We just read there in Genesis
22, this is the first account we have. one of the Lord's names,
Jehovah. Jehovah-Jireh. That's the title
of this message in the article in the bulletin there by Brother
Frank Tate. He lists the seven names that
we commonly use. And people argue, well, there's
eight. Well, maybe so. But seven is plenty enough for
us to chew on for now. It gives us characteristics of
Jehovah. They're all Him. It's completely
Him. But we need to understand these
things in a way we can be taught. He teaches us to. He shows Himself
to us. The Jehovah-Jireh. The self-existent
One, Jehovah, will provide. He'll see to it. That's what
it means. He'll see to it. It has been
seen to. But who is Jehovah? Before we
learn what His second name is, we have to learn who He is, don't
we? That's the Eternal One. Did you have a beginning? Did
I? I had a beginning. He didn't. He always has been. Well, I can't
understand that. Me neither. Nobody else can.
But He is. He always has been. And that's
capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. When you read that
in the scriptures, all four letters capitalized, that's Jehovah,
the Eternal One, the Self-existent One, who always has been. These
names that we're going to look through the next seven weeks,
Lord willing, start with Jehovah Jireh, we'll look at this morning.
The Lord will provide. The Lord will provide. He'll
see to it. Jehovah Rapha, there in Exodus 15. The Lord that healeth. Jehovah Nisi, the Lord our banner.
Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our peace. Jehovah Reha, the Lord
my shepherd. Jehovah Tzitkenu, the Lord our
righteousness. In Jehovah Shammah, the Lord
is present. The Lord is present. He's with
us. Jehovah Jireh. That's the Lord will provide.
All things are provided in Christ. That's where we start. That's
where we're starting at, Jehovah Jireh. In Christ, in the Lord,
all things are provided for His people. But what about healing?
What about Jehovah Rapha? That's provided in Christ. We're
healed from our sin. Healed from our death, our given
life. What about Jehovah Nissi? The Lord our banner. He is who
we run to. He is that God on that ensign.
That's a unit flag on the end of a pole for the military. He's
the one that's high and lifted up that we proclaim to others.
His people rally around Him. They come to Him. They're drawn
to Him. And that's who they profess to others. Well, I believe Christ,
but you know, you can do it on your own. You ought to choose
Jesus. No. Him. I lifted up. That's who we rally around. He's
our peace. You going to have any peace?
Where's it going to be? Jehovah Shalom. In Christ and
what He's accomplished. Because of who He is and what
He did for His people that's done forever, now we have peace. Why is there peace? There's atonement
made. Atonement has been made. Propitiation has been made. There's
no condemnation. He's our shepherd. Did He just
save us? Well, I live in another state.
I've said that many times. If I was married to Kimberly,
but she lived here and I lived in three states over, I love
her. I ain't seen her in two years.
Would you think I love her? You think I'm part of her? We're
one? No. He's the Lord our shepherd. He guides us. He protects us. He feeds us. He teaches us. He trains us up as we should
go. And He's our righteousness. Jehovah's
Sick Kingdom. Christ is our righteousness.
Because of Him, because of that water and blood from His side
that flowed, we've been bought and we've been made pure. We've
been given His holy nature. His righteousness that cannot
sin. He was made us. We were made
Him. He's provided Himself our righteousness. And He's present. He's always with us. He didn't
leave us alone. That shepherd's always with us.
His righteousness is always with us. That banner that we wave
high, Jehovah Nissi, He's always with us, providing for us, healing
us. I pray that who we can see this
morning, who will be with us today, I pray He'll provide Himself
today to us. I believe He will. But this is,
people say, well, that's the Lord Jehovah, capital L-O-R-D,
and the Lord Jesus Christ is capital L, lowercase, O-R-D. Those are the same. Those are
the same. Christ and His Father are one.
How can I know that? His Word tells me so. It says
in John 10, 30, Christ our Savior walked this earth and He said,
I and my Father are one. Did that happen after He was
born, after that immaculate conception? Or has that always been? Isaiah
said, Behold, the Lord, capital L, lowercase o-r-d, that means
the sovereign, the controller. Behold the Lord, comma, the Lord
Jehovah, the Lord of hosts. Calls them by the same name.
