This Is Only A Test

you Bibles with me to Genesis at chapter number 22 verse 1 and verse number 2 Genesis at chapter number 22 verse 1 and verse number 2 and it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham and said unto Him Abraham and he said Behold Here I am and he said take now thy son buy an only son Isaac whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of thank you you may have you see grass withers and flower fades with the word of our God shall stand forever I want to talk to us today from this subject this is only a test whatever you're up against whatever you're going through this is only a test we don't sing it much anymore but growing up in my little Church in Louisiana where I'm from we used to sing I'm so glad trouble don't lash always thank God for that thank God that the storm is passing over all of us in this sanctuary this morning or either coming out of a test hit it towards a test or will being tested right now but the good news is it's only a test Abram whose name means exalted father in chapter 17 in chapter 22 he is called Abraham the father of many nations for 25 years Abram and Sarah have trusted in God's promise there is an interlude between the promise and its fulfillment so Abraham and Sarah like us run ahead of God to help facilitate his plans Sarah advises Abraham if you're going to have a son you need to do it now with my handmaid my servant Hagar Abraham goes along with that scheme and Ishmael is born but Ishmael is not God's promised Abraham at the time was 75 when God made him to promise that he would be the father of many nations and God waits until Abraham is 99 and Sarah is 90 sexual fire has been extinguished in Abraham and Sarah is a post menopausal octogenarian and God announces that she's going to get pregnant and reasonably Sarah laughs God says why is Sarah laughing I wish I had a Bible in it is there anything too hard for God and he's not just like God he waits until every opportunity for our assistance has been depleted then he shows up to do what never could have been done without his assistance in the first place Abraham has this bouncing baby boy that he loves he cherishes Isaac Isaac is his only son by Ishmael is the son not of promise Ishmael is a son born out of esteem but Isaac is born out of God's plan he is the son of promise he's the son of prophecy and he's the son of Abraham's old age and God one day calls Abraham to bring him up to Mount Moriah to kill him to sacrifice him on an order that that that request of God is not just incomprehensible it's absolutely unconscionable and and and the Holy Ghost let me know how Abraham was able to do it because of Abraham's faith in God Isaac was dead before they left home because before being left the house he determined to do what God said someone ought to help me preach it the only way you can do the impossible is to believe God before you leave home I don't understand how you gonna work it out I don't know what difference you're gonna make in this situation but I've trusted you in the past and you've always come through so whenever you tell me to do right now I'm in your hands I trust you with my future I was I was saying to the preachers who were here on Thursday the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 preachers who were here on Thursday in our preachers class I was saying to them and I'm gonna talk about that with them later but I was saying to them that the reason we got to get so much jump to preach is because we don't trust God's Word that that's why you will L rely on his health and wealth stuff this prosperity preaching and and this give somebody a high five and and run around the church three times and and and all that kind of junk we got to do all of that because we don't think the word is powerful enough to elicit a response people who love God love God's Word Democrat a witness here and when you love the Word of God all you got to do is hear it read and it sets your heart on fire how shall they hear without a preacher and how shall they preach except they be sent the biblical stories that cause the most cognitive dissonance the the biblical stories that cause the most cognitive dissonance to our logical minds of often always contain the greatest revelations it's impossible for Moses to stretch for the rod and the Sea opener it's impossible for Joshua and the children of Israel to march around the wall and it tumbles down it's impossible to get in for Gideon to start off with 32,000 and in up with 300 and win a war it's impossible for David to take a slingshot until a giant 9 feet 9 inches told 450 pounds that causes us cognitively and logically not to believe it unless you put God in it and when God is in it the red sea opens Jericho's walls fall down OSHA had a witness in David Spade's Goliath Gideon routes the Midianites because when God is in it that makes the difference too often we approach this story as if God is on trial but it's not God's character that is in question its Abraham's character that is on the stand now if you grew up between 1963 and 1997 you heard this message more than once this is a test for the next 60 seconds this station will conduct a test of the emergency broadcast system the announcer would say this is only a test and this annoying unnerving sound would come on the television especially in the 60s and 70s because there was only three television stations ABC NBC and CBS someone ought to help me preach it I wish I had somebody here old enough to admit that you remember when I was channel 3 and channel 10 and channel 11 now there are 300 channels but there were only three channels back then and no station could refuse to make that announcement and whenever the announcement came the announcer said if this were an actual emergency I wish I had somebody guilty you would be instructed I wish I had