Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neither. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Mattawar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nyberg. The passage of Scripture I'd
like to begin with this morning is not my text, but it will serve
as an introduction to my text. I'm reading from John chapter
8, beginning in verse 52. Then said the Jews unto him,
Now we know that thou hast a devil. The Jews accused the Lord Jesus
Christ of being demon possessed. Abraham, is dead, and the prophets. And thou sayest, If a man keep
my saying, he shall never taste of death. We know you're crazy
if you said something like that. Art thou greater than our father
Abraham, which is dead? Obviously, they had no idea who
they were speaking with. This is the ancient of days,
the eternal son of God they're speaking to. And they say, Are
you greater than Abraham, our father, which is dead, and the
prophets are dead? Whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honor myself,
my honor is nothing. It's my father that honoreth
me. of whom you say that He is your God, yet you have not known
Him. But I know Him. And if I should
say, I know Him not, I should be a liar, like unto you. But
I know Him, and keep His saying. Your father, Abraham, rejoiced
to see my day." Now, Abraham had been dead some 1,200 years.
Yet the Lord says, Abraham rejoiced to see My day. He rejoiced in
the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he saw it. He saw it. And he was glad. Then said the
Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou
seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. I am that I am, the same one
who spoke to Moses in the bush. I am that I am. Then took they up stones to cast
at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went
out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed
by. Now the Lord says, Abraham, rejoice
to see my day, And he saw it and he was glad. Now, what was
it that Abraham saw when he rejoiced to see the day of Christ and
was glad? Well, there are perhaps many
things that we could say about that, but I think that I know
that the chief meaning of this is when Abraham rejoiced to see
a substitute for Isaac. Now, I'd like to go to Genesis
22. This is our text, Genesis chapter
22. This is what Abraham rejoiced
to see. Now, we read in verse one of
Genesis 22, and it came to pass after these things that God did
tempt or test Abraham. Abraham, God said, Abraham? Do you know every time Abraham
heard his name audibly, it was preceding some great trial. And I imagine Abraham winced
when he heard the Lord say his name. But he said, Behold, here
am I. Now look what God says, verse
2. And he said, Take now thy son,
thine only son. Now, Ishmael was born at this
time. He was 14 years older than Isaac.
But Ishmael represents the law, and the law can never produce
a child of God. Works, the works of the law can
never produce a child of God. So, Ishmael is not acknowledged
as a son. Isaac is the son. In Isaac shall
thy seed be. Take now your son, your only
son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of
Moriah." Now, we know from the account of Chronicles that Moriah
is the place where Jerusalem would one day be built. Mount
Moriah was in Jerusalem. Get thee to the land of Moriah
and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains,
which I will tell thee of. Now, you consider what the Lord
called upon Abraham to do. Take your son, your only son,
the son you love, and I want you to take him to a mountain.
I want you to slay him as a sacrifice to me and burn his body. What must have gone through Abraham's
mind and heart when God made that command to him? Now, which
of us, when we've read that passage of Scripture or thought about
that passage of Scripture, have not thought, would I be able
to have that kind of obedience where I would be willing to offer
up my child in obedience to God's command? Now, if that's where
we're stuck, we really haven't understood this passage. So I
hope we'll understand by the end of this passage what we really
ought to be concerned about and what we really ought to be asking.
But the Lord commanded him, you take your son, your only son
whom you love, and you offer him up as a burnt offering to
me on the mountain that I tell you of. Verse 3, And Abraham rose up early in
the morning. He didn't delay his obedience.
He rose up early in the morning. I feel relatively sure that he
didn't tell Sarah about what he was going to do. You can bet
there would have been an argument there of some kind. But he rose
up early in the morning in obedience to what God had called upon him
to do. Now, previously, God told Abraham,
and Isaac shall thy seed be called. Through Isaac, The Messiah will
come. Through Isaac, the Savior will
come. The promised seed that would
bruise the serpent's head. Through Isaac, your seed will
come. Abraham heard that and he believed
it. And Abraham knew that even if he did kill his son, God would
raise him from the dead because the seed was going to come through
Isaac. God cannot lie. And Abraham knew that. So he
rises up early. in the morning and saddled his
ass and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son
and he clad the wood for the burnt offering. He didn't leave
anything out. He had the wood and he rose up
and went into the place of which God had told him. He obeyed what
God told him to do. Then on the third day, verse
four, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. Who can know what emotions Abraham
must have felt during that entire three-day journey, knowing he
was going to kill his son? How painful that must have been.
