If you would follow along, please
turn to Genesis chapter 22. Genesis chapter 22. This really
should be a very familiar passage of scripture. I'm not swearing
that it is for a lot of people, but it really should be. I wanna
begin reading in verse four of Genesis 22. Then on the third
day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And
Abraham said unto his young men, abide ye here with the ass and
I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to
you. And Abraham took the wood of
the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son And he took
the fire in his hand and a knife, and they went, both of them,
together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham
his father and said, my father, and he said, here I am, here
am I, my son. And he said, behold the fire
and the wood, but where's the lamb for a burnt offering? And
Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a
burnt offering. So they went, both of them, together. I'm gonna stop right there. I'm gonna try not to keep you
long this morning. I am just going to tell you the
message of all 66 books of the Bible. and their subject. Now that sounds audacious, doesn't
it? Well there's a sign outside of a church. It's been up there
for a couple, three weeks now. And evidently they're real proud
of it or they're still going on with it, I don't know. The
sign says this. How many books are in the Bible
and what are they about? Well A, there's 66 books in the
Bible. That's not hard. But the rest
of that sign is exactly wrong. Because it's not what they are
about, it's who they are about. And if you miss that, you can
have all the what's right you want. If you don't know the who,
you're not going to really know the what. And the what you know
is probably going to be wrong. Now, the message is the same
in all 66 books. Now if I don't see it, that's
my problem. If you don't see it, that's your
problem. But the message is the same because
the message is here. And actually these two identical
statements here in Genesis 22, it's what I'm gonna try and preach
today, where he says this. In verse six he says, and they
went, both of them, together. And then in verse eight, so they
went, both of them, together. Now like I said, most people
should know this scripture, and I think everybody here does,
and maybe a lot of people on the television, I don't know.
God told Abraham to take his son. He said, thine only, Isaac. Now he had another son named
Ishmael, but Ishmael didn't count. He's already gone. And you understand
when God said for him to go, he was gone. And all that's left
to Abraham is Isaac. But take thine only Isaac and
offer him as a burnt offering. That's in verse two. And Abraham
does as God commands. Again, this was not a request.
It was a command from God. You know, God will ask questions.
But he only asked questions that he wants you to know the answer
to. He asked Cain, where's his brother
Abel? God knew where Abel was. The
blood was crying out. But God wanted Cain to admit
where his brother was. Jesus Christ did the same thing
when he was here. He asked some of them Pharisees
questions. He already knew the answer to them. He wanted them to lie to him
about it. And that's usually what they did. But this is the account of the
first mention, I said this before, of the burnt offering. And this first written account
of the burnt offering is this. The burnt offering is a person. What? Take thy son, take now
thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee
into the land of Moriah, and offer him, there for a burnt
offering. The burnt offering, the first
mention of the burnt offering is a person, a person. And who was to take this person
for the burnt offering? His father was. His father was. He didn't tell Abraham, send
somebody else to take Isaac up there, because you know it's
a long way up that mountain, you might not make it. You know,
it said Abraham told his young men, abide here. Well, everybody
to Abraham was a young man by this time. But he told them, take your son,
take your only son, take your Isaac, only Isaac. And the father and son went together. Verse six starts this way, Abraham
took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac, his son,
and he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and they went, both
of them, together, together. Now as you read this verse, you
see in verse four, then on the third day, Abraham lifted up
his eyes and he saw the place afar off. They've been on their way for
three days. The father and son together. Now yes, there were
servants with them here. But they're fixing to leave them
behind. Because the burnt offering that's spoken of here is only
between the father and the son. The father and the son together,
but alone, alone. Like I said, there were servants
around, and those servants were doing the will of the father. And we are told what Abraham
thought about the sacrifice of his only son for three days. It's in Hebrews chapter 11. Excuse me. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse
17. By faith, Abraham, when he was
tried, offered up Isaac. And he that had received the
promises offered up his only begotten son. Of whom it was said that in Isaac
shall thy seed be called, accounting, this is Abraham, accounting that
God was able to raise him up even from the dead from whence
also he received him in a figure. Abraham considered that boy dead
for three days. But he had faith that God was
able to raise him up to fulfill the promises that God had already
made to Abraham. In Isaac shall thy seed be called. And thy seed was going to be
as the sands of the sea and the stars of the sky. No man can
number it. The father and son, together,
they went up together and they came down together. They went
up, they went together, and they made a burnt offering as instructed
by the Lord. And they came again. They found a ram in the thicket.
I'm not gonna go into a lot of it. They found a ram in the thicket.
After he had, well, after Isaac carried that wood. You know,
our Lord carried his own cross. And Isaac, he laid that wood
on Isaac. And he laid the wood out, and he bound Isaac and had
him on it, and he had the knife up and ready to strike. And God
said, no. Look right over there. There's
a ram in a thicket caught by his horns. And Isaac was released,
a substitute was used, and there the burnt offering was made.
