Genesis 22:1-19 (Teaching)

[0:00] Just take charge of your classes. Morning.

[0:22] Well, we're towards the beginning this morning. Look at Genesis. I say this every time I teach your preach from Genesis. Very thankful that Genesis is here in their Bible.

[0:38] There's a reason that it's here. There's a several reasons actually. Could you imagine that the Bible started with the book of Exodus and just left you in the dark on a lot of things.

[0:52] You'd start reading Exodus and wonder what an Israelite is. Who are the children of Israel? What's a Pharaoh? Who is Joseph? I mean, you'd start out with all kinds of questions, not to mention where do these people come from?

[1:08] And Genesis clears all that up for us. Genesis is a very important book in the scripture and unfortunately it's much overlooked by the Christian Church.

[1:19] The Christian Church wants to concentrate a lot on the New Testament and that's fine. That's great. That's where grace came in. Praise God. But we need to understand the Old Testament and understand the law and why the law was given and whom the law was given to to have a better understanding of that grace that we find in the New Testament through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

[1:46] So Old Testament is very important. The book of Genesis is very important, but we'll be in Genesis chapter 22. This is familiar scripture and I'm hoping to get through about 19 verses.

[2:01] I don't know if we'll do that or not. But there's a lot in this little chapter here. This is where Abraham goes up to Mount Moriah and is to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering to the Lord.

[2:15] So we're we should all be somewhat familiar with this scripture. So we'll start out in Genesis chapter 22 verse one says 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, thine only son Isaac whom thou lovest and get me into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell the we'll stop right there.

[2:49] We're going to spend a little bit of time these two verses here. It says after these things will after after what things will in Genesis 20 21 the previous chapter we have the birth of Isaac and now it says after these things.

[3:05] Well, if you look at some of the chronological points in scripture, the things that happen towards the very latter parts of chapter 21 what happens between there and the end of chapter 22 is about 35 years span.

[3:21] That being said, Genesis chapter 23 begins with the death of Sarah Isaac's mother and she was 127 years old when she died according to Genesis 23 verse one.

[3:36] She was 90 years old when he was when he was born. We know from not necessarily from Bible but from historical accounts that at this time children were generally weaned about two years of age sometimes three of the Hebrew women.

[3:56] That was the time they're waiting. So right now we're looking at a time span of about 35 years of what we're saying that Isaac was 35 years old here.

[4:07] I'm saying between the end of Genesis 21 and again Genesis 23. So we need to keep that in mind. Unfortunately, we see a lot of a lot of coloring books and a lot of cartoons that have Isaac is this we little little boy.

[4:24] Isaac was not a little boy when this happened. Isaac was very very possibly in his late teens and possibly even into his early 20s when this happened.

[4:36] So we'll see that here in just a minute. A few more verses in that says it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham and said unto him Abraham he said behold here I am and he said take now thy son, thy only son Isaac whom they'll lovest and get thee into the land of Varai and offer him there for a burnt offering upon them upon one of the mountains which I will tell you take now that son now.

[5:06] We all know from the Genesis account Ishmael was the first first son. However, he was not born of born the way that God wanted him to be born.

[5:18] He wasn't the promise seed. Ishmael was not Isaac was the promise seed. Isaac is the one that was to get that the blessing was to come from the blessing that God promised to Abraham that through him all nations of the world will be blessed that he would multiply this seed is the sand of the sea and as the stars of the heaven.

[5:41] These things were to come from Isaac. So God tells him he says you take your son your only son and you take him to a mountain in the land of Mariah and you offer him up there to me.

[5:54] He says your son whom thou lovest. What's so insignificant about that? This is the first time a scripture the word love is used and it's not used as a mother's love toward her children.

[6:06] It's not used as a pastor's love toward his flock. It's not used as a child's love toward their parents that you use as a father's love toward his son not only his son it's used as as a father's love towards his only begotten son.

[6:26] So we need to keep that in mind as we're reading the scripture and this is there's a there's a lot of allusion to the old testimony here. There's a lot of foreshadowing or to the new testimony.

[6:39] I'm sorry a lot of foreshadowing to the new testimony here. So he says take your son you were only son and offer him up as a burnt offering folks. You read the book of Leviticus what a burnt offering was.

[6:51] Jesus Christ was a burnt offering that was offered up under God and he's telling and God is telling Abraham here to take his only begotten son whom your son whom thou lovest and that's the thing that's one of the things that had gone on Genesis 21.

[7:09] I was born he was he had grown into a young boy grown into an adolescent went on up in his years and Abraham was tickled to death Sarah was tickled to death with everything that was going on.

[7:22] In fact it had been quite some time since God had spoken directly to Abraham as far as the scriptural account goes it had been quite some time since that had happened then all of a sudden God when he does decide to speak to Abraham again what's he do.

[7:37] He tells him to go offer up his son is offering him a burnt offering. So verse 3 and Abraham rose up early in the morning and sat on his ass and took two of his son two of his young men with him and Isaac his son and clave the wood for the burnt offering and rose up and went into the place of which God had told him.