Perhaps he was confused. He didn't know why he was being
called upon to do it. But he knew God said to do it,
and he, by the grace of God, was going to obey God whatever
God told him to do. So here he is, and he finally
comes to that map, then you can bet that he ripped his guts out
when he saw it and knew what he was getting ready to do. Verse
5, And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with
the ash, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come
again to you. Now this is the first time the
word worship is used in the scripture. And if you want to understand
what true worship, the worship of God actually is, we'll see
in this passage of Scripture. Now, notice he says to these
two young men who had gone with him, he knew he was going to
kill Isaac. That's what God had called him
to do and offer him up for a burnt offering. But he says to these
two young men, you stay here and wait and I and the lad will
go yonder and worship and we'll both come back to you. Now, was
he saying this because he didn't want them to know what his intentions
were? Because he was afraid they might
try to stop him if they knew that he was going to kill Isaac?
No. Hebrews 11 tells us exactly what this passage of Scripture
means. In Hebrews 11, beginning in 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 that
God was able to raise him from the dead. From whence he also
received him in a figure." Abraham knew that God would raise him
from the dead. Now, what if God commanded Abraham,
offer up your son? And Abraham would say, I can't
do that, because then God's promise would fall to the ground. It
wouldn't take place, because he said, and Isaac shall the
seed be called, so I need to not do that or the Messiah won't
come. All he would prove by that is that he didn't believe God. Abraham believed God, and when
God said the promised Messiah will come through Isaac, he believed
God. And he believed that even if
he killed him, God would raise him from the dead, because God's
not going to go back on His word. This is the works that prove
the reality of faith. This is what proved Abraham really
did believe the naked word of God. He was willing to kill his
son, knowing that God would raise him from the dead in order to
make his word come to pass. Now. Wait. I'm a lad will go yonder
and worship And we will come again to you." True worship is
connected with substitution, as we shall see. Now, let's go
on reading. Verse 6, And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering,
and laid it upon Isaac his son. Do you remember another time
that someone, the son, carried wood that was to be used for
his own execution up a mountain? Oh, what a glorious type Isaac
is of the Lord Jesus Christ, as he carries the wood up the
mountain that was to be used for his own execution. 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. Verse 7, And Isaac spake unto
Abraham his father, Now evidently, Abraham had not told Isaac of
his intentions up to this point, and so Isaac is asking this question. Isaac has seen many lambs sacrificed. He knew God could only be approached
through sacrifice. He knew God could only be approached
through a blood atonement. He believed the same thing Abel
did. Abel knew the only way God could be approached is through
a blood atonement. Isaac knew that. He understood that. So
he says to his father, and Isaac spake unto Abraham, his father,
and said, My father. And he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold, the fire
and the wood. We have what's needed for a burnt
sacrifice, for a sin sacrifice. Behold, here we have the fire,
here we have the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Now, this is the critical question. Where is the lamb? You know, when I'm hearing somebody
preach, Here's the question I'm asking, where is the lamb? Now you need the wood for the
heat, the fire, the combustion. You need the wood. It's to be,
it's important, not taking away from the importance of it. But
what is the wood? What is the fire without the
lamb? It's nothing. Where is the lamb? for a burnt offering. Now, here's
the question. I hope you'll ask this question.
