The church is the body of people.

675
00:31:07,810 --> 00:31:09,330
If my attitude to the church is the

676
00:31:09,330 --> 00:31:12,850
attitude that Abraham and David had to God,

677
00:31:13,610 --> 00:31:15,890
then I contribute something to the building of

678
00:31:15,890 --> 00:31:16,630
the body of Christ.

679
00:31:17,210 --> 00:31:22,390
Otherwise, I'm just a passenger, just sitting, just

680
00:31:22,390 --> 00:31:22,950
a listener.

681
00:31:25,650 --> 00:31:28,090
Now God is gathering together people in the

682
00:31:28,090 --> 00:31:30,710
last days to build his body, and it's

683
00:31:30,710 --> 00:31:34,250
easy to sit there and miss the Spirit.

684
00:31:34,790 --> 00:31:36,390
Brothers and sisters, beware of it.

685
00:31:36,470 --> 00:31:39,350
I emphasize it because I've seen so much

686
00:31:39,350 --> 00:31:39,610
of it.

687
00:31:39,670 --> 00:31:42,210
People who have the words, but the Spirit

688
00:31:42,210 --> 00:31:42,970
is not the same.

689
00:31:44,210 --> 00:31:45,550
The words are right.

690
00:31:46,230 --> 00:31:47,170
Songbook is right.

691
00:31:48,230 --> 00:31:49,210
Doctrine is right.

692
00:31:49,850 --> 00:31:51,750
But the Spirit, there's something missing.

693
00:31:51,890 --> 00:31:54,090
It's not the Spirit of sacrifice and devotion

694
00:31:54,090 --> 00:31:54,590
to Christ.

695
00:31:55,630 --> 00:31:56,970
The Spirit is seeking their own.

696
00:31:58,750 --> 00:32:00,370
Abraham was not seeking his own.

697
00:32:01,450 --> 00:32:04,590
In Genesis 21, we read that God asked

698
00:32:04,590 --> 00:32:05,710
him to give up Ishmael.

699
00:32:06,990 --> 00:32:08,110
That was easier.

700
00:32:08,110 --> 00:32:13,310
Genesis 22, a still more difficult step, to

701
00:32:13,310 --> 00:32:14,810
give up Isaac.

702
00:32:15,570 --> 00:32:17,190
Compare these two chapters.

703
00:32:17,570 --> 00:32:20,350
Genesis 21, give up Ishmael.

704
00:32:21,030 --> 00:32:23,610
Genesis 22, give up Isaac.

705
00:32:24,390 --> 00:32:26,590
What is the New Testament meaning of this?

706
00:32:27,810 --> 00:32:31,330
We can say that Ishmael is that which

707
00:32:31,330 --> 00:32:32,030
is of the flesh.

708
00:32:33,910 --> 00:32:38,050
To give that up is very clear to

709
00:32:38,050 --> 00:32:38,270
us.

710
00:32:38,510 --> 00:32:39,670
We know that that's bad.

711
00:32:40,530 --> 00:32:42,250
Give up that which is of the flesh.

712
00:32:44,130 --> 00:32:45,010
Do you understand that?

713
00:32:45,820 --> 00:32:49,510
But to give up Isaac, which is not

714
00:32:49,510 --> 00:32:52,250
of the flesh, which is a good thing,

715
00:32:53,710 --> 00:32:55,610
when God tells us to give up something

716
00:32:55,610 --> 00:32:59,770
good, that is a test of being spiritual.

717
00:33:02,230 --> 00:33:05,970
The difference between the carnal believer and the

718
00:33:05,970 --> 00:33:09,390
spiritual believer is not that the carnal believer

719
00:33:09,390 --> 00:33:12,110
doesn't give up the fleshly things and the

720
00:33:12,110 --> 00:33:13,890
spiritual believer gives up the fleshly things.

721
00:33:13,970 --> 00:33:14,830
It's more than that.

722
00:33:15,510 --> 00:33:18,350
The carnal believer may give up committing adultery,

723
00:33:19,090 --> 00:33:21,510
give up telling lies, even give up losing

724
00:33:21,510 --> 00:33:25,270
his temper, but there are certain good things

725
00:33:25,270 --> 00:33:28,050
in life which he will not give up

726
00:33:28,050 --> 00:33:29,770
for Jesus Christ.

727
00:33:30,070 --> 00:33:35,930
Maybe his job, profession, his education, his occupation,

728
00:33:36,190 --> 00:33:39,310
his family ties, good things, his love for

729
00:33:39,310 --> 00:33:45,880
good food, and therefore he never becomes spiritual.

730
00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:47,420
You know what Paul said in 1 Corinthians

731
00:33:47,420 --> 00:33:47,760
6?

732
00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:50,220
Here's the reason why Paul became a spiritual

733
00:33:50,220 --> 00:33:50,520
man.

734
00:33:50,620 --> 00:33:52,840
He not only gave up Ishmael, but he

735
00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:53,860
gave up Isaac as well.

736
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:55,440
1 Corinthians 6, verse 12.

737
00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:03,200
Paul says, All things are lawful for me.

738
00:34:06,820 --> 00:34:07,320
What things?

739
00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:08,580
Is adultery lawful?

740
00:34:08,940 --> 00:34:09,300
No.

741
00:34:09,940 --> 00:34:10,920
Telling lies lawful?

742
00:34:11,100 --> 00:34:11,360
No.

743
00:34:12,300 --> 00:34:14,199
He's speaking about a man who's given up

744
00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:15,120
all those bad things.

745
00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:17,760
He's given up Ishmael.

746
00:34:18,780 --> 00:34:21,280
Having given up Ishmael, he says, Now I'm

747
00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:25,580
only left with Isaac, and that's lawful.

748
00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:27,460
That's a lawful son.

749
00:34:28,900 --> 00:34:32,400
But even some of those lawful things I

750
00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:35,760
give up, because not all of those lawful

751
00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:36,960
things are profitable.

752
00:34:38,380 --> 00:34:40,120
So we can say there are three levels.

753
00:34:41,340 --> 00:34:45,580
There are the unlawful things and the lawful

754
00:34:45,580 --> 00:34:45,920
things.

755
00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:48,900
Two main subdivisions of the things in our

756
00:34:48,900 --> 00:34:49,199
life.

757
00:34:50,100 --> 00:34:52,520
Unlawful things, lawful things.

758
00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:55,880
Then the lawful things are again subdivided into

759
00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:56,160
two.

760
00:34:57,940 --> 00:35:03,140
The lawful but not profitable, and the higher

761
00:35:03,140 --> 00:35:06,020
level which is the lawful and profitable.

762
00:35:07,220 --> 00:35:09,100
So we can say there are three levels.

763
00:35:09,100 --> 00:35:11,480
The unlawful, those are the people who live

764
00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:13,280
in sin, not even converted.

765
00:35:14,500 --> 00:35:16,160
And then we have the believers who live

766
00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:16,900
in the lawful.