They're one. Are they separate? Yes. Are they one? Yes. They
sure are. The great three in one, the triune
God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. For in Him, in Christ, dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." That Father who is one
with the Son, one with the Spirit, all three of them, the Triune
God, the fullness of the Godhead, dwells in a body, in a person. He said, you prepared a body
for me. And He came here to be made like us, made like His people,
yet without sin. Made human. What's He Lord of? Who's the Lord? The Lord Jehovah. Lord of all things. What's He
Lord of? I always break down three easy ways. Lord of creation. He made all things. He truly
created. That's a common name that flew
around our society left and right. I'm a creator. I create content
on the internet. I create things. There's one
creator. God created something. It says
in John 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God, the same in the beginning with God.
And all things were created by Him. All things were made by
Him. And without Him was not anything
made that was made. What about those beautiful things
that Michelangelo and Leonardo and all those sculptors and artists,
what did they create? No, the Lord put that in them,
didn't He? What about those doctors that come up with wonderful inventions
that help our mortal bodies and medicines they come up with?
Did they make that? Did they're just brilliance?
Did that worm come up with something magnificent? The Lord put that
in him for his people, didn't he? That's what He did. He's
created all things. He's the beginning of all things.
He's the Lord of Providence. He's made all things. Me, you,
everything. The air we breathe, we can't
see. Things seen, things unseen. Principalities, powers are His.
He's created it and He rules it. He's the Influencer. That's another term running around.
I'm an Influencer. He's the Creator. He's the Influencer.
He sustains all things. For of Him, that's the source. Through Him, that's the means.
And to Him, that's the end state, are all things. All things. To whom be glory forever. Amen. Isaiah said, Who hath directed
the Spirit of the Lord? Or, Who, being His counselor,
hath taught Him? Are you going to teach the Lord
something? with whom He took counsel, and
who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment,
taught Him in knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding. Behold, the nations are as a
drop in the bucket, and are counted as a small dust in the balance."
You take those mighty kings of Sodom we just looked at, or whoever. The most powerful nation on the
face of the earth that you would shake in your boots to. I'd be
like Abram. Oh, I need a shield. My reward's
gone. I gave it up. He says, they ain't
even dust on the scales. You don't even blow it off. It
don't count. Drop it in a bucket. Ain't nothing
but an ocean in it. Nebuchadnezzar, I love this,
Daniel 4.35. And all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing. What about the creators and influences
of our great generation? Nothing. They're reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou?
What are you doing? How many times a month do I get
asked what I'm doing? Kevin, what are you doing? You can ask me that. We're equal. I'm just a man. You ain't going to ask that.
We ain't equal to God. He's above us. He's the God of
providence and God of creation. And He's the Lord of salvation.
The Lord of salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. Jonah
cried from the belly, didn't he? Every sinner born of God
cries, salvations of the Lord, because He's the Lord of salvation.
It comes from Him and He rules it. He created it. That's His
business and His perfect wisdom and holiness. He said, I can
be just and I can show mercy. I can justify sinners and remain
just. You and I can't do that. We cannot
show mercy and maintain justice. You either maintain strict justice
or you'll forego it and you'll be, well, let's show mercy. We'll
just push the law underneath the rug. The Lord's the only
one. He's the Lord of salvation. He's the just and the justifier.
And His Son, His Son created all things. His Son governs and
rules all things. Salvation's of Him. And here
in our text, if we could get a hold of these 10 words, I mean
get a hold of it, The Lord showed us something. We may finally
know something about salvation. We may finally know the God of
salvation. Look here in verse 8. Genesis 22 verse 8. At the
end of it it said, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering. That's what we will look at this
week. Jehovah Jireh. The Lord will provide. He will provide. What does He
provide? We know He's God. He's the self-existing
eternal one. He's Jehovah. The Father, the
Son, and the Spirit are the same. They're all one. Manifest in
Christ and He provides. God will provide. What's He going
to provide? What's He going to provide? Turn
over to Matthew chapter 6. We're so akin to look at this
world because that's where we live. We're so tempted to look
to this body because that's what we live in. That's what we feel.
