In this sermon, the preacher reflects on the story of Abraham and his faith in God's promise. The preacher emphasizes the simplicity of the gospel and the basis of Abraham's faith, which was the statement that his seed would be as numerous as the stars. The preacher also references Deuteronomy 8, where God reviews His experience with the Israelites in the wilderness and tests their obedience. The sermon highlights Abraham's immediate and unwavering obedience to God's command to sacrifice his son Isaac, without any hesitation or reluctance.

Our lesson this morning is the 22nd chapter of Genesis. I'm endeavoring under the leading of the Lord to give a sequence of spiritual life emphases in these days. And last night together, from 1 John chapter 1, we saw in essence the truth, grieve not the spirit, that every one of us is to keep short accounts with God, that every one of us is to have no unconfessed sin in his life, that if we are to know the blessing of the Lord in our lives and be in a position for him to greatly use us, then we must be clean. We must be clean. The second truth we want to consider in this, this morning, is that we are to quench not the spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5, 17. Quench not the spirit. To quench is to suppress. It's to say no. It's to resist. It's to rebel. To use a term that is so frequent in our newspapers and our current periodicals, we must confess in our hearts. And I want us to illustrate this today from the life of Abraham. I understand you studied him recently. Perhaps this will be from a different point of view, and may God bless it to our hearts. Genesis 22, beginning with verse 1. 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, thy 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. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and 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 unto the place of which God had told him. 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 the knife, and they went both of them together. 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, but where is 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, and they came to the place which God had told him of. And Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a 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 of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh, as it is said to this day in the mouth of the Lord. It shall be seen. Our Father, bless thy word richly to our hearts this morning. Speak to each one as we wait before thee, in Jesus' name. Amen. Have you not found in your experience, as I have in mine, the great difficulty of presenting everything to the Lord? Everything. We don't object to many things. We'll sit back and rationalize that certainly the Lord who loved us, the Lord who bought us with his precious blood at the cross of Calvary, certainly is entitled to much of our lives, much of our time, much of our means, much of our strength, our energy. But when the Lord says, I demand it all, there's something down inside that says, now wait a minute, let's not go too far with the good things. It's all right for the Lord to have many things, the Lord to have much of everything, but for the Lord to insist on everything, sometimes that old sin nature within frankly rebuffs. God is putting Abraham to a test. The story is exceedingly familiar to us, I know, and therefore I trust God can give it to us all the more this morning. Look at verse 1. And it came to pass that after these things, the Lord did tempt or test or fool Abraham. Dr. Gettyker, may I interrupt one minute, please? Yes. Would you please show your hands all who are going to stay for lunch? We need to get some idea how many we have to cater for. How many are going to stay for lunch? Whether you're a resident here or not, put up your hands, I'll get a count. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18. All right, thank you very much. Thank you again, my wife, Nick. Thank you, I'm sorry. Yes, sir. Now, let's turn to Deuteronomy chapter 8, and notice how the Lord uses the same principle with his people Israel. Deuteronomy 8, 1 and 2, and things haven't changed any. Deuteronomy 8. The Lord is reviewing his experience over the 40 years of wandering with the children of Israel in the wilderness, and he says in this portion, through Moses, to a new generation now. Deuteronomy 8, 1. All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the ways which the Lord thy God led thee these 40 years in the wilderness to humble thee, and what? To prove thee. God says, I'm to prove thee. To know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no. Now, if you know the Lord Jesus Christ is your Savior today, you know that the Lord has done this every so often in your experience, as he has in mine. He has brought certain occasions, certain experiences into our lives to humble us and to prove us whether we really love him, whether we're really devoted to him, and what measure we are devoted to him. This is Abraham's experience here in Genesis chapter 22. You notice that the chapter begins, It came to pass after these things. The experiences of chapters 11 through 21. You remember back in chapter 11, God begins to lead Abraham out of the Ur of Chaldees. In chapter 12, the formal details are given, and Abraham does leave the Ur of Chaldees. He does leave his kindred in part. Not complete obedience, but he comes finally to the land of Canaan, is immediately put to the test with a farmman, and goes to Egypt. The wicked king has to send him back. In chapter 13, you remember he is tested in the separation of Lot, and he magnanimously says to his nephew Lot, You take the right hand, I'll take the left. You take the left, I'll take the right. And Abraham, the man of faith, trusts God, and God renews his covenant with him. In chapter 14, you remember he had to go up and rescue his nephew Lot, who