767
00:35:17,700 --> 00:35:18,880
They say, It's perfectly all right.

768
00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:22,000
And they're always discussing things like, Is it

769
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,020
right or wrong to go to the cinema?

770
00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:25,700
Is it right or wrong to wear lipstick?

771
00:35:26,220 --> 00:35:27,580
Is it right or wrong to have a

772
00:35:27,580 --> 00:35:28,580
little gold in the sari?

773
00:35:28,700 --> 00:35:30,980
And they are living in this borderline between

774
00:35:30,980 --> 00:35:31,980
lawful and unlawful.

775
00:35:32,060 --> 00:35:33,380
They're always having questions.

776
00:35:33,860 --> 00:35:34,540
Is this right?

777
00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:35,180
Is that wrong?

778
00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:35,720
Is this right?

779
00:35:35,780 --> 00:35:37,080
They're living in the tree of knowledge of

780
00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:37,540
good and evil.

781
00:35:37,540 --> 00:35:38,460
Is it right?

782
00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:39,000
Is it wrong?

783
00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:41,140
There are lots of believers living in that

784
00:35:41,140 --> 00:35:41,400
level.

785
00:35:41,540 --> 00:35:42,840
They are born again, but they are carnal.

786
00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:44,860
They never become spiritual.

787
00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:47,540
There is a higher level for those who

788
00:35:47,540 --> 00:35:48,080
are spiritual.

789
00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:49,960
They are not asking, Is it right or

790
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:50,200
wrong?

791
00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:52,520
They are asking, Is it profitable?

792
00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:55,600
Is it for the glory of God for

793
00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:56,960
me to have some gold on my sari?

794
00:35:57,180 --> 00:35:58,480
Is it for the glory of God for

795
00:35:58,480 --> 00:35:59,760
me to put some lipstick?

796
00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:01,140
Is it for the glory of God for

797
00:36:01,140 --> 00:36:01,860
me to wear ornaments?

798
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:03,540
Is it for the glory of God for

799
00:36:03,540 --> 00:36:04,300
me to go to the cinema?

800
00:36:04,300 --> 00:36:06,560
Their question is not right or wrong.

801
00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:09,720
They're not living at that low substandard level

802
00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:11,680
that 99% of Christians live at.

803
00:36:12,100 --> 00:36:13,660
They're living where Paul lives.

804
00:36:14,100 --> 00:36:14,780
They're all lawful.

805
00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:16,600
Okay, even if everything is lawful, so what?

806
00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:17,980
It's not profitable, he says.

807
00:36:20,580 --> 00:36:23,860
So, that is the difference between giving up

808
00:36:23,860 --> 00:36:25,120
Ishmael and giving up Isis.

809
00:36:25,460 --> 00:36:27,060
Lots of believers are willing to give up

810
00:36:27,060 --> 00:36:27,420
Ishmael.

811
00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:30,100
Very few are willing to give up Isis.

812
00:36:30,500 --> 00:36:31,180
That which is good.

813
00:36:31,780 --> 00:36:32,500
What's wrong with this?

814
00:36:33,020 --> 00:36:34,400
For example, in marriage.

815
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:38,420
Many believers say, It's enough if I marry

816
00:36:38,420 --> 00:36:38,880
a believer.

817
00:36:39,100 --> 00:36:40,800
The other person must be born again.

818
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:41,520
That's good.

819
00:36:42,380 --> 00:36:44,720
But a spiritual person says more than that.

820
00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:45,940
It's not enough the other person must be

821
00:36:45,940 --> 00:36:46,380
born again.

822
00:36:46,860 --> 00:36:48,780
The other person must have the same devotion

823
00:36:48,780 --> 00:36:50,420
to Christ that I have.

824
00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:52,260
Otherwise, I'm not interested.

825
00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:56,180
You see, it's lawful to marry a born

826
00:36:56,180 --> 00:36:58,220
-again believer, but it may not be profitable

827
00:36:58,220 --> 00:37:00,460
if you're a wholehearted Christian that you end

828
00:37:00,460 --> 00:37:01,860
up marrying someone who's not wholehearted.

829
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:05,240
And that determines which level you live.

830
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:05,920
Lawful.

831
00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:08,220
Unlawful, of course, is to go and marry

832
00:37:08,220 --> 00:37:08,800
an unbeliever.

833
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:11,820
Lawful is to marry a believer, but profitable

834
00:37:11,820 --> 00:37:15,020
is to marry someone who is wholeheartedly devoted

835
00:37:15,020 --> 00:37:16,120
to Christ just like you.

836
00:37:17,020 --> 00:37:18,240
So there's a difference.

837
00:37:18,580 --> 00:37:20,140
In all areas it's like this.

838
00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:22,760
Many, many areas.

839
00:37:22,940 --> 00:37:25,560
There's the unlawful, there's the lawful, and there's

840
00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:26,020
the profitable.

841
00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:29,120
There's a saying in English that the good

842
00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:30,800
is the enemy of the best.

843
00:37:31,180 --> 00:37:35,000
An English proverb, and it's self-explanatory.

844
00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:37,420
It means that I can miss the best

845
00:37:37,420 --> 00:37:40,080
by taking that which is good.

846
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:43,780
I take the good and I miss the

847
00:37:43,780 --> 00:37:44,160
best.

848
00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:45,920
That's a great tragedy.

849
00:37:47,380 --> 00:37:49,140
So we learn a lot from that one

850
00:37:49,140 --> 00:37:51,480
incident there in Genesis chapter 22 of Abraham

851
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:55,140
offering up his son and saying, in the

852
00:37:55,140 --> 00:37:56,660
mount of the Lord it will be provided.

853
00:37:56,820 --> 00:37:58,740
The spiritual man is the one who says,

854
00:37:59,340 --> 00:38:01,560
the Lord is my provider.

855
00:38:03,910 --> 00:38:06,510
I don't go running after earthly things.

856
00:38:07,470 --> 00:38:09,730
The Lord is my provider.

857
00:38:11,070 --> 00:38:14,150
He drops them into my lap as I

858
00:38:14,150 --> 00:38:15,810
seek the kingdom of God first and His

859
00:38:15,810 --> 00:38:16,170
righteousness.

860
00:38:16,850 --> 00:38:18,810
And my mind is set on seeking God's

861
00:38:18,810 --> 00:38:19,670
kingdom and His righteousness.

862
00:38:20,670 --> 00:38:22,050
And God will test us on that to

863
00:38:22,050 --> 00:38:25,670
see whether I'm real that it's a choice

864
00:38:25,670 --> 00:38:28,470
between His kingdom and some good earthly thing.

865
00:38:28,690 --> 00:38:29,630
Not evil earthly thing.

866
00:38:30,470 --> 00:38:32,950
The choice is His kingdom and some good

867
00:38:32,950 --> 00:38:34,890
legitimate lawful earthly thing.

868
00:38:35,290 --> 00:38:36,790
God sees what choice I make.

