BACKGROUND:Abraham trusted God’s promises so much that when God commanded him to offer Isaac (his only son) as a sacrifice, Abraham obeyed. Abraham passed that test because he was willing to do as God asked. When God promised that many descendants would be born through Isaac, Abraham believed. But at God’s command, Abraham brought Isaac to the altar, tied him up, placed him on the altar, and was about to sacrifice him, but God intervened at the last minute, sparing Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19). Although he didn’t understand God’s command, his obedience was prompt and complete.
Abraham had believed God’s promise to bring a great nation out of Isaac; so Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. Abraham even had told his servant that the boy would come back alive (Genesis 22:5). As a result of Abraham’s faith, he figuratively received his son back from the dead. When Isaac was on the altar, he was as good as dead, but God spared him and restored him to Abraham.
It was by faith that Isaac blessed his two sons, Jacob and Esau. God chose the younger son, Jacob, to continue the fulfillment of his promise to Abraham. The ancient story of deception, greed, birthright, and blessing is of no concern here. Verses 20-21 focus on the “blessing” conferred by aged fathers on their sons. Because of deception, Isaac blessed Jacob (the younger son) instead of Esau, but this would have occurred anyway, for that was God’s plan. Esau also received a blessing. The point is that Isaac had confidence in what God was going to do in the future.
Isaac had blessed Jacob and Esau; Jacob’s sons had become the fathers of Israel’s twelve tribes. Jacob, when he was old and dying, believed the promise to Abraham and blessed all of his sons, but also two of his grandsons—each of Joseph’s sons (Genesis 48:1-22). As noted in Isaac’s case, Jacob blessed “out of order”; that is, he blessed the younger son over the older, by faith, realizing that it was God’s plan. This blessing was directed by God.
Joseph, one of Jacob’s sons, was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers (Genesis 37). Eventually, Joseph was sold again—this time to an official of the pharaoh of Egypt. Because of Joseph’s faithfulness to God, he was promoted to a top-ranking position in Egypt. Although Joseph could have used that position to build a personal empire, he remembered God’s promise to Abraham. After he had been reconciled to his brothers, Joseph brought his family to be near him. Joseph believed God’s promise that the people of Israel would leave Egypt and return to Canaan. He was so sure of it that he commanded them to carry his bones with them when they left, so that he could be buried in the Promised Land (Genesis 50:24-25; Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32). Like Isaac, Joseph gave these instructions when he was about to die. Even on his deathbed, Joseph persevered in his faith, looking forward to the promises God had made.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what i have read today?)
As I think about today's passage, I think about taking risks. Faith always requires some risk. Stepping out of the comfort zone is risky. Now, how do you take risks in faith rather than caving in to fear? There are five things God tells us in His word.
The first principle of taking a risk in faith is the principle of information. If you're going to take risks, God wants you to get the facts. Anything that requires faith is going to have some element of risk in it, but God says, "There's a right way and there's a wrong way." God doesn't want you making foolish risks, that's not faith. So He says, "First off, get the facts. Find out all you can first. Proverbs 13:16 says, "Every prudent man acts out of knowledge."
He knows what he's doing. She knows what she's doing. Proverbs 23:23 in the Living Bible says, "Get the facts at any price." And so when you're going to make a major decision, when you're going to make a decision that involves a risk in your life, talk to people who've already done it. Get the facts at any price. Read a book. Attend a seminar. Listen to a CD. Find out who's already been there and get the facts at any price. Studies have shown that most new businesses fail because of uneducated enthusiasm. They say, "Oh, I've got a great product!" And they go for it and it just bombs. A lot of marriages end that way too. Because of uneducated enthusiasm. They say, "Oh, well, we love each other, therefore it will work out." It takes more than love to make a marriage. Get the facts.
Now, once you've got the facts, you've got to go to step two, and step two is to evaluate it or count the cost. Find out why you're doing what you're doing and what the risk is involved in it. You find out what the costs are. What it's going to cost in time. What it's going to cost in money. What it's going to cost in reputation and emotional energy.
In Luke 14, Jesus says this - Jesus. "Don't begin until you count the cost. Who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates.... Or what king would dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors...?"