had been taken with the kings because Lot is down in Sodom. And through 318 servants, and God, Abraham is able to rescue his nephew. In chapter 15, Abraham is justified. Abraham returns from this experience, and God appears to him, and in effect says, Abraham, what's on your heart? He says, well, you promised me a son who would bless the world. But all I have in my house is this Eleazar of Damascus. And the Lord says, Abraham, look towards the heavens. It is a lovely starry night, and so shall thy seed be. See all those stars up there? Have you ever done this? Many times, haven't you? On a lovely starry night, you've looked up to the heavens. I can remember as a lad doing this, and lying down on the lawn on a warm summer evening, and looking up and starting to count 1, 2, 3, 4. Pretty soon, there were so many, you had to quit counting. Remember? God says to Abraham, so shall thy seed be. Verse 6 of Genesis 15 says, He believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness. Now, this is too precious a story to pass over quickly. Nobody's in a hurry this morning. I want you to see the simplicity of the gospel in our story. The basis for Abraham's faith was what? The statement of verse 5, so shall thy seed be. In the context of chapter 12, it is the promise of a Redeemer. It is the promise that Abraham would have a seed who would bless the world. And Abraham, in faith, takes God at his word here, as he looks down the corners of time, not knowing what his name would be, as you and I know him as our Lord Jesus Christ. He does not know the details of revelation that you and I have about the virgin birth. He does not have all the details of his crucifixion before him, but he understood that through him, through his seed, would come a Redeemer who would bless the world. The authority for Abraham's faith, the basis for his faith. When we hear it now, is the bare, unadulterated, pure, authoritative word of God. That's it. That's the basis for our faith. That's the basis for our faith. I believe in the gospel today because God's word declares it. I believe in the great truths of the word of God because God has declared it in his word. It's true because God says so. That's the basis for our faith. I don't have to go to science to prove the Bible. I don't have to go to archaeology to prove the Bible. See? I don't have to go to philosophy to try to get arguments for the existence of God, though they're there. This is true because God has declared it in his word. And the glorious truth of the gospel, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried and was raised again the third day according to the scriptures. That's the basis for our faith. And if your faith does not rest there today, it has the wrong foundation. The wrong foundation. The authority for my salvation is thus saith the Lord. That was the basis for Abraham's faith. So shall thy seed be. Notice the object of his faith. And he believed where? In whom? In the Lord himself. Lots of people put faith in themselves. You say, friend, are you a Christian? Well, I think so. Why do you say you're a Christian? Well, I go to church. I give. I try to live right. I try to love my neighbor. I try to be a responsible husband and father at home. And on and on the person goes. What's he saying, in essence? I have faith in myself. Who I am. What I've done. How I've lived. How I've served. All the good things I've accomplished in life and tried to do. That's faith in oneself. Then you talk to somebody else. I'm a Baptist. I'm a Methodist. I'm a Roman Catholic. I'm a Jew. I'm something else. Wait a minute, friend. The object of our faith is to be in whom? The Lord. Oh, I've gone to church all my life. I've taught a Sunday school class. I'm a deacon in the church. I'm an out... Wait a minute. Abram believed God. Where's the object of your faith today? I know whom I have believed. The object of Abram's faith was the Lord himself. Now notice the exercise of his faith. He believed in the law. He asked a person how to be saved as I did yesterday on the airplane coming over from Atlanta to Jacksonville. A fine young sailor boy was seated beside me and I asked him how to become a Christian. He could not tell me. He simply could not explain the gospel. He didn't know it. He does now. And he rejoices in his salvation now. Praise his name. But he couldn't explain the gospel to me. You see, it's too simple for most folks. Too simple. Don't you stumble over the simplicity of this story. My heart thrills every time I review it. And I see Abraham not in a revival meeting, not in a Bible conference, not in an evangelistic service on Sunday night in a church somewhere. He's out under the stars. And God doesn't go back and review his religious pedigree. God doesn't go back and ask him how faithfully he's lived by the golden rule. It hadn't been given yet. How he lived by the Ten Commandments, they hadn't been given yet either. How he lived by the Sermon on the Mount, that hadn't been taught either. Ever been a good boy? Been behaving yourself? Been living right? Didn't go into all this either. What does he do? The Lord God presents him with the issue of a Redeemer to come. Our Lord Jesus Christ. And in response to God's word, Abraham believes in the law. Isn't that wonderfully simple? That's it. That's why Paul said to the Philippian janitor when he said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. That's why Jesus said in Nicodemus, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever but believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Why is it so simple? Because the work is done. Christ has come. He died on the cross for our sins. He's paid the penalty in full. God's government, God's justice has been satisfied in the full payment for your sins, for mine, for the whole world. Nothing left to do but take God at his word. Nothing left to do but believe him. And that's what Abraham did that night under the stars. Abraham believed in the Lord. And God's word says, He counted it to him for righteousness. He counted it to him for righteousness. We call this justification. Paul's great word in the book of Romans. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. What happened? Why, God looked at Abraham. Now having taken him at his word, now having put his faith in him, and God up there in the glory land beside his name says, Justify. I declare you as righteous as my sons. That was what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5.21. And he was made sin for us who knew no sin, but what? He might be made the righteousness of God in him. In him. And so, if you're a Christian today, you stand before him not having your own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God. Like that. Do you know this? Do you know this? Do you rejoice in it today? Does your heart respond as I've shared the simplicity of the gospel? You say, Preacher, I know that. That's mine. I trusted the Savior. Can you go back to the day and the hour when it happened? I can't go back to the day and the hour. But let me tell you, I was there when it happened. It was very real and very precious and very wonderful. Thirty-eight years ago, I became a Christian. Today, I rejoice still. And more than ever in a wonderful Savior who died for me and rose again. Can you thank him for your salvation today? Abram believed in the Lord, and it was counted unto him for us. Now, in Chapter 16, Abraham messed it up again. This time, Sarah comes along. We've got to be careful about our wives' counsel. Usually, it's fine. Usually, it's just right. My wife straightens me out again and again. Well, that's scriptural. Genesis Chapter 2, the wife is to be the what, ladies? Help me. Boy, do I need one. And the Lord gave me the best and the finest and the sweetest, and I'm so grateful. But this time, Abram missed it by listening to his wife. And you remember out of it, Ishmael was born. Great sin, awful result, and missionaries in the Muslim world today still speak of the great, great difficulty in bringing Muslims to Christ. Chapter 17, God in his faithfulness and God in his grace speaks to Abraham again and encourages him as he reconfirms his great covenant with him. Chapter 18 does the same thing. Now, Chapter 21. It came to pass after these things. After 25 years of waiting. That's a long time to wait for a son, eh? 25 years of waiting. Waiting for this special son. Because it is this one through whom the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, is to come. It came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham and said, Abraham, and he said, behold, here I am. And he said, take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of. Did we read this correctly? Is that what your Bible reads? Do you mean a loving, merciful God would ever ask this? Do you mean that after God has said that the world is going to be blessed through his seed, and Isaac is the only seed of Abraham and Sarah, do you mean now that before this son, Isaac, is married, before he's able to beget children, before he's able to propagate the race through whom Jesus Christ would come, do you mean God says take him and offer him as a burnt offering on an altar? That's what he says. God almost pours salt in the wound. Notice, take thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest. What is this? God is saying, I want the greatest treasure of your heart. I want that which is dearest to you. I want that which means most to you. To Abraham it was Isaac. Of course. We had a gathering last night afterwards, and they started talking about their great-grandchildren, so I hushed. I didn't even admit I was a grandfather. After that story, there's one that you love. I want him. We have a lady in Birmingham who calls her grandson, my heart. I always enjoy that. My heart. I want your heart. Before we proceed any farther in the story this morning, tell me, does God have your heart? And I must answer that same question before God, with the Spirit of God in my soul. Does God have my heart, whatever is dearest to me? All gods. The language he uses in verse 2 is a burnt offering. If you've studied Leviticus recently, you will remember that the burnt offering of chapter 1 is the one offering of all five that was consumed totally upon the altar. No reservations here. No holding back here. Not just a portion, not just a part, not just most. A burnt offering entirely consumed upon that altar. My dear brethren in Christ this morning, God's not content till it's that. I'm going to make an indictment on the Christian world right now, and you can challenge it in your heart, and I hope I'm wrong, but I am persuaded after these years in the ministry that most of us have never offered God a burnt offering. I honestly believe that. My great concern as I go from church to church is to challenge young people about Christian service, about giving their lives fully to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the impression I walk away as preacher, listen, you're asking too much. In this age, we do as we please. In this age, we live our own lives. In this age, we make our own plans. Don't you ask me not to commit everything to the Lord Jesus Christ. I talk with parents who say, God can't have my children. Yes, I do. Christian parents. God can't make a missionary out of my son, my daughter. I've heard that. I need him at home. Far more than those heathen going to hell without Christ need him. I need him at home. Lord, you can't have my son. You can't have my daughter. Lord, you can't have my bank account. Lord, you can't have my time. Some of it all, now here, now there, but don't ask for all of it. Just be reasonable. God says, I want that which is dearest to you to be a burnt offering. Will you notice now how Abraham responds and how it was possible for him to do it? And this is our concern this morning as we return to this familiar passage. Verse 3. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and claimed or split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up and went unto the place which God had told him, and griped every step. Oh no. Oh no, that's not in the text. There isn't a whimper. There isn't a suggestion of hesitation on Abraham's part here. This is absolutely marvelous. There is no reluctance to express whatever. He immediately obeyed. He immediately does exactly what God says. Verse 4. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. I wonder what went through his mind as he did. Mount Moriah. 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. Oh, great faith here. Will you notice that I and the lad are the subjects of all three verbs? I and the lad will go. I and the lad will worship. I and the lad will come again to you. Ah, there's wonderful faith. And this is the key to it all. The man of faith has grown up. The man of faith has been disciplined over these 25 years and longer. The man of faith is now trusting God in the face of an impossible situation, humanly speaking. I and the lad will come again. 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 the knife, and they went, both of them, together. 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, but where is the land? Where is the land for the burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a land for the burnt offering. What's that? Faith. And they went, both of them, together. And they came to the place where God had told him of. And Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and not a whimper here either, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. Complete obedience, beloved. Complete faith, beloved. 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, neither do thou anything unto him, for now I know, now I know, now I know, that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, Christ. God didn't say this in chapter 12, when Abraham left Uruk-heles. He didn't say this in chapter 13, as he expressed his magnanimity to his nephew Lot. He didn't say this in chapter 15, when he was justified. He didn't say this in chapter 17, when his covenant was reconfirmed. Now, he says, now I know that thou fearest God. Can God say that of you this morning? Can God say that of me this morning? Now I know that thou fearest me, seeing thou hast not withheld your heart, that which is dearest to you. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a 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 of his son. A precious picture in the Old Testament of substitution of the ram caught in the thicket, placed on that altar in the stead of his son. I want to ask, as we close this morning, how was it possible for Abraham to ever do this? I want to ask, how is it possible for you and me to, since God demands it, since he gave his own son and freely delivered him up for us all, since we're not our own but been bought with a price, we therefore are to glorify God in our bodies and our spirits which are his, how is it possible for me to present such a burnt offering to God? I suggest three explanations, which are in essence one. First, Abraham had confidence in the wisdom of God. That's inherent in the story. He never would have taken his son, taken him to Moriah, and sacrificed him on the altar had he not had confidence in the infinite wisdom of God. If I know Abraham at all, Abraham entertained the thought that this thing doesn't make sense. That God would take 25 years to give me a son, and that God had already promised that through that son a redeemer would come. And here the son hasn't been married yet, has not given any children yet, and for God now to stop his own program by slaying this very seed, it doesn't make sense in the natural, in the human. But God says, I want him. And Abraham said, if you want him, you can have him. Though I don't understand. Lord, here he is. Have you ever been there? God has asked of you, he's asked of me some things we didn't understand. I think that one of the greatest problems I've ever had and experienced in my life along this line was when God led us away from the administration of London Bible Institute and theological seminaries, it was then called, after three years. And my successor, who finally believed God had led him to accept the president of that school, had been raised right there in 50, 60 miles from London. He was raised in that culture, he was raised in that environment. He was trained at the local university right there in London. He went to Dallas Theological Seminary, later on completed his doctorate. He had been the dean, not only a professor, but the dean of students and the dean of faculty. And now president of the institution, what more do you want in a fellow? Came up through the ranks, knew the people, knew the culture, knew the local church situation, knew the Christian context in Canada. Called and burdened of God for his own people and his own land. No more got his feet wet than God took him home. I don't understand this. Young man, real young, younger than I am, God took him home. To this day, I don't understand this. But confidence in the infinite wisdom of God. I stood by a graveside the other day in Birmingham, Alabama, and up walked a father with four children, ages four to twelve, and laid their dear mother to rest. I don't understand this. Confidence in the infinite wisdom of God. When you don't understand. A lady came to my office the other day. She said, I'm having a miserable time. My son committed suicide within the last year and left three or four children. Forgotten how many. And I said, you know, the Bible says all things work together for, and I hesitated to see if she knew, and she said, good. But she said, there's no good that's come out of it. None whatever. And the bitterness of her soul, she went on and shared