869
00:38:37,850 --> 00:38:38,910
God or Isaac.

870
00:38:39,470 --> 00:38:41,990
If it is God or Ishmael, we're all

871
00:38:41,990 --> 00:38:42,770
ready to say God.

872
00:38:42,850 --> 00:38:43,990
I want God, not Ishmael.

873
00:38:44,390 --> 00:38:48,710
But when it is God or Isaac, I've

874
00:38:48,710 --> 00:38:54,630
seen many men who've learned to hate their

875
00:38:54,630 --> 00:38:57,050
father and mother, but haven't learned to hate

876
00:38:57,050 --> 00:38:57,590
their wives.

877
00:38:58,250 --> 00:38:58,790
It's amazing.

878
00:39:00,110 --> 00:39:01,550
It's in the same verse in Luke 14,

879
00:39:01,610 --> 00:39:01,990
26.

880
00:39:03,330 --> 00:39:05,710
But they're very zealous in hating their father

881
00:39:05,710 --> 00:39:07,210
and mother, but not so zealous in hating

882
00:39:07,210 --> 00:39:07,550
their wives.

883
00:39:08,170 --> 00:39:09,250
Where did you get that from?

884
00:39:09,330 --> 00:39:11,290
Where did you get this half verse out

885
00:39:11,290 --> 00:39:11,670
of Scripture?

886
00:39:12,070 --> 00:39:14,150
Christianity is full of these people who've got

887
00:39:14,150 --> 00:39:15,950
half verses and a lot of people in

888
00:39:15,950 --> 00:39:16,790
the church like that.

889
00:39:19,140 --> 00:39:21,640
They haven't understood what that hatred means.

890
00:39:21,700 --> 00:39:23,620
In other words, they were a bit fed

891
00:39:23,620 --> 00:39:24,920
up with their parents in any case, so

892
00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:25,860
they were glad to hate them.

893
00:39:26,180 --> 00:39:27,960
That's not the hatred the Bible speaks of.

894
00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:30,740
But they love their darling wives and so

895
00:39:30,740 --> 00:39:31,480
they don't hate them at all.

896
00:39:32,240 --> 00:39:34,060
I don't believe such people can ever be

897
00:39:34,060 --> 00:39:34,480
spiritual.

898
00:39:35,540 --> 00:39:36,840
They're not consistent.

899
00:39:41,300 --> 00:39:42,340
Many like that.

900
00:39:42,740 --> 00:39:46,260
They have not understood what it is to

901
00:39:46,260 --> 00:39:49,080
give up an Isaac to God, saying the

902
00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:52,060
kingdom of God is first, everything else is

903
00:39:52,060 --> 00:39:52,340
second.

904
00:39:53,200 --> 00:39:57,020
And so, we can ask ourselves whether we

905
00:39:57,020 --> 00:39:59,520
have followed Abraham in this, whether we can

906
00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:02,240
be a part of building up Christ's body.

907
00:40:03,740 --> 00:40:06,380
The Lord is my provider.

908
00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:07,880
He provides.

909
00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:09,000
I don't know.

910
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:10,780
For the last second, He'll provide.

911
00:40:10,900 --> 00:40:12,780
My job is only to seek the kingdom

912
00:40:12,780 --> 00:40:15,740
of God first and His righteousness in all

913
00:40:15,740 --> 00:40:16,160
things.

914
00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:17,780
That's all.

915
00:40:19,460 --> 00:40:21,540
Then the angel of the Lord, verse 15,

916
00:40:21,660 --> 00:40:23,180
called to Abraham a second time.

917
00:40:23,260 --> 00:40:24,640
This is the messenger of the Lord that

918
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:25,460
we've seen before.

919
00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:32,120
It's obviously Christ in some manifestation.

920
00:40:33,580 --> 00:40:35,220
The same thing we read in verse 11.

921
00:40:36,100 --> 00:40:38,360
The angel of the Lord, the messenger of

922
00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:38,720
the Lord.

923
00:40:40,700 --> 00:40:42,600
And said, and this is where we know

924
00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:46,060
that this is Christ Himself, what did the

925
00:40:46,060 --> 00:40:46,940
angel of the Lord say?

926
00:40:49,310 --> 00:40:50,430
Notice in verse 16.

927
00:40:51,330 --> 00:40:56,610
Not by the Lord, but by myself I

928
00:40:56,610 --> 00:40:59,970
have sworn, says the Lord, because you've done

929
00:40:59,970 --> 00:41:02,170
this thing, not with hell your son, your

930
00:41:02,170 --> 00:41:02,750
only son.

931
00:41:03,750 --> 00:41:08,210
Indeed, I will greatly bless you and will

932
00:41:08,210 --> 00:41:12,510
greatly multiply your descendants as the stars of

933
00:41:12,510 --> 00:41:14,170
the heavens and as the sand which is

934
00:41:14,170 --> 00:41:14,910
on the seashore.

935
00:41:15,990 --> 00:41:20,110
And your descendants shall possess the gate of

936
00:41:20,110 --> 00:41:20,870
their enemies.

937
00:41:23,430 --> 00:41:26,270
And in your descendants, all the nations of

938
00:41:26,270 --> 00:41:28,050
the earth shall be blessed because of one

939
00:41:28,050 --> 00:41:28,450
reason.

940
00:41:29,610 --> 00:41:32,490
Because you have obeyed my voice, and we

941
00:41:32,490 --> 00:41:36,110
can say in secret, when nobody heard what

942
00:41:36,110 --> 00:41:37,130
I have spoken to you.

943
00:41:37,130 --> 00:41:38,970
For example, we can sit in a meeting

944
00:41:38,970 --> 00:41:42,110
and God can speak something to our heart.

945
00:41:43,790 --> 00:41:45,290
Nobody has heard it, even the person sitting

946
00:41:45,290 --> 00:41:48,070
in the next chair has not heard what

947
00:41:48,070 --> 00:41:49,690
God spoke to us in the meeting.

948
00:41:51,170 --> 00:41:52,610
And you need not obey.

949
00:41:53,170 --> 00:41:54,990
You can go away from there and not

950
00:41:54,990 --> 00:41:56,330
obey what God spoke to you in the

951
00:41:56,330 --> 00:41:58,310
meeting, and you can still retain a good

952
00:41:58,310 --> 00:42:00,310
testimony in the church as a good brother,

953
00:42:00,710 --> 00:42:03,070
a good sister, who is having a good

954
00:42:03,070 --> 00:42:04,650
testimony, living a good life.

955
00:42:05,150 --> 00:42:06,970
Nobody knows that that thing which God spoke

956
00:42:06,970 --> 00:42:08,550
to you in the last meeting, you still

957
00:42:08,550 --> 00:42:09,190
haven't obeyed.

958
00:42:10,070 --> 00:42:11,410
Maybe God told you to go and apologize

959
00:42:11,410 --> 00:42:14,170
to somebody for having wounded him or her.