Now, once you've got the facts, you've got to go to step two, and step two is to evaluate it or count the cost. Find out why you're doing what you're doing and what the risk is involved in it. You find out what the costs are. What it's going to cost in time. What it's going to cost in money. What it's going to cost in reputation and emotional energy.
In Luke 14, Jesus says this - Jesus. "Don't begin until you count the cost. Who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates.... Or what king would dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors...?"
He says, if you're going to build a building, you better go out and plan a budget first. And evaluate the cost. If you're going to go to war, you'd better figure out what's the strength of your armies compared to the strength of the enemy's. Analyze the risk.
Proverbs 20:25 says, "It is a trap...to dedicate something rashly and only later consider his vows." We've talked about this verse and the facts of life a couple of weeks ago. That it's always easier to get in than it is to get out. Is that true? It is. It's easier to get into debt than to get out of debt. Would you agree with that? It's easier to fill up your schedule than to fulfill your schedule. It's easier to get into a relationship than to get out of a relationship. Right? It's just a law of life that it's always easier to get in than it is to get out.
Proverbs 20:25 says, "It is a trap...to dedicate something rashly and only later consider his vows." We've talked about this verse and the facts of life a couple of weeks ago. That it's always easier to get in than it is to get out. Is that true? It is. It's easier to get into debt than to get out of debt. Would you agree with that? It's easier to fill up your schedule than to fulfill your schedule. It's easier to get into a relationship than to get out of a relationship. Right? It's just a law of life that it's always easier to get in than it is to get out.
Once you've done those things, the third step is to plan your steps. That's preparation. Proverbs 14:15 says, "A prudent man gives thought to his steps." He thinks where he's going. He says, don't go charging into battle without a plan. Know where you're going. Have some preparation. Last week we talked about expecting the best as part of faith, and it is. Faith is expecting the best. And I believe you ought to expect the best.
But there's a corollary truth that I want to bring up this week and that is the Bible teaches not only should we expect the best, but we should also plan for the worst. And both of those are important. Expect the best. That's faith. Planning for the worst. It's faith. God says, "The fool does not know where he's going." He does not look ahead. He doesn't think it through. He doesn't consider his ways, but he blindly stumbles into one problem and another.
But there's a corollary truth that I want to bring up this week and that is the Bible teaches not only should we expect the best, but we should also plan for the worst. And both of those are important. Expect the best. That's faith. Planning for the worst. It's faith. God says, "The fool does not know where he's going." He does not look ahead. He doesn't think it through. He doesn't consider his ways, but he blindly stumbles into one problem and another.
It says, "The wise man thinks through, anticipates, what possible problems might there be." Have the solution already planned out before you even get there. Proverbs 16:9 says, "We should make our plans, counting on God to direct us." Notice there are two parts to this verse: man's part and God's part. We should make our plans. That's our part. Counting on God to direct us. That's God's part. And they both go together. God has a part and you have a part in your life. As you plan, you pray. And you ask God to direct you.
Now, once you've done these three steps, got the facts, count the cost, prepare your steps, then number four is you announce your goal. That's the principle of declaration. You need to tell the world about your intention. You need to make a public statement. Announce where you're going. Why should I make an announcement? Why can't I just go out there and take the risk and not tell anybody about it, and then if I fail it doesn't look bad? Goals are statements of faith. They're saying, "I believe God wants to do this in my life, by such and such a date." And here's how you do it.
Now, once you've done these three steps, got the facts, count the cost, prepare your steps, then number four is you announce your goal. That's the principle of declaration. You need to tell the world about your intention. You need to make a public statement. Announce where you're going. Why should I make an announcement? Why can't I just go out there and take the risk and not tell anybody about it, and then if I fail it doesn't look bad? Goals are statements of faith. They're saying, "I believe God wants to do this in my life, by such and such a date." And here's how you do it.
The Bible's very clear about this. James 4:15 says "What you should say is this, `If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.'" That's how you make the goal statement. If the Lord's willing, we'll do this or that. You don't do it presumptuously, you don't say, "It's going to happen no matter what." If it's the Lord's will, God willing, we're going to do this by such and such a time.