That's where our concerns go initially. Our old flesh is worried
about the flesh. Matthew 6 verse 27. Matthew 6, 27. Which of you,
by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his stature? Which
of you can grow four inches just because you just went, ugh, and
thought it real hard? Well, nobody can. Of course they
can't. They cut 2,000 years ago. They
can't now. Just think it real hard. I'm going to turn my hair
red. You can't do it. You're a fool. And why take ye
any thought for rain, when ye close? Consider the lilies of
the field, how they grow, and they toil not, neither do they
spin. And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these. You ever seen a beautiful
flower? The Lord made it so. Wherefore, if God so clothed
the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is, cast
an oven. That's something temporary, so
short. Don't be worried about those
things. Does that mean we don't eat,
we don't drink, we walk around naked? We got more sense than
that, don't we? Lord's going to use some means. We'll see
that in a second. But don't be wrapped up in those
things. Don't let that have your focus. Don't be concerned to
those things. He said, for after these things
do the Gentiles seek. That's what heathens do. They're
worried about this world. They're worried about the temporality
of this world. Your Heavenly Father knows you have need of
these things. He knows you need something to eat, something to
drink, and something to wear. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added
to you. God provides as He sees fit. He provides our needs in
this world, temporally, as we walk through this world. Do you think He ought to? Paul
told us that in Romans 8. He said, God, who spared not
His own Son, shall He not freely give you all these things? And
you know what our good-for-nothing old man says, our flesh says? Well, God ain't gonna do it.
I'll go down to the welfare office. How many help-wanted signs did
you pass on the way down to that welfare office? Maurice wrote
an article I put in a bulletin about those little birds on his
back porch, and every time their mother comes with that food,
they open their mouths up real big. They don't toil, they don't
plant, they don't build barns, do they? But the Lord gave them
jawbones to open their mouth and cry to their mommy, didn't
he? He gave us enough sense to do that. What is it that the Lord says?
He said He knows you need any of these things. Drink, food,
raiment. Paul wrote to some Philippians
for it. But my God shall supply all your need according to His
riches in glory by Christ Jesus. That was singular. All your need. Well, what's the food and the
drink and the clothing I need? Christ. Isn't it? Isn't that
His body? His blood? His reignment, His
covering, His robe of righteousness. We need Him. We need His person
and His work. That's our need. That's our need.
We want other things. We need Him more than our daily
bread, don't we? Cross the bread of life. Turn
over to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews 10 verse 4. That need that we have of His
body, His blood, and His righteousness. We need Him as our substitute
for sin. That's the singular. We need
Him. We need Him to provide Himself
a lamb. We need a sacrifice that bulls
and goats cannot do. Won't do no good. Hebrews 10,
verse 4. For it's not possible that the blood of bulls and of
goats should take away sin. It ain't possible. Wherefore,
when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offerings
thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me." Those
bloods, those goats, the boys, the goats, the lambs, millions
of them. All of it's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. That
body was prepared for Him. He's the sacrifice. Those are
types of pictures that point to Him. And He's come. And they
said, the Lord didn't want the blood of a cow. That was a picture. Something
we could see and smell and think of Him. To see His Son. It says
in verse 6, "...in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, thou
hast no pleasure." That ain't working. Then said I. Then the
Son spoke, ìLo, I come.î In the volume of the book, itís written
to me, ìTo do thy will, O God.î What did He come here to do?
To provide Himself a Lamb, to be our substitute, to save sinners,
to save His people from their sins. He had to become us. that
we might become Him. If He made us, we could be made
Him. That's what He did. He's that Lamb. He's the one
that is provided. If John the Baptist was here,
would you take him at his word? Or would he say, this is what we're
doing. John, I don't know why. Why, John, why? Okay, what do
you want done? John the Baptist stood here and
he stood up and said, Behold the Lamb of God. Is that simple? Is that complicated? Is that
something we can understand? God will provide Himself a lamp.
There's the lamp. There He is. Behold Him. At that
time, everybody, they knew this story. In our day and age, this
is getting more brief and more brief and more brief. I think
the Lord's coming soon. He said, as in the days of Noah. And then
people argue over if those computers are not in Noah's day. If they
had overhead cranes to build ark. There's eight believers
on the face of the earth. The Lord may whittle this down
to where there's eight people that believe the gospel. in this whole
world before his son comes back. We don't know. But we'll see
the Lamb. He's the one that we're to behold.