960
00:42:14,790 --> 00:42:15,890
You haven't obeyed it.

961
00:42:16,610 --> 00:42:17,890
You got a testimony in the church as

962
00:42:17,890 --> 00:42:21,090
a good brother, but not a testimony before

963
00:42:21,090 --> 00:42:21,470
God.

964
00:42:22,990 --> 00:42:24,970
We know in Genesis 21, Abimelech the king

965
00:42:24,970 --> 00:42:27,310
came and said to Abraham, we know God

966
00:42:27,310 --> 00:42:27,830
is with you.

967
00:42:29,410 --> 00:42:31,690
But in Genesis 22, he gets a testimony

968
00:42:31,690 --> 00:42:34,470
from God himself, and that's the more important

969
00:42:34,470 --> 00:42:34,770
thing.

970
00:42:35,390 --> 00:42:38,010
It's no use Abimelech coming and congratulating us

971
00:42:38,010 --> 00:42:40,610
if God has got a different opinion.

972
00:42:42,050 --> 00:42:44,950
So brothers and sisters, it's a wonderful thing

973
00:42:44,950 --> 00:42:48,250
if God can say, you have obeyed my

974
00:42:48,250 --> 00:42:48,710
voice.

975
00:42:49,770 --> 00:42:53,250
If he can always say that, you have

976
00:42:53,250 --> 00:42:57,250
obeyed my voice by giving up certain good

977
00:42:57,250 --> 00:43:01,130
things because you decided to choose the best.

978
00:43:01,730 --> 00:43:02,930
And what is the best?

979
00:43:04,170 --> 00:43:06,710
In Romans 12, verse 2, it says that

980
00:43:06,710 --> 00:43:12,510
good and acceptable and perfect, what?

981
00:43:13,410 --> 00:43:15,250
Will of God.

982
00:43:15,930 --> 00:43:19,090
There is only one thing which is perfect.

983
00:43:19,190 --> 00:43:20,870
We can say the good is the enemy

984
00:43:20,870 --> 00:43:22,570
of the perfect, and the perfect is the

985
00:43:22,570 --> 00:43:23,110
will of God.

986
00:43:23,110 --> 00:43:26,010
The good is my ideas.

987
00:43:26,330 --> 00:43:29,490
For example, in Christian work, there are a

988
00:43:29,490 --> 00:43:30,150
lot of people who have got a lot

989
00:43:30,150 --> 00:43:31,550
of bright ideas how to serve God.

990
00:43:33,550 --> 00:43:36,630
Lot of bright ideas, but may not be

991
00:43:36,630 --> 00:43:37,150
the will of God.

992
00:43:37,390 --> 00:43:41,260
God's way is perfect, and that's why we

993
00:43:41,260 --> 00:43:43,220
need to seek God's will in all areas.

994
00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:50,600
So Abraham returned to his young men.

995
00:43:51,460 --> 00:43:52,560
Why did God bless him?

996
00:43:52,660 --> 00:43:55,420
Because of obedience and having obeyed.

997
00:43:56,660 --> 00:43:58,900
He comes back, and they rose and went

998
00:43:58,900 --> 00:44:01,020
together to Beersheba, and Abraham lived at Beersheba.

999
00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:04,100
We could ask ourselves one more thing before

1000
00:44:04,100 --> 00:44:05,960
we move on from this, and that is,

1001
00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:11,620
Have you ever heard God speaking to you,

1002
00:44:11,820 --> 00:44:15,500
calling you to do something difficult and hard?

1003
00:44:16,760 --> 00:44:23,020
Or have you only heard words saying, Fear

1004
00:44:23,020 --> 00:44:24,220
not, my child.

1005
00:44:24,380 --> 00:44:25,780
I shall be with you.

1006
00:44:26,780 --> 00:44:28,780
I shall take you through this trial.

1007
00:44:29,740 --> 00:44:31,020
I shall comfort you.

1008
00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:32,900
I delight in you.

1009
00:44:33,820 --> 00:44:35,880
I rejoice in you, my child.

1010
00:44:36,540 --> 00:44:39,120
You go to the average charismatic meeting, it's

1011
00:44:39,120 --> 00:44:40,840
that type of thing which they call prophecy.

1012
00:44:41,900 --> 00:44:43,540
I don't believe it's prophecy at all.

1013
00:44:43,620 --> 00:44:45,040
It's just somebody's got a bright idea in

1014
00:44:45,040 --> 00:44:47,840
his mind, and he just lets it out.

1015
00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:51,360
He says, Oh my child, I know your

1016
00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:51,860
needs.

1017
00:44:52,260 --> 00:44:53,960
My son, I know you.

1018
00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:56,400
And most people have problems in any case,

1019
00:44:56,960 --> 00:44:58,780
so when someone gets up in a meeting

1020
00:44:58,780 --> 00:45:01,080
and says, My daughter, I know your problem,

1021
00:45:01,720 --> 00:45:04,180
at least 80% of the women there

1022
00:45:04,180 --> 00:45:08,460
think, Oh God, he knows my problem.

1023
00:45:08,640 --> 00:45:09,680
My daughter, he says.

1024
00:45:10,720 --> 00:45:15,040
This psychological humbug which they call the leading

1025
00:45:15,040 --> 00:45:15,860
of the spirits.

1026
00:45:15,860 --> 00:45:17,740
We must have nothing to do with this

1027
00:45:17,740 --> 00:45:19,200
type of garbage and call it prophecy.

1028
00:45:20,740 --> 00:45:23,200
Prophecy is that which speaks from God, and

1029
00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:25,360
very often it's a hard voice saying, Offer

1030
00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:25,720
up Isaac.

1031
00:45:25,880 --> 00:45:27,480
Come to Mount Moriah and offer up Isaac.

1032
00:45:30,220 --> 00:45:31,860
My son and my daughter may not be

1033
00:45:31,860 --> 00:45:32,780
so interested in that.

1034
00:45:35,370 --> 00:45:36,490
And that's what God's calling us.

1035
00:45:37,390 --> 00:45:38,190
Offer up Isaac.

1036
00:45:38,270 --> 00:45:39,750
Have you ever heard God speaking a hard

1037
00:45:39,750 --> 00:45:40,030
word?

1038
00:45:40,770 --> 00:45:42,390
You know these believers who say, It's a

1039
00:45:42,390 --> 00:45:43,330
hard message.

1040
00:45:43,890 --> 00:45:45,370
It's a hard message we hear.

1041
00:45:45,370 --> 00:45:46,570
Think of Abraham and God.

1042
00:45:46,850 --> 00:45:48,590
Oh, that's a hard message.

1043
00:45:48,830 --> 00:45:49,530
That can't be God.

1044
00:45:49,610 --> 00:45:51,190
I better go to some other church where

1045
00:45:51,190 --> 00:45:53,870
they don't speak such hard messages like offering

1046
00:45:53,870 --> 00:45:55,210
up Isaac on Mount Moriah.