And they both went up, and they both came back. Well, I said
that wrong. They came again. You understand? The father and the son went together
up, and the father and the son went together down. The father
and the son never go back. They only go forward. They only
go forward. What? Just as purpose and as
planned. always They made the burnt offering
and they went forward from there the father and the son together
The burnt offering was completely and totally between the father
and the son Together Even their faithful servants had nothing
to do with this burnt offering They didn't have anything to
do with this they weren't there matter of fact Abraham said don't
come here Stay right where you're at. I and the lad, the father
and the son, were going to make this burnt offering, and the
father and the son were gonna come back. It was, is, and about, by, and
for the father and the son together. Now the burnt offering, it tells
us later in Leviticus, Walter went into it, I've talked about
it before, I like the burnt offering. Every single bit of that burnt
offering goes to God. It's all burned on the fire. It's all burned on the altar.
It all goes up as a sweet savor unto God and God alone. There's
other sacrifices where the shoulder goes to the priest, not the burnt
offering, not the burnt offering. is a picture of the completion
of our Lord Jesus Christ offering completely and totally to the
Father. We don't get a part of that burnt
offering. We share in the results of that burnt offering. We are
given the results of that burnt offering. His people, His people
receive grace because of this burnt offering. but they don't
take part in it, they don't even get to see it. Every piece, every
part of the burnt offering goes to the Lord. And here I do want to point out
the result of the real burnt offering, who is Christ Jesus,
our Lord, offered on the cross. And there, taking his offering
to God in the heavens. But here's the result of that
offering. Excuse me 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 and
verse 17 Therefore if any man Be in Christ
he is a new creature Old things are passed away, behold, all
things are become new. And all things are of God who
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit. that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. This is the reality of what the
Father and the Son did together. All things are of God. The burnt
offering included. the sacrifice of Christ. What
was it? God who hath reconciled us to
himself by Jesus Christ. Who is that? That's the Father
and the Son together, together. To wit that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto him. and hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation. That's the father and the son
together, together. He reconciled us to himself by
his son. Oh, I like that. Because the
reconciliation is by the son to the father. He didn't reconcile
himself to us. No, we're the ones who were reconciled.
We were reconciled by Him. By who? The Father and the Son,
together. Now, you might ask, what about
the Holy Spirit? Well, I know. I know. And I'm gonna tell you something.
See, it says here twice in Genesis 22, and they went both of them
together, and so went both of them together. You understand?
There's no mention of the Holy Ghost here. But he's here. He's here. These three are one. But here's the thing. He's there,
but you don't see him. He's there, but I don't see him. What? The Holy Spirit goes where
he listeneth. And you can't tell where he came
from, you can't tell where he's going. And anybody that says
they can't is a liar. And he will take the things of
Christ and show them unto you. He shall not speak of himself. But he's there. I guarantee you
folks, he's there. But I'm going with the illustration
I got. And what I got is the father and the son together. Now I wanna tell you, this is
not the first time It actually speaks of the father and son
together. Because I want to tell you this, the father and the
son have always been together. And guess what? They have always
went together. John tells of John one, in the
beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word
was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. Guess what? Eternal father and
eternal son together, together. And what did the father and son
do? All things were made by him and without him was not anything
made. That was made. Now mostly a lot
of people, and myself included, might think of the universe,
the stars, all the planets, this planet, the moon, the sun. What? The people. The rocks and
the trees and the plants and the creeks and the rivers and
the oceans. But I want to tell you something else that most
people won't think of that was made in the beginning. Something
that was made from the beginning, something gracious, something
merciful and something glorious. The father and the son made a
covenant. And they made this covenant with
each other. All of God's purposes and all
of God's plans were made by the father and the son together. Oh, and all of God's covenant
went forth together. with father and son. The father says of the son, there
was a cloud that overshadowed them and a voice came out of
the cloud saying, this is my beloved son, hear him, hear him. Because the son is beloved of
the father. Well beloved, perfectly beloved. And what does the son
say of the father? And he that sent me is with me. The father hath not left me alone. For I do always those things
that please him. The son is beloved of the father,
and the father is obedient to the son. I'm excuse me. Beloved
the son, and the son is obedient to the father. I came to do my
father's will. That's what he said. And he said,
I do. Always what pleases the father. Because the father and son together. Always. Always. Except there was one moment. One moment in time. It never happened before, and
it will never happen after. That the father separated himself
from the son. And at the ninth hour, Jesus
cried with a loud voice saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,
which is being interpreted, my God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? The father forsook the son. You wonder why? The answer is this. Sin. Sin. Not the son's sin. Let's be very clear. The son
knew no sin. He had no sin. But our sin and
the sin of all those The Father gave him from the beginning in
that covenant. All of those sins were laid upon
him. All of those sins he took in
his body on the tree. And for that moment in time,
the Father and the Son were not together. God forsaking God. Make no mistake about it, Jesus
Christ, Jesus of Nazareth was God manifested in the flesh.