[8:00] I don't read anything about hesitation here. I don't read anything about Abraham trying to reason with God. I don't read anything about Abraham saying well give me a week or give me a few days or give me a month we'll get around to it.

[8:15] It says early in the morning he rose up and he settled his own ass and he got the stuff for the sacrifice ready. He got a son ready and they headed out now in verse 2 we read about where they were going to because it says here at the end of verse 3 and went on to the place of which God had told him where he got to him to go.

[8:37] He went to Mariah. What was so significant about Mariah you only find about Mariah mentioned twice in the scriptures. You find you mentioned here and you find it mentioned in the books of Chronicles.

[8:49] One time. What's so significant about it. This is the place where Solomon's temple was built many many years after this happened here.

[9:00] God sent him to the same area. I'm going to say it was the exact same peak or the same plateau or anything along those lines. It was the same area. I have no reason to believe otherwise.

[9:10] I don't know why God would do something like that now all that being said some people will say about Mariah also is equal with Mount Calvary. Me personally I don't think so I'll let you all decide that on your own but there were substitutionary sacrifices offered up on Mount Mariah.

[9:30] We're about to read about one of them right here in the form of the land that was around that was caught in the thicket and we know that Solomon's temple was built there as per the Old Testament scriptures.

[9:42] There are many many many sacrifices that were made there but those were all substitutionary. Yes Jesus Christ death was substitutionary. Yes but all those deaths of all those innocent animals were to point toward the sacrifice that would take place in Jesus Christ.

[10:01] 2000 or so years ago when that happened. So me personally I don't believe that Mariah is equal with Calvary same same little same little chain of limestone hills there in Jerusalem same same little chain of mountains there yes but I don't believe personally that Calvary is equal with Mariah.

[10:22] I'll let you all look into that you can develop your own opinions on it. But regardless Abraham didn't hesitate. He got up and he went where he was headed off to where he was supposed to go first for then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place of far off.

[10:41] What a God told Abraham to do. He told him take his only son that he loved and take him and offer him up for a sacrifice. This here says on the third day he lifted up his eyes and he saw the place of far off.

[10:56] Folks that tell me that for three days in Abraham's mind Isaac was already dead. He knew what he was going to that mountain to do.

[11:09] He knew what he was going to do and yet he trudged on he didn't hesitate. He didn't hesitate one bit three days in his mind.

[11:21] Hey Isaac was already dead. Don't you think Isaac was wondering about things while they were making this way. Like I said he wasn't a little boy that couldn't really think for himself at this point.

[11:32] In fact we'll just read on and Abraham said unto his young young men about you here with the ass and I'm the lab will go up yonder and worship and come again and come again to you.

[11:46] The neighbor took the word of the burnt offering and later upon Isaac his son he took the fire in his hand 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 in the wood but where's the land for a burnt offering.

[12:06] Don't you think Isaac wouldn't wonder about that all the way to Miriah. Don't you think for a second that he wasn't wondering about that offering about that sacrifice but here back in verse 5 when Abraham tells the young men he says about you here with the ass and I'm the lab will go yonder and worship and come again unto you.

[12:32] The word for young men and the word for lad is the exact same Hebrew word come to air. The exact same Hebrew word so when we picture young men servants of Abraham what do we picture?

[12:47] We picture young men. We picture we picture young strong able-bodied men that are able to do the servile work they're able to labor for Abraham they're able to carry the goods and all these other things and I says that Abraham settled up his own ass here in the scripture so we don't see nothing about these young men doing that they've been traveling for three days and I don't see anything about them riding an animal.

[13:15] Those Abraham's well over a hundred years old at this point I can understand why he'd want to write a donkey that far. I wouldn't want to walk that far right now. I don't hear his age. He wasn't this happy but these young men were able to do that but young man and lad are the exact same Hebrew word.

[13:37] So that tells me that if these young men if we picture them as just what we do young men late teens early 20s we should probably also be pictured as in the same manner the same way.

[13:53] I said Sarah was 90 years old when he was born. She was 127 when she died that makes 37 years old when she died.

[14:06] So we need to keep all these things into consideration. I said Genesis 231 began with the death of Sarah. So within this we've got about 35 or so years keep all that in mind so that you can get this picture out of your head of this little boy that can't think for himself can't do for himself and is dependent on daddy for everything.

[14:28] Abraham took the woman of the birth offering late in upon Isaac his son he took the fire in his hand and they went both of them together. It's verse six they went both of them together. I think that the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to write this in such a way just to show that Isaac was giving no fight to Abraham.

[14:48] Isaac was a question the Abraham at this point granted the very next verse. He says where where's the offering where's the land where's where's the blood sacrifice that he does ask that question in the next verse that says they went off together.

[15:03] Even though I personally think that I was going to have some questions and Isaac had developed some questions on their way to Mariah. Why are we doing this?

[15:14] Where are we going going all this way says Abraham said my son God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering so they went both of them together.

[15:26] They went both of them together. No fight no arguing just Abraham explaining how good God is Abraham explaining how God is all sufficient God is self sufficient and God wants to sacrifice God will provide that sacrifice for his people to make to him.