1047
00:45:55,350 --> 00:45:56,390
Think what Abraham would have missed.

1048
00:45:57,610 --> 00:45:59,590
My brothers and sisters, that's the way of

1049
00:45:59,590 --> 00:45:59,850
blessing.

1050
00:46:01,130 --> 00:46:02,630
And those who listen to that and obey

1051
00:46:02,630 --> 00:46:05,470
God come out triumphant and don't end up

1052
00:46:05,470 --> 00:46:08,650
like these wishy-washy, slavish, fat Christians who

1053
00:46:08,650 --> 00:46:11,030
are useless to God and useless to men,

1054
00:46:11,250 --> 00:46:12,590
and they're floating around the world today.

1055
00:46:13,990 --> 00:46:14,470
No.

1056
00:46:15,870 --> 00:46:18,350
Be a follower of Abraham and David so

1057
00:46:18,350 --> 00:46:19,610
that the body of Christ can be built

1058
00:46:19,610 --> 00:46:21,290
through you and your life.

1059
00:46:22,870 --> 00:46:23,850
And thus he returned.

1060
00:46:23,970 --> 00:46:25,370
He returned after he had obeyed.

1061
00:46:26,090 --> 00:46:28,850
He fulfilled the conditions, and therefore God says,

1062
00:46:28,930 --> 00:46:29,650
You will be blessed.

1063
00:46:30,810 --> 00:46:33,070
There are many people who claim the promises

1064
00:46:33,070 --> 00:46:35,550
of Scripture without fulfilling the conditions.

1065
00:46:36,550 --> 00:46:38,930
I used to be bothered by that once

1066
00:46:38,930 --> 00:46:39,510
upon a time.

1067
00:46:40,730 --> 00:46:42,370
I wanted to be honest, and I said,

1068
00:46:42,450 --> 00:46:44,970
Lord, there are times when I pray, and

1069
00:46:44,970 --> 00:46:45,950
I don't seem to get an answer.

1070
00:46:46,070 --> 00:46:47,410
Yet you said, Anything you ask in my

1071
00:46:47,410 --> 00:46:48,230
name, I'll give it to you.

1072
00:46:49,790 --> 00:46:51,250
And yet I ask for something, and you

1073
00:46:51,250 --> 00:46:51,970
don't give it to me.

1074
00:46:52,630 --> 00:46:54,470
And I don't want to just write that

1075
00:46:54,470 --> 00:46:55,730
off and say, Oh, well, I can't explain

1076
00:46:55,730 --> 00:46:55,850
it.

1077
00:46:55,870 --> 00:46:57,030
I say, Lord, I want to be honest.

1078
00:46:57,290 --> 00:46:59,110
Why does it work?

1079
00:47:01,150 --> 00:47:04,010
I remember once the Lord made it very

1080
00:47:04,010 --> 00:47:06,490
clear to me and said, Just read that

1081
00:47:06,490 --> 00:47:09,170
verse again in Scripture and see to whom

1082
00:47:09,170 --> 00:47:10,050
I spoke it.

1083
00:47:12,890 --> 00:47:16,010
And I saw that He didn't speak it

1084
00:47:16,010 --> 00:47:17,030
to a compromiser.

1085
00:47:17,970 --> 00:47:21,290
He spoke it to disciples who had forsaken

1086
00:47:21,290 --> 00:47:23,090
everything to follow Him.

1087
00:47:23,850 --> 00:47:26,510
To them He said, Ask anything in my

1088
00:47:26,510 --> 00:47:27,610
name, I will give it to you.

1089
00:47:28,050 --> 00:47:31,350
And today, a believer who has not even

1090
00:47:31,350 --> 00:47:34,090
forsaken 50% tries to claim that promise.

1091
00:47:34,090 --> 00:47:35,150
How will it work?

1092
00:47:35,410 --> 00:47:36,250
It will not work.

1093
00:47:37,210 --> 00:47:38,530
Don't be surprised if it doesn't work.

1094
00:47:38,690 --> 00:47:40,070
There's a condition to that promise.

1095
00:47:40,450 --> 00:47:41,270
Then I understood.

1096
00:47:42,630 --> 00:47:46,130
If I forsake everything, and I have an

1097
00:47:46,130 --> 00:47:50,890
attachment to nothing in the world, then every

1098
00:47:50,890 --> 00:47:53,010
promise in the book is mine.

1099
00:47:54,250 --> 00:47:58,530
If not, there may be a few promises

1100
00:47:58,530 --> 00:48:00,430
that God will give me food and clothing

1101
00:48:00,430 --> 00:48:01,170
and shelter.

1102
00:48:02,170 --> 00:48:03,710
But the real main ones I've missed.

1103
00:48:05,610 --> 00:48:07,790
So, there is a condition to a promise.

1104
00:48:07,970 --> 00:48:10,090
God blessed Abraham, it says here so clearly,

1105
00:48:10,530 --> 00:48:15,290
Because you have obeyed my voice, verse 18,

1106
00:48:15,650 --> 00:48:19,990
therefore I will greatly bless you, verse 17.

1107
00:48:21,550 --> 00:48:22,630
What is that great blessing?

1108
00:48:22,750 --> 00:48:24,950
That his children will get promotion in their

1109
00:48:24,950 --> 00:48:25,370
examination?

1110
00:48:27,320 --> 00:48:29,280
Or that Abraham won't get any cancer?

1111
00:48:30,500 --> 00:48:31,960
Is that the blessing He promised him?

1112
00:48:33,440 --> 00:48:37,720
These are for these third-rate believers who

1113
00:48:37,720 --> 00:48:39,220
seek God for these things.

1114
00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:44,180
But those who really want God's best, there's

1115
00:48:44,180 --> 00:48:44,580
a condition.

1116
00:48:44,840 --> 00:48:46,240
I will bless you because you have obeyed

1117
00:48:46,240 --> 00:48:46,740
my voice.

1118
00:48:47,780 --> 00:48:49,360
Take it seriously, brothers and sisters.

1119
00:48:50,840 --> 00:48:54,860
Particularly when that voice goes against what your

1120
00:48:54,860 --> 00:48:55,520
reason says.

1121
00:48:55,900 --> 00:48:58,840
Reason says, how can God ask for a

1122
00:48:58,840 --> 00:48:59,860
human sacrifice?

1123
00:49:00,580 --> 00:49:01,240
Faith does.

1124
00:49:02,420 --> 00:49:04,060
Never mind your reason, if God's told you,

1125
00:49:04,120 --> 00:49:04,420
do it.

1126
00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:07,300
There's always this conflict between faith and reason.

1127
00:49:07,420 --> 00:49:08,740
Trust in the Lord with all your heart

1128
00:49:08,740 --> 00:49:10,400
and don't lean to your own understanding.

1129
00:49:10,660 --> 00:49:13,760
Two opposites, your own understanding and God.