That's what we have need of. We have need for a sacrifice
for our sin. My blood won't do it. Your blood
won't do it. A cow, a goat, a sheep, it ain't
gonna happen. That won't do it. It must be
the blood of another. There in Hebrews 10.10, it says,
by the witch will we are sanctified. We are set apart, anointed, made
holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all. Does he have to do this over
and over? He didn't like him. Priests had to, every year and every month
and every day and a couple of times a day and keep taking these
sacrifices. He laid down his life one time. You going to add anything to
it? A heathen will try to add to
it. Somebody who doesn't know God will try to add to it. He's
done it once. It's done. It's finished. Peter
told us that for Christ also hath suffered for sins, suffered
once for sins, that just for the unjust that he might bring
us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by
the Spirit. He was put to death in the flesh,
so you and I could be quickened by the Spirit. We could have
life. And he suffered this once. He did it once. God shows here
in our text, back in Genesis 22, that He provides what He
requires. All these other things, the temporal
things, the Lord provided that. If I
have a job, who gave me that job? If I can walk, who gave
me legs to walk? If He's made me able, who made
me able? And if he didn't, well, the stakes are taken. Governor
Newsom is taking care of it. Who gave Newsom to you? Who sustains
him? The Lord provides it, don't He?
He provides the means. But He provides what He requires
first. And then we're given what is
required of us. He provides that too. It says
in Genesis 22, verse 1, I pray we can see our Lord in this.
See Christ in it. As we look through this, read
this as Abraham is the father and Isaac is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Genesis 22 verse 1, and it came to pass after these things. After
what things? Those ten great trials of Abraham.
Ain't he been through enough? You think he's been through enough?
Going back and forth with his wife, two separate kings, he
had to deal with that. Lot's gone and he intercedes
for Sodom. It's just one thing after another.
And then Ishmael, he loved him. Get him out of here. Send Hagar
with him. He's been through enough, hasn't
he? After these things that came to pass, after these things that
God did tempt, He proved Abraham. And said unto him, Abram, and
he said, Behold, here I am. If the Lord's going to give somebody
faith, He's going to prove it. He ain't proving it to him. It's
His faith and He gave it. And He sustains it. He knows
what that faith He gives you is going to do. He's proving
it to you. He's proving it to you. that he's faithful. That's
what he's proven. Came to pass and Abraham said,
behold, here am I. And he said, take now thy son. Which one? I got two of them.
Thine only son. Well, I only had one son with
Sarah and I only had one son with Hagar. The one that you
love. Well, I love both of them. Of
course, he didn't care for both of them, didn't he? Thine only
son Isaac, whom thou lovest. and get thee in the land of Moriah,
and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains,
which I will tell of thee." That mountain they go to, that's where
the temple was built in Jerusalem. He gave His only Son. What did our Father do? He sacrificed His only Son on
that same mountain. Up in that same area, wasn't
He? And Abraham rose up early in the morning. This wasn't something
that was haphazard. He saddled his ass and took two
of his young men with him and Isaac, his son, and claimed the
wood for the burnt offering and rose up and went into the place
of which God had told him. Could you imagine him as a man
stacking that wood on those asses? every little piece, knowing what's
going to happen. He's done this a hundred times
with lambs. And I'm going to do it to my
only son that I love, Isaac, the one that God promised. Through
him, his Savior, Abraham's Savior is going to come through that
one. I'm going to cut him up. He sharpened his knife. He obeyed God, didn't he? Then
on the third day, you see what I see? Three days. On the third day, Abram lifted
up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to
his young men, those servants there, abide here with asses,
and I and the lad will go yonder and worship. Well, he learned
something there. They're going to go worship.