two or three hold it this is it I need to tell somebody in this church this morning this is only attention for the next 60 seconds this will be a test of the emergency broadcast system if this were an actual emergency God would show up himself move you out of the way and take over your situation God tests us for two primary reasons first it's an opportunity for God to prove himself to us and secondly it's an opportunity for us to prove ourselves to God I want I want I want to press this to somebody's heart this morning God will go after anything you trust in more than him until you put it on the altar you know testing one two testing one two God will go after anything you trust in more than him until you put it on the order test one two God will go after anything that you trust in more than him until you put it on the altar you got to put your marriage on the altar you got to put your son on the altar you got to put your family on the altar you got to put your money on the altar you got to put your health on the altar you got to put your desires on the altar you got to put what you want on the altar because in what you want what you have what you own if you trust in that more than you trust in God he'll go after it if the gift ever becomes more important than the gift-giver then the very same God gave you to serve his purposes is undermining his plans for your life then I run that by you one more time if the gift ever becomes more important to you than the gift giver then the very thing God gave you the service purposes is undermining his plans for your life miss if I can make us get there Lucifer who became Satan was the bright Sun of the morning God made him beautiful he was the most beautiful of the ocking God gave him that beautiful voice God made him the Sun of the morning Lucifer before he became Satan laughs the music in health God made him V most beautiful and gave him the most beautiful voice and Lucifer was the bright Sun of the morning until he looked in the mirror and thought that what he had belonged to him and he put himself above the one who called him and let me say to you brothers and sisters the lesson of Lucifer's fall is simply this whatever you don't turn into praise turns into pride I don't care what it is if God gave it to you praise God for it or else you'll get proud that you have it and the very thing God gave you to serve them that thing will stop using you to undermine what God called you to do and when you get possessed by your possessions your praise becomes pride and God will fire you and it's an awful thing for God to fire you and you keep coming to work God took his spirit from Samson and he didn't even know it ah God help me preach this book the more God blesses you the harder it is to keep that blessing from becoming an idol the more God blesses you the harder it is keep that blessing from becoming an idol when I was pastoring in my church at home one of the members of our church had a new baby and it was a cold winter that we are never will forget in 1983 of pipes were freezing under your house and icicles was hanging down that's how cold it was that winter and for weeks she would not come to church because she had a newborn and she did not want to bring the baby outside the baby was not do born it was eight nine months old but she didn't want to bring the baby out because it was too cold and I saw her in the store and I said where you been I haven't seen you in church it's the old law of rent when it's cold and I came you know I don't want to bring the baby out in the cold I said that baby is in your way I'll tell you what I'm gonna do I'm gonna go home today and pray and ask God to take that baby so that you can start coming to church because that baby is become your idols and it's keeping you from coming to church I'm afraid to ask God to take the baby so that you have no excuse you can get to church because your baby will be gone she wrapped that baby in two blankets four heads mittens and brought that baby to church every Sunday in the cold because whatever God blesses you with if that thing becomes an idol God is coming after it I wish I had a witness here I don't want anything in my life that's too much for me to give up for God because if you can't give it up God is coming after it because God does not want the blessing in your life to ruin the plans he has for your life and so since I'm there can you identify your Isaac Isak for you could be a job it keeps you from serving God give it up a god is coming after now I don't mean that you're not supposed to take care of yourself and take care of your family and provide for your material needs because God knows what your needs are but you use that as an excuse not to serve God because you don't want to come to church in the first place so that's a built-in excuse if your friends if your wife if your son if your grandchild is an idle moving aside our God is coming after it i was saying to reverend washington doctor before i get a preacher class going i need to get a man class go before you can become a good preacher you got to be a man for you can become a good anything you got to stand up for something talk back to me if you can your wife ain't that pretty your baby ain't the Christ child that was only one baby that was immaculate and that was Jesus Christ your job is not the most important thing in the world just like God gave it to you if you put it ahead of him he's coming after it well I wish I had time to stay right there listen I want you to see in this text Abraham was a great Saint he was the father of the faithful Abraham had no notion of how God was going to turn that thing around God just said get up take your only Son you're uniquely born son and bring him to a mountain that I will show you and without question Abraham got up took God at His Word and told Isaac