1130
00:49:13,920 --> 00:49:14,660
Faith and reason.

1131
00:49:15,140 --> 00:49:16,860
I believe the number one enemy of faith

1132
00:49:16,860 --> 00:49:17,860
is reason.

1133
00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:19,840
That's why you find the clever people are

1134
00:49:19,840 --> 00:49:20,780
the ones who have less faith.

1135
00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:23,080
The more intellectual we are, the less faith

1136
00:49:23,080 --> 00:49:23,480
we have.

1137
00:49:24,120 --> 00:49:28,340
Unless we crucify that intellect, the people who

1138
00:49:28,340 --> 00:49:30,200
are simple, they have usually more faith.

1139
00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:33,880
And I don't think any of us sitting

1140
00:49:33,880 --> 00:49:34,440
here are simple.

1141
00:49:35,040 --> 00:49:35,880
So we have a battle.

1142
00:49:36,300 --> 00:49:38,880
We're shrewd, we're clever, we're intellectual.

1143
00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:41,200
Therefore it's difficult to have faith.

1144
00:49:42,260 --> 00:49:44,200
Because our own understanding comes in the way.

1145
00:49:44,660 --> 00:49:45,900
It says, how can God ask such a

1146
00:49:45,900 --> 00:49:46,100
thing?

1147
00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:49,100
Abraham never questioned, he just obeyed.

1148
00:49:49,860 --> 00:49:50,920
And therefore he got blessed.

1149
00:49:51,020 --> 00:49:52,540
And we'll discover in eternity that the people

1150
00:49:52,540 --> 00:49:54,800
who got blessed the most were those who

1151
00:49:54,800 --> 00:49:56,280
obeyed God like Abraham.

1152
00:49:59,040 --> 00:50:01,380
And then it gives there a list of

1153
00:50:01,380 --> 00:50:05,780
the children born to his brother Nehor.

1154
00:50:09,460 --> 00:50:10,700
Verse 20 to 24.

1155
00:50:10,840 --> 00:50:12,120
And then we come to chapter 23.

1156
00:50:13,740 --> 00:50:15,760
And Sarah lived 127 years.

1157
00:50:15,960 --> 00:50:17,300
These were the years the life of Sarah

1158
00:50:17,300 --> 00:50:18,180
and Sarah died.

1159
00:50:18,880 --> 00:50:19,700
In Kiriat Arba.

1160
00:50:20,500 --> 00:50:21,480
In the land of Canaan.

1161
00:50:21,540 --> 00:50:23,420
And Abraham went to mourn.

1162
00:50:23,440 --> 00:50:25,340
In to mourn for Sarah and to weep

1163
00:50:25,340 --> 00:50:25,760
for her.

1164
00:50:27,660 --> 00:50:29,220
She died when she was 127.

1165
00:50:29,220 --> 00:50:32,140
We know that she was 10 years younger

1166
00:50:32,140 --> 00:50:32,720
to Abraham.

1167
00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:35,960
Abraham was 137.

1168
00:50:37,760 --> 00:50:39,680
God called Abraham when he was 75.

1169
00:50:41,560 --> 00:50:44,520
And now he's 137.

1170
00:50:46,780 --> 00:50:51,730
62 years she had stood by Abraham.

1171
00:50:53,130 --> 00:50:55,330
Very often not understanding why her husband is

1172
00:50:55,330 --> 00:50:55,870
doing all this.

1173
00:50:56,570 --> 00:50:58,650
Why is he suddenly packing up and saying,

1174
00:50:58,650 --> 00:51:00,010
Let's leave this place and go off.

1175
00:51:00,650 --> 00:51:01,370
Where are you going?

1176
00:51:01,450 --> 00:51:01,870
Don't know.

1177
00:51:04,180 --> 00:51:06,140
Can you appreciate a wife who followed her

1178
00:51:06,140 --> 00:51:06,860
husband like that?

1179
00:51:07,760 --> 00:51:08,320
Where are you going?

1180
00:51:08,440 --> 00:51:08,960
I don't know.

1181
00:51:09,800 --> 00:51:10,820
God told us to go.

1182
00:51:11,540 --> 00:51:12,520
And she also packs up.

1183
00:51:15,000 --> 00:51:16,600
Brings home guests uninvited.

1184
00:51:17,460 --> 00:51:18,800
Come, let's cook something for them.

1185
00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:22,420
And suddenly takes off the son.

1186
00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:24,380
Later realizes he was going to kill him.

1187
00:51:25,780 --> 00:51:26,900
Happy that they came back.

1188
00:51:28,260 --> 00:51:31,240
You have to admire this woman who stood

1189
00:51:31,240 --> 00:51:32,100
by such a husband.

1190
00:51:32,740 --> 00:51:36,500
It's not easy to be the wife of

1191
00:51:36,500 --> 00:51:37,740
a man who has revelations.

1192
00:51:38,480 --> 00:51:39,780
It is quite difficult.

1193
00:51:40,820 --> 00:51:42,500
It's easy to be the wife of a

1194
00:51:42,500 --> 00:51:42,920
drifter.

1195
00:51:43,640 --> 00:51:46,480
And a man who's seeking earthly things.

1196
00:51:47,560 --> 00:51:50,440
It's not easy to be the wife of

1197
00:51:50,440 --> 00:51:51,820
a man who obeys God.

1198
00:51:52,980 --> 00:51:56,960
And wholeheartedly seeks to follow in Jesus' footsteps.

1199
00:51:58,260 --> 00:52:01,880
But blessed is that woman who can follow

1200
00:52:01,880 --> 00:52:04,560
a God-fearing, wholehearted husband like that.

1201
00:52:04,640 --> 00:52:05,320
Without questioning.

1202
00:52:06,060 --> 00:52:06,640
Without grumbling.

1203
00:52:07,360 --> 00:52:08,040
Without complaining.

1204
00:52:08,940 --> 00:52:10,800
One day when Abraham gets his reward.

1205
00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:15,260
I'm sure God allows Sarah to come forward

1206
00:52:15,260 --> 00:52:16,260
to get her share too.

1207
00:52:18,890 --> 00:52:20,930
Because many a wife suffers a lot because

1208
00:52:20,930 --> 00:52:22,370
of her husband's obedience to God.

1209
00:52:24,380 --> 00:52:26,920
So, we can think of that.

1210
00:52:26,920 --> 00:52:28,780
When she died at the age of 127.

1211
00:52:29,920 --> 00:52:30,360
Faithful.

1212
00:52:30,940 --> 00:52:33,260
Standing by her husband for over 60 years.

1213
00:52:34,180 --> 00:52:35,020
In faithfulness.

1214
00:52:35,320 --> 00:52:37,560
Not dragging, grabbing like lost wife.

1215
00:52:37,920 --> 00:52:39,520
Being fed up with this living in tents.

1216
00:52:39,640 --> 00:52:42,140
We were living comfortably there in Ura, the

1217
00:52:42,140 --> 00:52:42,540
Chaldees.