What do you know about worship? You want to stand up and speak
on God's behalf to help instruct people on how worship ought to
be? We better know what we're talking about. He said Him and
the Son is going to go worship. What's that? Sacrifice. Sacrifice. There ain't no worship without
sacrifice. God won't hear it without the blood. And that sacrifice
is worshiping God. You talk about praising. People
say, worship songs and these big gatherings. We're going to sit around and
we're going to sing hymns all day and all this stuff. There better be some blood. And if you see the blood that
He put on the doorpost, that He passes over, He'll pass over
you because He sees the blood. Boy, there's going to be rejoicing.
That's going to come with it. That's inherent. You can't keep from it. You can't
keep from being happy about it. if you see his blood. But they're
going to go worship. They're going to go sacrifice. That's
what they're going to do. And come again to you. Abraham knew
he was going to kill Isaac up on that mount. He's going to
take that knife out. He's going to cut his throat, quarter him, cut his
only son that he loves into fourths, and set him on fire. He knew
it was going to happen. And he said, and we'll come again
to you. Is that a man that believes God? People have talked for years,
they say, I don't know if I have that faith. You don't. And Abraham
didn't either, until God gave it. And that new man, he gave
the faith that was necessary. He needed faith to get through
this. What God requires, He gives. He provided Abraham the faith
to do this. I've listened to a man sit in a pew one time,
and you did, and he said, boy, ain't you thankful that Abraham
chose to believe God and serve Him. And I thought he was leaving
like a real sarcastic point. I said, that's kind of out of
tune, but we'll see what he's getting at. No, God did this. God did. This is a stumbling
stone for everybody else. The child of God sees this is
the Lord's doing. And Abraham took the wood, there verse 6,
and Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it
upon Isaac his son. And he took a fire in his hand
and a knife and they went both of them together. Those servants
weren't there with him. Why? Abraham's 120 years old. Isaac's about 20. And those two
strapping young men, those two strapping servants down there,
they'd try to put their hand to it to stop it. I've heard
a bunch of old preachers when I was growing up say, well, if
I was there, I wouldn't have let him kill Christ. If you knew what
that blood was, you'd sure go along with it, wouldn't you?
If you knew what he was accomplishing, that hour that he had come to,
you sure wouldn't try to stop it. Peter said, I ain't gonna
let this happen. He said, get behind me, Satan.
That's the devil's business, isn't it? And we disguise it
in our morality. Man's depravity ain't the bad
things we do. It's what we think's good that God will accept. That's
depravity. I'll start from Greg. That's
in the bulletin too. You read it. Abraham took the wood of the
burnt offering and he laid it upon his son. that wooden cross
prepared before. That tree was planted. Do you
think a wind could have blew that tree over that Christ hung
on? No. He's the Lord of creation. He needed a tree to be hung on.
He provided that. Nothing could have burnt that
tree down or chopped it down. Nothing. It couldn't have happened. And He
laid it on His Son. And Christ bore that cross up
the Algotha's hill, didn't He? He carried His cross up there.
The Father had the fire in His hand, fire of wrath, of judgment,
what you and I deserved. and the knife to kill Him. Did men kill Him? Did men hang
Him on that cross? Are we willing to put Him there?
Yeah, by wicked hands we took Him and slew Him. This is by
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. By His pre-planning and
His love beforehand, that's why it come to pass. And they went
together. Those servants didn't come because
this is a transaction between the Father and the Son. Make
Christ your Lord. You can't. He is. You understand
that? It's already been settled. Why
don't you choose to get saved? No, that's already done. The
Lord may reveal it to you. I pray Christ is revealed in
every heart in this building. That's called salvation. When
He reveals His Son in you, same as He birthed you. How did you
get alive? You had to be separated from your mother's womb. How
do you have spiritual life? Christ is about to be revealed
in you. This is a covenant between the Father and the Son before
time ever began. He became our surety. He was that Lamb slain.
He was provided before the foundation of the world. I can't understand
it. Me neither. I believe it. That's so common for a man to
say, it's right because I know. No, it's right. You just need
to catch up. That's what it is. Well, I read it and I know this
is right because I read it. No, it was right before you read
it. It was still in print, wasn't it? No man can stop it. It says in
verse 7, And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said,
My father. And he said, Hear my, my son. What did he say to
Tum and Lazarus? Father, I'm saying these things
out loud so they can hear it. I know you hear me always. He said, Hear my son. And he
said, Behold the fire and the wood. But where's the lamb for
the burnt offering? In the flesh, this 20-year-old
boy, 18, 19, 20 years old, however old, strapping young man, he
was well taught. He was well taught. His father
told him. Told him these things. He knew
what sacrifice was. He knew he had to have fire.