I hope I'm asking this question. Where's the Lamb? God can't be
approached apart from a blood sacrifice, the sacrifice of the
Lamb of God. Where is the Lamb? I can tell
you where He was before time began. Revelation 13.8 says He's
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. You know, when
Adam fell, God slew a lamb and provided him a covering to typify
what would take place. When John the Baptist announced
His coming, behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin
of the world, he knew this is God's Lamb. Where is the Lamb? Now that's the question we should
always ask. My only hope of being saved is
if the Lamb of God takes my place. If He suffers and dies in my
room instead, this is my only true motivation for obedience,
what the Lamb has done for me. Where is the Lamb for a burnt
offering? Where's the Lamb right now? I
know where He is right now. He's seated at the right hand of the
Father. The Lamb, having been slain from the foundation of
the world, is seated at the right hand of the Father. And understand
this, when John in the book of Revelation is speaking of the
Lamb and talking about the Lamb of God, don't picture in your
mind a Lamb with wool. What that's a reference to is
the Lord Jesus Christ in His glorified body with the scars
of His death still upon Him. That is how a believer will understand,
I'm here only because of Him. When I'm in heaven, I'll have
no sin. I won't even remember what sin's like. But I'll know
the only reason I'm there when I behold the scars of the Lamb
of God, the sacrificial Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the
Lamb seated in glory. Now, look how Abraham answers
his son. And Abraham said, My son, in
answer to that question, we've got the wood, we've got the fire,
where's the lamb? And Abraham said, My son, God
will provide Himself a lamb for a burned offering. What an answer. God will provide Himself a lamb
for a burnt offering. You see, God provides the lamb. There's nothing that you or I
could give to God or do for God that God could accept. You see,
we're sinful. I can't come into God's presence
and expect Him to receive me. He's holy. I'm sinful. Listen,
if you've got a God who can accept anything you do, You've got the
wrong God. That's not the God of the Bible.
That's not a holy God. If He can accept anything, you
do. Without the Lamb, you've got the wrong God. But thank
God, God is the one who provides the Lamb. All that God requires
of me, He provides for me. God will provide the Lamb. And God provides the Lamb for
Himself. You see, the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ is shed, first of all, for God. For God to do something
for me or you, He first had to do something for Himself. You
see, He's holy. He's just. Sin must be punished. I'm a sinner. God can't accept
me the way I am. I'm a sinner. Now, for God to
accept me, His justice is going to have to be satisfied. His
law is going to have to be honored. It's not going to be changed.
The Lord said, think not that I came to take away the law,
do away with the law. I came not to do away with, to
destroy, but to fulfill. God provided this lamb for Himself. You see, when the Lord Jesus
Christ died on Calvary Street, God provided all that He needed
for Himself. And now He can save me, He can
save a sinner, Embrace that sinner, forgive that sinner, love that
sinner, because what he needed has been provided for in the
Lamb. You know, when the Lord passed
through Egypt in Exodus chapter 12, He said, when I see the blood. He didn't say when you see it.
He said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. One thing
God was looking for. He didn't say when I see your
faith. He didn't say when I see your good works. He didn't say
when you see the blood. He said, when I see the blood. Oh, He's talking about the blood
of His Son. I'll be satisfied. And I will pass over you. God
provides for Himself. this lamb for the burnt offering.
And God provides Himself as the Lamb. The Lord Jesus Christ is
the Lamb that God provided. God Himself is the Lamb. The Lamb of God is God the Lamb. God will provide Himself a lamb
for a burnt offering. Aren't you thankful for that?
God provided Himself. as the Lamb for the burnt offering."
So they went, both of them together, and they came to the place which
God told him of, and Abraham built an altar there. Now, he'd
built an altar before. He'd built many altars before
to call upon the name of the Lord. He'd sacrificed many lambs
before. But I bet he felt much different
building this altar as he knew he was getting ready to sacrifice
his only son. And they came to the place which
God had told him of, and Abraham built an altar there, and he
laid the wood in order according to the divine prescription, how
God said to do it. And he bound Isaac, his son. He tied him up, and he laid him
on the altar upon the wood. Now, what about Isaac here? Isaac
was a young man. Abraham was very old. Isaac had
sufficient strength to overcome his dad. He didn't have to do
this. But I think what took place is
Abraham explained to him, God told me to kill you. We've got
to obey God. But God has already promised
that the Messiah is going to come through you, through your
descendants. So obviously God will raise you
from the dead. So Isaac allowed himself to be
bound. And in this, Isaac is a great
type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ laid down his life willingly. He wasn't a victim. He had control
over everything. But he laid down his life willingly. He said, I have, he said, no
man takes my life from me. I have power to lay it down.