1218
00:52:42,600 --> 00:52:43,760
And you told us to pack up.

1219
00:52:43,900 --> 00:52:45,380
And no proper house here.

1220
00:52:45,480 --> 00:52:45,760
Nothing.

1221
00:52:46,320 --> 00:52:47,460
You don't know where we are shifting.

1222
00:52:47,720 --> 00:52:49,680
And that good land you gave off to

1223
00:52:49,680 --> 00:52:50,000
your nephew.

1224
00:52:50,300 --> 00:52:53,560
And all these things that wives complain about.

1225
00:52:53,560 --> 00:52:55,340
Why didn't you fight for the family property

1226
00:52:55,340 --> 00:52:56,480
and get it?

1227
00:52:56,620 --> 00:52:57,800
And all these things.

1228
00:52:59,140 --> 00:53:01,480
Think that Sarah was such a good wife.

1229
00:53:02,660 --> 00:53:04,160
That's a challenge to you sisters.

1230
00:53:05,240 --> 00:53:07,760
Be a good wife to your husband.

1231
00:53:08,660 --> 00:53:10,640
Even if you can't sometimes understand what he's

1232
00:53:10,640 --> 00:53:10,860
doing.

1233
00:53:13,430 --> 00:53:14,990
And Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah.

1234
00:53:15,190 --> 00:53:16,670
And then Abraham rose before his dead and

1235
00:53:16,670 --> 00:53:19,110
spoke to the sons of Hez saying, I'm

1236
00:53:19,110 --> 00:53:21,570
a stranger and a sojourner among you.

1237
00:53:22,010 --> 00:53:23,030
Think what he called himself.

1238
00:53:23,990 --> 00:53:24,930
I'm a stranger.

1239
00:53:26,150 --> 00:53:27,550
Here was a man who lived for 75

1240
00:53:27,550 --> 00:53:28,450
years in comfort.

1241
00:53:29,030 --> 00:53:30,670
As one of the leading citizens of Ura,

1242
00:53:30,730 --> 00:53:31,370
the Chaldees.

1243
00:53:31,970 --> 00:53:34,910
Given up everything to obey the Lord and

1244
00:53:34,910 --> 00:53:35,270
follow Him.

1245
00:53:35,350 --> 00:53:36,090
What did he get?

1246
00:53:36,250 --> 00:53:37,250
On this earth, nothing.

1247
00:53:38,650 --> 00:53:40,170
We'll discover soon what he got.

1248
00:53:43,430 --> 00:53:44,470
On this earth.

1249
00:53:44,930 --> 00:53:46,890
He says, give me a burial site.

1250
00:53:47,750 --> 00:53:48,810
That I may bury my dead.

1251
00:53:49,150 --> 00:53:50,190
And the sons of Hez answered.

1252
00:53:51,450 --> 00:53:53,090
They have respected him and said, hear us

1253
00:53:53,090 --> 00:53:53,490
my Lord.

1254
00:53:53,990 --> 00:53:55,550
You're a mighty prince among us.

1255
00:53:56,390 --> 00:53:57,750
Take the choicest of your grave.

1256
00:53:57,850 --> 00:54:00,010
Just like Aaron told King David.

1257
00:54:00,190 --> 00:54:00,750
Have it free.

1258
00:54:01,670 --> 00:54:02,850
No need to pay for it.

1259
00:54:03,110 --> 00:54:04,750
None of us will refuse you his grave.

1260
00:54:05,370 --> 00:54:07,210
Abraham rose and bowed down and said, If

1261
00:54:07,210 --> 00:54:09,010
it's your wish for me to bury my

1262
00:54:09,010 --> 00:54:09,670
dead out of my sight.

1263
00:54:09,730 --> 00:54:10,050
Hear me.

1264
00:54:10,690 --> 00:54:12,430
Please approach Ephron, the son of Zohar.

1265
00:54:12,510 --> 00:54:13,690
That he may give me the cave of

1266
00:54:13,690 --> 00:54:14,070
Maxilla.

1267
00:54:15,150 --> 00:54:16,410
Which is at the end of his field.

1268
00:54:16,510 --> 00:54:17,590
For the full price.

1269
00:54:18,570 --> 00:54:20,050
I don't want any discount or concession.

1270
00:54:20,050 --> 00:54:22,150
Let him give it to me in your

1271
00:54:22,150 --> 00:54:23,450
presence for a burial site.

1272
00:54:24,630 --> 00:54:26,710
Otherwise afterwards that fellow will keep boasting that

1273
00:54:26,710 --> 00:54:29,590
I gave Abraham a place to bury his

1274
00:54:29,590 --> 00:54:29,810
dead.

1275
00:54:30,410 --> 00:54:33,870
He must never let an unbeliever think that

1276
00:54:33,870 --> 00:54:35,370
he has had a part in God's work.

1277
00:54:36,410 --> 00:54:38,450
By contributing something for God's work.

1278
00:54:38,550 --> 00:54:40,970
Sorry sir, we can't receive your money because

1279
00:54:40,970 --> 00:54:42,290
God wants your heart first.

1280
00:54:44,270 --> 00:54:45,590
That's what you have to say to unbelievers.

1281
00:54:46,710 --> 00:54:49,550
No, he would not let anybody give it

1282
00:54:49,550 --> 00:54:50,930
half price or anything.

1283
00:54:50,930 --> 00:54:51,750
Full price.

1284
00:54:52,810 --> 00:54:54,130
Give it to me in your presence for

1285
00:54:54,130 --> 00:54:54,750
a burial site.

1286
00:54:54,890 --> 00:54:56,590
Ephron was sitting among the sons of Eph.

1287
00:54:59,210 --> 00:55:01,170
And he said, No my Lord, hear me.

1288
00:55:01,270 --> 00:55:02,070
I give you the field.

1289
00:55:04,340 --> 00:55:05,400
And I give you the cave.

1290
00:55:06,080 --> 00:55:07,600
In the presence of these sons of my

1291
00:55:07,600 --> 00:55:08,980
people, I give it to you free.

1292
00:55:10,200 --> 00:55:11,980
And Abraham bowed before the people and he

1293
00:55:11,980 --> 00:55:14,040
said, If you will only please listen to

1294
00:55:14,040 --> 00:55:14,180
me.

1295
00:55:14,260 --> 00:55:16,320
I will give, verse 13, the price for

1296
00:55:16,320 --> 00:55:16,740
the field.

1297
00:55:17,360 --> 00:55:18,300
Accept it from me.

1298
00:55:18,320 --> 00:55:19,180
He has a dignity.

1299
00:55:19,180 --> 00:55:20,700
There is a dignity about a man of

1300
00:55:20,700 --> 00:55:21,000
God.

1301
00:55:21,880 --> 00:55:23,480
That he doesn't go around like a beggar.

1302
00:55:25,160 --> 00:55:27,320
Hoping that somebody will give him something free.