come on with me you go help me preach this one thing he was on his way to make a great sacrifice he was going to give up the only thing he'd been waiting for 99 years what are you willing to give up this morning listen listen listen listen listen this is a secret it's between me and you don't tell nobody else this is our senior God can never give you back what you're not ready to give up I wish I had my 7:30 cry God can never give back to you what you're not already to give up to him because you might think you can't give this up this is too important this is too much I've got to have more than this but when you walk with God and trust his plans for your life whatever or whomever walks out of your life God will replace it with more than you thought you gave up brothers and sisters when when when mrs. Anderson walked out on our marriage I thought that the sunshine had gone out of my life forever but God has blessed me more now than I've ever been blessed in my life and listen I'm not I'm not saying to you that I didn't grieve that it wasn't a mournful moment but I can't give up Bridget I can't give up following God I cannot be mrs. Anderson somebody gonna get that on the way to Luba I've got to declare that I'm God's servant and I'm gonna follow God's voice no matter what it costs me and it has cost me dearly but now I'm on the other side of it my tax became my testimony because until you give it up he can't give it back and when he gives it back he'll give back more than you gave up you remember the story of Joe lost everything he had but keep on reading God gave him back everything he loves have a got a witness here that somebody here has given up a career giving up having children giving up a job giving up a house because you wanted to do what God wanted you to do you had no plans you had no roadmap you had no GPS you had no appleís you just trusted in God's promise but I want you to help me testify right now that I got more now to be thankful for then I had 30 years ago I'm more grateful now when I've ever been in my life because when you give it all up to God he'll turn it around in your life I said he'll turn it around in your life I said he will turn it around but you got to give it all up for him if that man walks out on you your sense of somebody in this ain't in no man if they fire you on your job because you're falling trying to follow Jesus when God closes one door he opens another door and if that door doesn't open God will open a window and pull out blessings that you won't even have room enough to receive rebels and sister here's the problem many of us have bought into Christianity but we haven't sold out and it's very easy to follow the culture to buy in without setting up let me make my declaration of dependence right now I promised the Lord when he raised me off my sickbed that I'm all-in ain't got no card up my sleeve I don't have no chips under the table I'm all-in - you poker players in here you know what all-in means you ain't holding nothing back you put all your chips in the middle of the table I told the Lord whatever you need me to do I'm willing to do whatever you want me to say wherever you want me to go however you want to use my life if you got to take something from me to make me strong I'm in your hands if you've got the bruise me to bless me if you got to knock me down to pick me up if you've got to make my family quit speaking to me because I want to do your will if you got to let my friends walk out of my life because I'm determined to follow your word I'm staying with Jesus because I want to see what the end is going to bring and brothers and sisters our to have a witness right here that when you make up your mind that you are all-in with Jesus Christ if friends walk out he'll walk right in Abraham was a great scene he may had to make a great sacrifice but he had a great son because in the text Isaac does not rebel by this time Isaac is a young man Abraham is an old man as it could have easily gotten away from his father but not one time in the text as it isn't even suggested that he rebelled against his father I want you to see something Isaac carried the wood that would take his life I don't think I've got that over to you Isaac carried the burden that he would die on I still don't think you got that Isaac put on his shoulder the wood that he would be sacrificed on that reminds me of another Isaac I'm kind of getting ahead of myself let me back up here he takes the wood for the burnt offering and he says to his father trauma Abraham said Here I am my son he said I see the wolf I see the fire but where is the lamb saw the bite off Abraham said my son God will provide some how to help me shout right here when you can see your way when you can see an answer to your dilemma when you don't know how things are gonna turn out in your life this is only a test I've got some good news for you God will yes we will yes he will yes he will is there anybody here who know he's Jehovah Jireh the God who will provide water put food on your table what do you make your enemies leave you alone why do you open a door that was closed in your face God will provide here's how he doesn't Abraham takes that knife and he's ready to come down to actually shield his only son and when God sees Abraham's faith because the test of God is not just to prove Abraham but for Abraham to prove God and God cannot demonstrate his faithfulness until you exercise your faith somebody shouted right there see you waiting for God to do something faithful but you have them exercised anything you haven't done anything that is God sighs when you do little stuff that you can do God and you got to get in it but when you do big stuff that nobody can do but God you're sure to let you know I've been waiting on you Abraham was about to kill Isaac and God said Abraham now I know