I have power to raise it up, this commandment have I received
of my Father." So Abraham has Isaac bound, laying on the altar. And verse 10 says, And Abraham
stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. Can you imagine the pain and
the anguish he must have been going through? Even if he knew
God was going to raise his boy from the dead, can you imagine
the pain and anguish of holding up the knife to slay his son? And it was already done in his
heart. He'd already determined, this is what I'm going to do.
There wasn't any hesitation. The hand was risen to slay his
son, verse 11. And the angel of the Lord called
unto him out of heaven. This is the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the angel of the Lord, God's angel, the angel of the covenant.
And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said,
Abraham, Abraham. And he said, here am I. He said,
lay not thine hand upon the lad. Don't you do this. Neither do
thou anything unto him, for now I know Fifth, thou fearest God,
seeing thou hast not withheld thy Son, thy only Son, from me. Now, verse 13. And Abraham lifted
up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a
thicket by his horns. His head was in a briar bush.
Caught. And Abraham went and took the
ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his
son. And Abraham called the name of
that place Jehovah-Jireh, as it's said to this day. In the
mount of the Lord it shall be seen, or the Lord will provide. In answer to what he said to
his son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. Now, here we have the gospel. Isaac is given a substitute. And the only reason the knife
of God's justice will not slay me is it slew my substitute. It slew my substitute. The Lord
Jesus Christ is that lamb caught in the thicket by his horn, which
represents his crown of thorns that was pressed upon his head. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Savior. He is the substitute. Now, did
the Lord know how Abraham would respond before this trial? Of
course He did. But He is giving us a glorious
picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And unlike this time where Abraham
lifted up the knife, but he didn't slay, God the Father lifted up
the knife of His justice and He slew His Son. God killed His
Son. It pleased the Lord to bruise
Him, to crush Him, to put Him to grief. Why? Because the sins
of God's elect were placed upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He became
guilty of those sins, and the justice and law of God put Him
to death. The soul that sinneth shall surely
die. Now, the Lord never sinned in
Himself. He is the innocent, spotless, Lamb of God without
blemish, but the sins of His people became His sin, and God
slew Him and punished Him in our stead, in the stead of all
those who believe. And Abraham lifted up his eyes
and looked. That's what faith is. Abraham
lifted up his eyes and looked. Salvation isn't by doing, but
it's by looking. It's looking upon the Lamb of
God and what He actually did. And behold, behind Him, A ram
caught in the thickets, not in front of him, behind him. You
see, the ground and cause of salvation is behind. It's already
been done. That's why there's nothing to
do. It's already been done. When the Lamb of God said, it
is finished, the salvation of God's people, completely finished. He saw this ram caught in a thicket
by his horns, and Abraham went and took the ram and offered
him up for a burnt offering in the stead, in the place, in the
room of his son. And the only way a sinner will
be saved is by Christ being slain in their place. You see, everybody
that Christ died for must be saved. Now, can you imagine how
Abraham felt as he walked down that mountain. He rejoiced. You see, he didn't withhold his
only son in obedience to God's command. Now somebody says, what
obedience? Yes, that is great obedience. But what this typifies
more than anything else is the fact that when you believe, when
I believe, We don't withhold our complete trust. We trust
Him only. We don't trust Him and something
else. We trust Him only as everything in our salvation. We trust Him
only. And you can bet that Abraham,
as he walked down that mountain, he rejoiced. He was so happy. He was so thankful for the substitute. And I am too. I'm so thankful.
that the Lord Jesus Christ came and took my place. And my dear
friends, He didn't offer me salvation. He saved me. You see, His death
was not an offer. It was a satisfaction to God. When He died, He satisfied God
and He provided all that God requires. Abraham rejoiced to
see my day, our Lord says. And he saw it and he was glad.
You know who else was glad? Isaac was glad. Oh, he was so
happy about this substitute. Now we have this message on CD
and DVD. If you call the church, email
rights. We'll send you a copy. This is Todd Diver praying that
God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's our prayer.
Amen. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send a request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.