Now, why should I announce the risk that I'm about to take? Not only does announcing it build your faith, but it holds you accountable to other people, which we all can use. Have you ever tried to break a bad habit without telling anybody? Doesn't work too well. That's why a lot of these weight loss plans out there get you accountable to somebody, and then, when you're accountable, it helps you along. So you announce your goal, you announce your intention. And on top of that, it attracts support. When you say, "This is what I think God wants me to do." Other people say, "Well, I want to go along too. I'm going to get on board with that." And so publicly announcing your decision, your goal, your ambition, the risk you're about to take, will attract other support.
Now these are the four steps that get you right up to what I call the moment of truth, which is point five. That is, initiation. Let go and launch out. You've got to let go and launch out if you're going to be a person of faith. You've all heard that saying that says, "Remember that turtles only make progress when they stick their necks out." Well, it's true about human beings, too. Have you ever watched a circus trapeze artist? Trapeze artist is a hundred feet high in the air, they swing out on one bar, and the other one's coming out the other way for them to grab. But those things are spaced apart so that they have to let go of this one before they can grab onto that one, and kind of leap for it. And when they leap for it, there is a point in the trapeze act, that that person is suspended a hundred feet above the ground, holding on to thin air, for a split second. For the moment that they let go of this one, and before they actually are able to grab that one, they're sailing there, a hundred feet above the ground, holding onto nothing. That's pretty scary. That is a parable of what it means to live by faith. That many times, God will work in your life and you have to let go of the past before you can grab onto the future.
You've got to let go of security in order to grab opportunity. This is very important, because the most difficult part of taking the risk is the letting go of the old. What we want to do is we want to hold on to the old job, while we get the new job secure. You know, we want to make sure that everything's set up in the new location, in the new home, before we move out of the old home. It's that letting go, letting go of the independence of being single in order to grab on to this of being married. What am I talking about? I'm talking about throwing away the crutches. Throwing away the crutches that you've been using.
Now, why should I announce the risk that I'm about to take? Not only does announcing it build your faith, but it holds you accountable to other people, which we all can use. Have you ever tried to break a bad habit without telling anybody? Doesn't work too well. That's why a lot of these weight loss plans out there get you accountable to somebody, and then, when you're accountable, it helps you along. So you announce your goal, you announce your intention. And on top of that, it attracts support. When you say, "This is what I think God wants me to do." Other people say, "Well, I want to go along too. I'm going to get on board with that." And so publicly announcing your decision, your goal, your ambition, the risk you're about to take, will attract other support.
Now these are the four steps that get you right up to what I call the moment of truth, which is point five. That is, initiation. Let go and launch out. You've got to let go and launch out if you're going to be a person of faith. You've all heard that saying that says, "Remember that turtles only make progress when they stick their necks out." Well, it's true about human beings, too. Have you ever watched a circus trapeze artist? Trapeze artist is a hundred feet high in the air, they swing out on one bar, and the other one's coming out the other way for them to grab. But those things are spaced apart so that they have to let go of this one before they can grab onto that one, and kind of leap for it. And when they leap for it, there is a point in the trapeze act, that that person is suspended a hundred feet above the ground, holding on to thin air, for a split second. For the moment that they let go of this one, and before they actually are able to grab that one, they're sailing there, a hundred feet above the ground, holding onto nothing. That's pretty scary. That is a parable of what it means to live by faith. That many times, God will work in your life and you have to let go of the past before you can grab onto the future.
You've got to let go of security in order to grab opportunity. This is very important, because the most difficult part of taking the risk is the letting go of the old. What we want to do is we want to hold on to the old job, while we get the new job secure. You know, we want to make sure that everything's set up in the new location, in the new home, before we move out of the old home. It's that letting go, letting go of the independence of being single in order to grab on to this of being married. What am I talking about? I'm talking about throwing away the crutches. Throwing away the crutches that you've been using.
Peter, one time, was in a boat fishing. Jesus came walking across the water. Peter looks out at him, at Jesus, and he says, "Lord! Bid me to come!" And Jesus says, "Come on down!" Now Peter could have stood there and said, "Jesus Christ, I believe that I can walk on water with Your help. I believe that You'll give me the strength not to drown. I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe!" But until he got out of the boat, nothing happened. If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat. You've got to take the leap. You've got to let go and launch out. And that's difficult.
Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I will put my confidence in God... Yes, I will trust the promises of God." Will you do that today?
Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I will put my confidence in God... Yes, I will trust the promises of God." Will you do that today?
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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