the venom that was there. My heart went out to this dear sister, and I must say, she left my office seemingly not encouraged in belief, as I kept bringing her back to God, and to His infinite wisdom, and to His infinite love, and His infinite goodness, His infinite mercy, His infinite grace, to His infinite promises. She would not look beyond herself, and look beyond her circumstances, into the face of an infinitely wise God. That was her only recourse. She wouldn't take it. I trust since she has. How could Abraham take his son and put him on an altar? Only because an infinitely wise God asked him to do it. And he trusted Him. He trusted Him. Job trusted Him, remember? The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken away, finish it. Ah yes, blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord. How could Job say that after he lost seven sons and three daughters in one day, and became bankrupt? Whom we would call today a millionaire. How in the world do you say that? Only one way. Confidence in the infinite wisdom of God. There's a second explanation, it's found in the book of Hebrews. Chapter 11, will you turn there? God's commentary on this very episode. Hebrews 11, verses 17 through 19. We continue to ask the question, how is it possible for Abraham to ever offer his son upon the altar? 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. Notice, he that had received the promises offered up his son. He that had received the promises offered up his son. What's this? Confidence in the infinite faithfulness of God. Confidence in the infinite faithfulness of God. The Lord had promised. I still maintain Abraham didn't know all the details. He didn't understand all the implications and inferences, just as we do not many times. But one thing he knew. God had promised, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. God's going to raise up a Redeemer to bless the world through Isaac. Lord, you promised. You don't know all the details of how it's all going to work out. But this is what you've said. I'm taking thee at thy word. That's faith. That's faith. Are you trusting God today just because he's promised? Circumstances are. So understand. The future, quite uncertain. But he said, I'll never leave thee, nor forsake thee. He said, my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory through Christ Jesus. He said, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Lots I don't know, but this much I do know. Is that enough? I asked you a question. Is that enough? Yes. One more explanation. The close now of our paragraph 17 to 19 of Hebrews 11. In verse 19, the writer continues, Abraham accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead. From whence also he received him in a figure. Here is confidence in the infinite power of God. From this text, I conclude that Abraham fully expected to slay his son. Fully expected to do it. And then fully expected God to raise him from the dead. Accounting that God was able to raise him up. Even from the dead. Confidence in the infinite power of God. Do you have a God today that's able? Able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think? Is your God that big? The Bible says he is. The Bible says he is. Call unto me and what? I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. Do you believe that today about your God? You remember the Lord appeared to Abraham there at the tent door in Genesis 18. To reconfirm his promise made, chapter 17, to him that Sarah would have the son rather than Agar. You remember Sarah was inside the tent and overhearing the conversation. And she laughed within herself. And the Lord rebuked Sarah who denied that she laughed. And the Lord said, oh yes, you did laugh. And then the Lord says, is anything too hard for the Lord? With God, nothing shall be impossible. Say, if you have a God who's able to raise people from the dead, why, I guess we can offer our son upon a burnt offering, eh? We turn as we close to Romans chapter 4. The event is related to chapter 15 of Genesis and Abraham's justification, but the principle is the same. May God encourage our hearts with it today. Let's read beginning with verse 17, Romans 4. As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations. Before him whom he believed, even God who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were, who gives hope, believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which is spoken, so shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb, a reference to, you see, to the miracle required for the birth of Isaac. Verse 20. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was what? Strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Now I know that thou fearest God. Does God know it this morning? About your heart? About mine? Shall we pray? While we're bowed together, if there is one of us here who needs to present this burnt offering to God, let us do it right now. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. Lord, here I am. The treasure of my heart, that which is dearest to me, for all thine, Lord, everything. Because you trust him, his infinite wisdom, his infinite faithfulness, his infinite power, Lord, here I am. The full blessing of the Lord in your life will not be there until this decision is made. The blessings of a spirit-filled life will not be yours until you've yielded yourself unto God as one alive from the dead. Trust him. And should there be someone here today who doesn't know Jesus Christ is our Savior, we invite you right now to do what Abraham did out there under the stars. Take God at his word. The Redeemer has come. He has died. He has for our sins on the cross. God raised him from the dead, the proof of it all. Now trust him. Trust him. As your own personal Savior. Our Father, give us grace to respond in faith to thy word this day. With thanksgiving we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.