He knew he had to have wood. He knew there had to be a lamb.
Where's the lamb? That's a question we ought to
ask often. I try to ask myself that, I hope,
and I'm so fearful. I'm scared. I don't listen to
my messages. I don't go back and listen to them. I don't like the sound
of my voice and I'm scared to death of what I may have said
wrong. I thought, I hope in every message I have, where's the lamb?
Where's the lamb? I can show him. As a boy, Isaac,
as a human, as a sinner saved by grace, he had some sense.
He was taught. How's them children? What's the best? Man's tactics
say, you know, children learn best if it's the color green.
So we're going to have these coloring books and these organizations
for children. We can teach them Christ by having
them green things mostly. God says, you go have circumcision,
and you go have the Passover, and you have these things I give
you. And when your children say, why are we doing this Passover,
Daddy? Then you tell them. God saved His people through
His Son. How are they going to know that? How are they going
to teach that Sunday school class? God is going to have to teach parents
first, isn't He? God taught Abraham. Abraham taught Isaac. Isaac knew
these things as a person. How is this our Lord? I would be so frightful to even
enter into explaining that. It's over my head anyway. But
this is a picture of our Lord. It says in Luke 2, 52, Jesus
increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
What a frightening thing. And Abraham said, My son, verse
8, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they
went both of them together. You think Isaac understood he
was the lamb? And they went both of them together.
He didn't say he grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and
drug him up that hill, did he? He walked. He walked. Isaac believed
the word of his father. Christ believed the word of his
father. He believed it. Verse 9, And
they came to the place which God had told of him. And Abram
built an altar there and laid the wood in order. This wasn't
hasty. This was planned before the foundation
of the world. This hour, this hour is what
this is representing. And he bound Isaac his son. and
laid him on the altar upon the wood. Was he kicking and screaming? There's a 20-year-old boy that
can carry wood up a big old mountain. And there's a 120-year-old man.
And he bound him. How could he bind him? He willingly
laid down his life. He believed God. Son, Christ
is going to come through your seat. You're my offspring. He's
coming through this lineage. And we're going to go back down
this hill. We're going to worship God. A sacrifice is going to
take place. And we are going to go back to my serpents. It's
going to be accomplished between us, but we're going back to the
serpents. We're responsible for them. They're ours. And Isaac
believed. And he willingly stuck his hands
out and said, tie me up daddy. what our Lord do. He said, I
am the good shepherd, I know my sheep and am known of mine.
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay
down my life for the sheep. That good shepherd laid down
his life for the sheep. He said, no man take it from
me, but I lay it down myself. I have the power to lay it down,
because they're one, and I have the power to take it back up
again. This commandment have I received of my Father. Abraham
looked at Isaac and said, son, sit down. I'm going to tie you
up. I'm going to cut your throat,
quarter you, burn you, and God's going to raise you up. You're
going to live. We're going to walk back down this mountain."
And I said, that's right. I believe you. As a picture of
our Lord Jesus Christ, believe in His Father. People say, I
believe God. I do. Lord, help my unbelief. I see
what unbelief I have. What an unprofitable servant
I am. I'm thankful for my substitute more every day. That's the one
that believed for me, because I couldn't. He's able. He's able, isn't he? It says
in verse 22, And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the
knife to slay his son, to reach across his head, and cut his
throats. And the angel of the Lord called
out unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham. He said,
Here am I. And he said, Lay not thy hand
upon the lad, neither do thou anything to him. The picture's
complete. Don't you touch it. Don't do
anything to Him. You ever done something wrong? In times past and in times now,
I've seen believers think that other believers ought to be punished.
One, that ain't right. You might be chasing by the Lord.
Punishment's all been laid on Christ if you're His. You don't
need punishment. They say, well, they ought to
pay. They ought to learn their lesson. Don't touch them. Don't touch them. Leave them alone. They're the
Lord's. He'll see to it. He said, for I know now that
thou fearest God. That's not a surprise that angel
of the Lord, this is Christ coming to speak to him. He knew he feared
God. He's the one that made him fear
God. The better translation for this is now everybody knows.