I can't explain how God could forsake God. I can just read
it and tell you about it. And I believe it. What's it say
about thou art of pure eyes than to behold sin? Jesus Christ said,
Why hast thou forsaken me? It was prophesied in the Old
Testament, and it happened in the new, in the Gospels. But it was not the son's sin
that caused it, but mine and yours. All the father gave him, he took
their sins. He made him to be sin. Who knew no sin? Why? that we might be made the righteousness
of God, what? In the Son. In the Son. This is the covenant of the Father
and the Son, what? Together. Even though for this
moment, they separated. They separated. But never fear,
because the Father and the Son are together again. Never to
be separated again. And when Jesus had cried with
a loud voice, he said, Father, still on the cross, into thy
hands I commend my spirit. And having said thus, he gave
up the ghost. The father and the son are together
again. The son had told us this was
gonna happen. His disciples, he told them, they didn't get
it. Let's see, John 12 and 27, he says this. Now is my soul
troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause came I unto
this hour. John 18, he told Pilate. Pilate
therefore said unto him, art thou a king then? Jesus answered,
thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for
this cause came I into the world that I should bear witness unto
the truth. Everyone that is of the truth
heareth my voice. And Pilate proved right then
that he didn't hear his voice because he asked him, what is
truth? And here's the thing, if you gotta ask that question,
you haven't seen a thing. Well, what did he say? I should
bear witness unto the truth. What truth did he bear witness
to? That the father was never going to let sin slide. That's what the world is counting
on right now, folks. That's what the religious world
is counting on, that for some reason, for some way, somehow,
God's gonna let them go. Oh, he'll forgive, just like
I forgive. No, his forgiveness is much better
than yours. His forgiveness is much better than mine, because
his forgiveness is based on the fact that sin, all the sin of
all those that he gave to the Son, All that sin was punished. Thoroughly and completely in
his beloved son. He came for this one horrible
and blessed cause. It's horrible because of the
price he had to pay, but it's blessed and gracious because
of what it gives us. Oh my. The Father and the Son
together. For what purpose? The exaltation
of God. To show forth His power and His
might and, as Christ said to Pilate, His truth. His truth. God is going to punish sin, either
in you or in Christ. That's it. That's the two choices. Unfortunately, it's not your
choice. Fortunately, it's His choice. People think they can come to
God whenever they please. Oh my, that's not what this cross
showed here. That's not what the Father and
Son showed together. Because ultimately, the Father
and Son are together unto the glory of God. God will provide
himself a lamb for the burnt offering. And God did. And God did. And who did he provide?
He provided his well beloved, only begotten, eternal son. And I'm gonna tell you something. When his son died, it set for
a certainty, for a fact, that his people shall never die. Those that he died for will be
and are right now forgiven. The Father and the Son together
provided the true, complete, and holy burnt offering for sin
forever. They went, both of them, together. That's what it says about Abraham
and Isaac. Who? Father and son. This is
the ultimate end, the glory of God. It's not the glory of man. We had nothing to do with it.
That's the part men hate. I didn't have nothing to do with
it then. I don't have nothing to do with it now. And neither do you. And neither
do you. It's the work of God. It's the work of the Father and
the Son and the Spirit together, together. These three are one. Now I do wanna know, because
sometimes I am a little selfish, I like to think about how it
affects me, Walter. I will confess to being a little
selfish at times. I'm a lot selfish at other times,
but I'm not confessing to that right now. But in this, Christ
told us himself who he did reconcile to himself by Christ, and there's
one word answer, sinners, sinners. As a matter of fact, enemies. But God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Do you know you're a sinner?
And you that were sometimes alienated, and here's the thing, enemies
in your mind. Now who's enemy? Your own, sure,
but no, God's enemy. Christ's enemy, enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. That's the purpose and the plan. Eternal purpose, eternal plan
of the Father and the Son together. Jesus Christ came into this world
to save sinners. And Paul said, of whom I am chief.
And he also said, what is it? That's a faithful saying. The
father and son together have reconciled us to himself. I got a little verse of a psalm
here. I wanna read you. Just to close. The door of thy mercy stands
open all day. to the poor and the needy who
knock by the way. No sinner shall ever be empty
sent back who comes seeking mercy for Jesus' sake. Great father of mercies, thy
goodness I own and the covenant love of thy crucified son. All praise to the Spirit whose
whisper divine, seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine. Oh my. The Father and the Son
together, together is salvation for the people of God. And just like the Father and
the Son being eternal, guess what? Their salvation is eternal. I know they won't talk about
once saved, always saved, and eternal security. No, it's eternal
salvation. That's what the scripture calls
it. If he saves you, you're saved. But, this is the thing, he only
saves sinners. The question is, you fit the
description. Do you know you're a sinner?
Do you know? Our Heavenly Father, thankful again
for this time and this place. Most of all, thankful for you,
our Lord. You have given us everything. All spiritual blessings in the
heavenlies, in Christ Jesus. and you have done so much for
us while we're in this world. Thank you, Lord. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.