THE LORD TESTS HIS PEOPLE

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30) 

Previously in Genesis…

 

1) God refines us through testing.

 

Two types of hard time:

i) Testing

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2-3)

ii) Reaping what you’ve sown

“A man reaps what he sows” (Gal.6:7)

 “God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” (Genesis 22:2)

In Genesis 21, Isaac was 3

In Genesis 23, Isaac is 37.

How old is he in Genesis 22?  Josephus says 35, but Gen.21:17, 22:4 and 22:12 hint at 16.

“Abraham bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.” (Genesis 22:9)

 “Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.” (Gen.22:13)

2) Do you know Jesus personally?

For more information visit  http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl/

“I never knew you. Away from me” (Matthew 7:23)

 

3) We grow through a RIGHT fear of the Lord

(a) AWE

 “an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful”.

 “The Heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1)

 “…There before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.”
(Rev.4:3-5)

 (b) TRUST

“Faith without deeds is useless. Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” (James 2:21-22)

 (c) LOVE

4) God provides for his people

“Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” (Genesis 22:14)

If St James’ is your church, and you have an income, God calls you to support the work of the gospel here. Go to www.stjamesnewbarnet.com/give for more details of how.

The end of tax year challenge…

Our hope is to be able to self-fund our youth and children’s pastor by 2015.

The Bible calls us to give proportionate to our income.

“They voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their mean” (2Cor.8:3)

God’s tests us to help us obey him with our whole lives, even if it seems difficult, and we can’t see the end to the journey God is calling us on.

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I want to know more:

• To Read: The Message of Genesis, Atkinson, Bible Speaks Today commentary
• Book, Is God really in Control? Trusting God in a world of hurt, Jerry Bridges
• Marriage: How to act right when your spouse acts wrong, Leslie Vernick
• www.stjamesnewbarnet.com/give or speak in confidence to our Stewardship Secretary, Chris Jones on 020 84400444