that you trust me your faith has been vindicated turn around there's a ram caught in the thicket and the ram caught in the thicket listen what's going on on one side and what's going on on the other side on one side of their Mountain pain is coming in but coming up on the other side its provision on one side heartache on the other side healing on one side grief on the other side glory on one side sorrow on the other side salvation on one side death on the other side did light on one side dread on the other side the difference on one side brokenness on the other side blessedness and when those two sides meet that's where God provides bring your pain and God will show up with a provision bring your heart God will show up with a healing bring your grief God will show up with glory bring your brokenness God will show with blessedness but unless you come up on your side God won't come up on his side and listen the RAM can only be provided when Abraham needs it God will not show up until the situation is past your help you can't do nothing about it you can't handle it anymore then God shows up to be what only God can be now here's my last word Abraham was a great Saint called on to make a great sacrifice had with him Isaac a great son but that ram caught in the thicket represents for us a great substitute because you hear me as a clone God is not about to allow Abraham to do on Mount Moriah what he was about to do on my account somebody ought to help me close it God would not allow Abraham to give up his only son because one Friday on a skull shaped Hill God was going to give up his only son God's not going to let Abraham do more for him then God is going to do for Abraham because Isaac and that ram caught in a thicket is a type of Christ but the real substitute is coming through 42 generations you gonna help me close this watch it born in Bethlehem of Judaea to a young peasant girl named Mary and a carpenter named Joseph he was born in Bethlehem reared and brought up in Nazareth baptized in the Jordan River performed miracles in a desert place He healed the sick he gave sight to the blind he made lame men to walk he made death men to hear and then he went to Peter's house and raised his mother-in-law from a fever Jairus daughter was at the point of death and Jireh said if you come home with me my daughter will live and Jesus went with him and on the way there was a woman with an issue of blood and she grabbed Jesus garment and when Jesus stopped the blood stopped and he said woman your faith has made you hope you can help me close that won't you Jesus was on his way to the cross because he is the ram caught in the thicket he is Isaac with the wood on his shoulders and he went to the cross of Calvary and here is the heart of the Christian gospel he died for the sins of the whole world if we had needed money God would have sent us an economist if we had needed knowledge God would have sent us a philosopher but since we needed salvation God sent us a savior and that Savior is Christ alone he died didn't he die on an old rugged cross he died for the liar he died for the gambler he died for the adulterer he died for the whole manga he died for the homosexual in his sin you get ever named Jesus covered it with his blood what can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of Jesus I wish I had a witness what can make me whole again nothing but the blood of Jesus is there anybody here know any of soul he died for your sin but he didn't stay dead if that were the end of the story we would have something to be sad about but brighter and Sunday morning he arose didn't he arrive and because he is I can shock this morning because he is I got joy down in my soul is there anybody here know you've been born again is there any here know you've been washed in the blood of the Lamb is there anybody here save sanctified filled with the Holy Ghost you don't care who's looking at you you don't care what they say about you you got your own testimony cuz you stirred your own tests I've seen the lightning flashes I've heard the thunder road I felt sins breakers dashing trying to conquer my soul but I heard I wish I had a witness the voice of my Savior telling me still the fight alone he promised he promised didn't he promise he promised never to leave me never to leave me alone if the laws been good to you and you're not ashamed to testify if the law opened doors for you and you don't mind being a witness why don't you drive somebody said I've been through the tests now I got my testimony I've been through the storm and rain but I made it I stood my test now I got my testimony any all right in the our I've been downs in my last time but he stepped in right on time my friends were few but he came to wrap his arms around the doctor said I'd never get well but here I am this morning clothing in my right mind testified a can't nobody can't nobody can know about it do me like Jesus why don't you hug somebody tell them cheer no matter can mobile can robot is human like Sheila can't nobody do it like the loan I try I try I try I try I try I tried and I found out he will he will he will yes he will yes he will yes he will yes he will he will provide but he will not show up to be faithful until you exercise your face you got to be all in you got to sell out and see him master everything I got is yours I'm you use me until you use me take my life and let it be take everything I have and turn it into yours and I growling to you if you give it all up to him he'll give it all back to me and when he gives it back is more than you gave up

Channel: lillygrovembc

Views: 310,528

Rating: 4.7689862 out of 5

Keywords: Reverend Terry Anderson Pastor Lilly Grove Missionary Baptist Church Houston Texas

Id: pu2X5c9ao6s

Length: 45min 42sec (2742 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 16 2015