You know, and I tell you what those around you is going to
know, he always did know. For now I know that thou fearest
God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy only son from me. A man that doesn't leave his
father and his mother and his wife and his children and take
up his cross and follow me ain't worthy of me. Does that mean
you've got to hate your mother and hate your father and be mean
to them? No. If you value them over Christ, you ain't worthy
of me. If he valued that only son, that one you loved, Isaac,
whom your seed shall be called, if you valued that person more
than Christ, you ain't worthy of him. He said, I see you didn't
withhold thy son, the only son for me. And Abraham lifted up
his eyes and looked. And behold, behind him, the ram
caught in a thicket by his horns. Isaac knew of God, knew of Christ
and his sacrifice. He knew of his person and his
work. Abraham knew of the person and work of Christ. And one more
time, he looked behind him. You think they walked right past
it? How ignorant are we? How many times have we walked
right past the Gospel? How many times have we walked right past
the Gospel sitting in the pew? Didn't know it was there. And he sees
behind him, in times past, way before, before this earth ever
was, Christ was at Lamb's Lane. Behind him in a thicket, by his
horns. And Abraham went and took the
ram and offered him up a burnt offering instead of his son. Substitution. and satisfaction. We need a substitute. God has
to be satisfied with that substitute, and it's Christ. Where are we
going to get that? Abraham called the name of the
place Jehovah-Jireh. The Lord will provide. He'll
provide. As it's said to this day, in
the mouth of the Lord it shall be seen. It's going to be seen
to it. He'll provide. He'll see to it.
He'll perform it. He provides and performs. Was
He successful? That's His name. That's the first
characteristic we have of Him. Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will
provide. Now, did He do it? Well, He lived up to His name.
I'm a grandfather's namesake. I'm named after Him. And I don't
know if I live up to His name. But the Lord lived up to His
name. We read earlier in Hebrews 1, God, who at sundered times
and divers manners spoke in times past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom he made the
worlds, we're joined heirs with him, who be in the brightness
of his glory, and the expressed image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty
on high. Don't touch that lad. When was our sins purged? When
the work was finished. Where is he at now? Set down
at the right hand of the Majesty on High. That's a successful
Savior. He's provided. And that provision's
been accepted. Why? Because of where he is now.
He's risen. He's risen. David wrote that
and said, THE LORD, capital L-O-R-D, all capitals, Jehovah, said unto
my Lord, the Sustainer, the Sovereign, Christ Jesus our Lord. Set thou
on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool,
and the Lord shall send the rod of thy strength that is thine.
Rule thou in the midst of thy enemies. All provision is in
Him. All acceptance is in Him. He's
provided it. So that's been done. Work's finished,
isn't it? What's our job? Tell men and
women, you can't do it. It's already done. He did it.
Now believe on Him. I don't know what's going to
happen. Me neither. Is He going to provide? That's His name. You believe Him? Trust Him? You hang on His Word? If you
do, call on Him. Be like Abram. When he needed
a shield and he needed a reward. It's all gone. What are we going
to do? These kids got to eat. Call on the Lord that provides.
and you'll probably get an answer before he speaks, before you
speak. A man called out one time and said, Lord, I need a job.
And he said, Lord, I need a... And he tripped over a sign that
said, Help Wanted. He provides, he provides offerings.
And in this world, I worry, I ain't no different than anybody else.
I ain't no different than Abraham. I ain't no different than you.
I ain't no different than the Lord's people to come. I worry,
how are we going to make it? How much do you need? A little
more. How many people can you fit on a bus? I learned that
in Army. You know how many people you can fit on a bus? One more. That's how
many you can fit on a bus. We'll put that one on. How many
can you fit now? One more. How much do I need? A little more.
I always say that. The Lord provides these earthly
things, temporal things, and He gives us our wants. So many
of our wants. He's given us our one thing that
we need. That singular, that need, it's Him. He's provided
Himself a land. What else do we need? Nothing.
Nothing. We have Christ and all this.
He's the thing we need for it.