The title of today's sermon is "Make up your mind." Making up your mind means focusing on making the best decisions and sticking to them, and then you will get the best outcome.

Life is full of decisions. Frank Borham who was an England Baptist preacher once said, “We make our decisions and then our decisions make us.” The same principle can be applied to our spiritual life. Maintaining the quality of your spiritual life is determined by the decisions that you make in your daily life.

Conversation on the Road

Think about the father and son's conversation while they walked up to the mountain to get to the place of sacrifice. In verse 7, Isaac talked about the sacrificial offering to his father while he was carrying the large firewood pile on his shoulder. Isaac said, "Father! The fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Could you imagine how old Isaac was at that time? It's easy for many to think that Isaac was a little boy. So, his father used his strength to tie his son with ropes and offered him as a burnt offering to God.

However, the biblical evidences indicate that he was not a child. Many commentators said Isaac was at least 18 to 33. Josephus, a first-century historian born in Jerusalem, said Isaac was 25 years old. Adam Clarke noted that Isaac was about thirty-three. The point is that when Abraham was about to bind Isaac, Isaac recognized that the burnt offering was himself. At that moment, Isaac decided to obey his father's decision according to his own will. It was Isaac's decision to obey the will of his father.

In Hebrews, the meaning of obedience is "to hear or to listen." Isaac's obedience meant that he made listening to his father's words his top priority. To Isaac, Abraham was the best one to listen, too. He was better to hear one best person's words than to hear 100 different opinions. For Isaac, obedience was putting the highest priority on his father's words. It was Isaac's faith, and God blessed him with his faith.

The original meaning of obedience is to hear or to listen. The opposite of obedience is not simply disobedience, but it means hearing nothing from God, not listening to God, not understanding God, and not trusting God.

Typology of Isaac

When I read the Old Testament with people, I heard many people complain to God about why God asked Abraham to kill his son Isaac. I understand the reason why people raised that kind of question and complaining.

However, when God made the Bible record, there was an intention to record the story of Abraham offering Isaac as a burnt offering. The reason why God put the story of Isaac's sacrifice was to tell the example of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son.

Isaac's obedience on Mount Moriah was a type of the one to come. It was the same action Jesus Christ did on Calvary.

These are the list of the parallels between the sacrifice of Isaac and the sacrifice of Christ.

1. “Go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there” in Genesis 22:2. It is the same mountain that Jesus was crucified in the place that Isaac had been laid on the altar.
2. “Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac” in Genesis 26:6. Jesus, “carrying his own cross,” walked to Calvary in John 19:17.
3. Isaac fully obeyed when his father tied him to sacrifice. Jesus completely obeyed the will of God. He said “Father, not my will, but your will be done.”

It sounds crazy to us when Abraham tried to offer up his son as a sacrifice. So, I heard that many people complained to God about how He could tell Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. But think about it. What God has done for us? He sacrificed his only son for us.

Theological Insights

Let me share two important theological insights that every Christian should understand it. The first is to know the decisive theological reason why Abraham was able to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice.

When Abraham decided to sacrificed Isaac, he truly believed that God would raise him from the dead. Hebrews 11:19 speaks well of Abraham's understanding of the power of the resurrection. Paul spoke about the power of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15: 42-44 " The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”

Example from movies

I've seen many movies about parents trying to raise their mischievous sons to be better and more responsible. In the film, the parents decide to send their troubled son to a private military boarding school because they believe that school provides consistency that helps the son develop responsibility, accountability, discipline, and self-motivation. They believe they will meet a better son on graduation day, so they send him to a private boarding school. In the same sense, Abraham tried to give Isaac to God and believed that he will receive a transformed son from God again.

The second is how Isaac could make his complete obedience to his father because Isaac trusted his father Abraham as the man of God. Even though Isaac did not personally hear from God, he trusted Abraham; as a result, he fully receive God’s blessings.

The Blessings of God

God gave Isaac spiritual and material blessings in return for his obedience. First, it was a spiritual blessing. God made the name of Isaac great among the people, and all the people of the land acknowledged Isaac as one whom God had anointed and respect him.

The other was a material blessing. God made Isaac to have the touch of Midas. Whatever Isaac did, he prospered. For example, Isaac found a well of fresh water in the wilderness because God blessed him. He found it 6 times in 26:18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 32. He dug everywhere he went and got a well. In Abraham's time, livestock farming was the main industry, so wells were an asset and a source of wealth. It's like a miner digging and finding a vein of gold that makes him rich.

Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Providing water means in Christian to be filled with the holy spirit. In john 4:14, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. In 7:38, whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.

The Reason to Listen the Word of God

Some Christians may think they don't need to listen to sermons every Sunday because they tend to believe they've already heard enough of the Bible. I have no problem with them, but the Bible's answer is clear. Christians should listen to God's Word. God’s words are like the Manna that was needed every day as a daily bread. If they kept it for next day, it was spoiled.

2 Peter 1:12-13 says the function of preaching is like a spiritual wake-up call. If you have important business, it's like setting up a Google reminder to remind you what to do before an event starts.

Have you ever forgotten your login password to your bank account, email account, Amazon account, auto insurance account, etc.? Did you know that the main reason people forget their passwords is that they are infrequently used? Likewise, we can forget God's promises if we don't think about them in our daily lives. God's Word is your spiritual wake-up call.

Carleton UMC will be your watch tower to help you remember God’s promise words for you and will remind you how to hold your Christian faith to receive God’s abundant blessings in your daily basis.

01.15.2023 Pastor Cloud Poy

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