1303
00:55:27,640 --> 00:55:29,300
And grabbing as soon as he gets it.

1304
00:55:31,760 --> 00:55:33,920
Then Ephron answered Abraham saying to him, My

1305
00:55:33,920 --> 00:55:34,960
Lord, listen to me.

1306
00:55:36,600 --> 00:55:38,420
This is Ephron telling Abraham, A piece of

1307
00:55:38,420 --> 00:55:39,980
land worth 400 shekels of silver.

1308
00:55:40,820 --> 00:55:41,480
What is that?

1309
00:55:41,560 --> 00:55:42,340
He said, That's nothing.

1310
00:55:43,000 --> 00:55:43,600
Bury your dead.

1311
00:55:44,260 --> 00:55:44,960
Abraham listened.

1312
00:55:45,760 --> 00:55:47,500
Oh, he said, It's worth 400 shekels of

1313
00:55:47,500 --> 00:55:47,660
silver.

1314
00:55:47,760 --> 00:55:49,680
Alright, I'll give you 400 shekels of silver.

1315
00:55:49,680 --> 00:55:53,840
And he weighs out, verse 16, 400 shekels

1316
00:55:53,840 --> 00:55:54,260
of silver.

1317
00:55:56,100 --> 00:55:57,820
The commercial standards.

1318
00:56:00,360 --> 00:56:01,020
And pays it.

1319
00:56:01,840 --> 00:56:02,600
A little thing.

1320
00:56:03,200 --> 00:56:05,320
But we can see something about the dignity

1321
00:56:05,320 --> 00:56:07,820
of this man of God.

1322
00:56:09,380 --> 00:56:11,920
An example worthy for us to follow.

1323
00:56:12,340 --> 00:56:12,580
Why?

1324
00:56:13,200 --> 00:56:14,720
Because the Lord was his provider.

1325
00:56:15,340 --> 00:56:16,760
Wherever you get the 400 shekels from.

1326
00:56:17,140 --> 00:56:18,420
The Lord is my provider.

1327
00:56:19,840 --> 00:56:22,900
I don't have to get a favor from

1328
00:56:22,900 --> 00:56:23,680
this unbeliever.

1329
00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:25,140
For my personal need.

1330
00:56:26,600 --> 00:56:28,960
And feel obligated to him for the rest

1331
00:56:28,960 --> 00:56:29,580
of my life.

1332
00:56:30,580 --> 00:56:31,720
We have to be very careful.

1333
00:56:32,420 --> 00:56:34,620
When an unbeliever does something for us, a

1334
00:56:34,620 --> 00:56:34,880
favor.

1335
00:56:35,920 --> 00:56:37,540
That we pray that in some way we

1336
00:56:37,540 --> 00:56:39,100
shall be able to serve him and return

1337
00:56:39,100 --> 00:56:39,660
that favor.

1338
00:56:40,320 --> 00:56:43,500
So that we don't live under obligation to

1339
00:56:43,500 --> 00:56:44,060
unbelievers.

1340
00:56:45,580 --> 00:56:48,280
If you are a child of God, don't

1341
00:56:48,280 --> 00:56:50,640
place yourself in obligation to unbelievers.

1342
00:56:52,000 --> 00:56:53,020
Keep that in mind.

1343
00:56:54,180 --> 00:56:56,340
So Ephraim, he did it, it says, in

1344
00:56:56,340 --> 00:56:57,340
the presence of all the people.

1345
00:56:57,460 --> 00:56:59,320
So that everything will be done decently.

1346
00:56:59,460 --> 00:57:00,900
So that other people will also know.

1347
00:57:01,620 --> 00:57:03,400
The Bible says we must provide things honest

1348
00:57:03,400 --> 00:57:04,320
in the sight of all men.

1349
00:57:04,960 --> 00:57:06,540
Everybody must see that we are upright.

1350
00:57:07,720 --> 00:57:09,960
So Ephraim's field was in Machphela, which faced

1351
00:57:09,960 --> 00:57:10,300
Mamre.

1352
00:57:10,560 --> 00:57:12,260
And all the trees in the field were

1353
00:57:12,260 --> 00:57:13,840
deeded over to Abraham for a possession.

1354
00:57:14,140 --> 00:57:14,660
Verse 18.

1355
00:57:15,720 --> 00:57:16,800
In the presence of the sons of Heth

1356
00:57:16,800 --> 00:57:18,240
and Abraham buried Sarah, his wife.

1357
00:57:18,360 --> 00:57:18,860
Verse 19.

1358
00:57:19,800 --> 00:57:21,000
And so the field and the cave that

1359
00:57:21,000 --> 00:57:22,220
is in it were deeded over to Abraham

1360
00:57:22,220 --> 00:57:23,680
for a burial site by the sons of

1361
00:57:23,680 --> 00:57:23,820
Heth.

1362
00:57:24,360 --> 00:57:25,340
We ask this question.

1363
00:57:25,580 --> 00:57:28,280
What did Abraham get in Canaan?

1364
00:57:28,680 --> 00:57:30,440
For everything that he gave up.

1365
00:57:30,920 --> 00:57:31,600
What's the answer?

1366
00:57:32,920 --> 00:57:33,720
A grave.

1367
00:57:35,800 --> 00:57:40,860
He never possessed anything in Canaan except a

1368
00:57:40,860 --> 00:57:41,140
grave.

1369
00:57:41,980 --> 00:57:43,480
And yet God said, don't worry.

1370
00:57:44,200 --> 00:57:46,620
One day your descendants will occupy this homeland.

1371
00:57:47,280 --> 00:57:48,420
And they have occupied it today.

1372
00:57:50,140 --> 00:57:52,960
Today, 1986, children of Abraham are living there.

1373
00:57:54,600 --> 00:57:56,880
But in his day he lived by faith.

1374
00:57:57,160 --> 00:57:58,480
All he had was a grave.

1375
00:57:58,820 --> 00:57:59,300
That's all.

1376
00:57:59,480 --> 00:58:00,940
But the only thing he had there, a

1377
00:58:00,940 --> 00:58:01,960
burial place.

1378
00:58:04,820 --> 00:58:06,600
We praise the Lord for the example of

1379
00:58:06,600 --> 00:58:08,400
Abraham that we can follow.

1380
00:58:09,360 --> 00:58:10,780
They sought another country.

1381
00:58:12,120 --> 00:58:12,800
A better one.

1382
00:58:13,620 --> 00:58:15,300
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called

1383
00:58:15,300 --> 00:58:15,780
their God.

1384
00:58:16,800 --> 00:58:18,580
When God called them, they obeyed.

1385
00:58:18,860 --> 00:58:19,940
They went up to the mount of the

1386
00:58:19,940 --> 00:58:22,480
Lord, believing that the Lord is my provider.

1387
00:58:24,020 --> 00:58:25,040
And therefore they were blessed.

1388
00:58:26,620 --> 00:58:28,700
Let's stand up and give thanks.