[15:49] Now. Did Abraham really and truly have intentions of killing his son that's that's the question that that's loomed over the church for 2000 years now.

[16:00] It was Abraham really and truly going to kill his son. Yeah, he was. Yes, I mean I give it an emphatic yes he was in fact a book where he proves will confirm that to us.

[16:15] He says that Abraham knowing that God was able to raise up the dead was going to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice unto God. He had told the men here he said me and the latter going to go yonder we're going to go to worship God but he and I will return.

[16:34] He didn't tell him how he was going to worship God folks. What is worship? We see worship is coming in and hearing a sermon that's a form of worship. We see worship is singing songs that's a form of worship.

[16:46] Yes, but pure worship unto God. It's a pure religion. James gives us that definition. Pure worship to God is simply obey God.

[16:58] When God tells us to do something when we read something in God's word that we are supposed to do how we are supposed to act or anything along those lines and we obey the word of God that is worshiping God.

[17:12] Abraham said we're going younger to the mountain. We've traveled these three days. I know you boys are tired speaking to his servants speaking of those young men. I know that you're weary from the journey but you just hang out here just a little while longer and the lad and I are going to go up yonder into the mountain and we're going to worship.

[17:32] Abraham knew what worship was. He knew that was obedience to God. That is the purest form of worship that we can give God. I love to hear it get certain and I love to sing the songs of Zion and I love to read the scripture.

[17:46] I'll raise my hands once in a while and give an amen. Maybe even shout out how I'll live you while I'm in the congregation. Your worship is obedience to God. Obedience to what God tells us.

[18:00] Abraham was going to obey God. He was going to obey what God had commanded him. He was going to worship. They went both of them together verse 9 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 laid him on the altar upon the wood.

[18:22] And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son and the angel of the Lord called him to him out of heaven and said Abraham Abraham and he said here am I and he said lay not done hand upon the lad neither do thou anything unto him for now I know that thou farest God seen that thou has not withheld that son by an only son from me.

[18:47] So they go up into the mountain. Abraham lays the wood down sets everything in order for this sacrifice. It says that he finds Isaac.

[18:57] I don't think there's any question in Isaac's mind at that point what Abraham's intentions were if he had any doubts they would have been they would have been cast far off at that point that I don't seem struggling.

[19:12] I read nothing about listen. Like I've already said I was a young man at this point. They changed early 20s. The latest would have probably been mid 20s. Here's Abraham over a century old.

[19:27] Don't you think Isaac could have overpowered him if you don't want it to I believe you could have. I believe I believe he could have took his father down and headed on down the mountain and went anywhere he wanted to go just to get away from that situation.

[19:42] But again I see obedience here. This is obedience of a son to the father and that was the meat of Jesus Christ.

[19:52] That's what Jesus Christ told him. John chapter 4 the rest of the disciples are going into town to get himself something to eat. Jesus met up with a woman at the well there in John chapter 4 and we all know that account.

[20:07] We all know what happened and when the disciples come back what Jesus tell him. He said my meat is to do the will of him that sent me. His means was to obey the father.

[20:20] Here's I obeyed the father. Here's the son obeying the father here in the scripture. The angel the angel spoke unto Abraham verse 12 again says I know now that thou farest God seeing thou is not withheld that son that son only son from who from me.

[20:46] Go up in the mountain to offer up his son a burnt offering into an angel. He went to offer him up to God. And this angel says you have withheld your only son from me that tells me this angel that Abraham saw was the Lord.

[21:02] He was the Lord speaking directly to Abraham. An angel would have no right to say these things. Angels don't command a worship.

[21:13] Angels don't want worship. Angels were made for the specific purpose of worshipping Almighty God not to be worshipped.

[21:24] 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 in the state of his son and Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh as it is said to this day in the Mount of the Lord it shall it shall be seen.

[21:50] So here we have the substitutionary sacrifice the real sacrifice Abraham bound and laid down there on the altar and went so far as to raise the knife up above his head for as we can tell in the scripture and the angel of the Lord spoke to him but then the substitute came in.

[22:09] Folks you and I under the curse of the law which was given in the same book that we're reading from this morning the book of Genesis. I know the law was given in Exodus but the curse was given in the book of Genesis.

[22:23] God cursed the earth. He cursed mankind. He cursed the animals. He cursed everything. Why? Because of sin. Because of sin.

[22:34] God cursed everything. That's why the New Testament tells us that the earth runs for a rebirth not just not just you know mankind. I mean folks you see people out here all the time we see lost folks we've got them in our families we've got coworkers we've lost people everywhere and they're looking somewhere for something they've got a void inside themselves that they're trying to fill they might try it with a bottle of pills they might try it with a joint they might try it with a bottle of alcohol they might try it with men with women whatever they can but there is nothing that can fill that void except for the very one that put that void in them which is Almighty God.

[23:16] That's the only thing that can fill that hole in their lives. I was in that boat and if you're honest with yourself you was in that boat too. You tried everything that the world had to offer before you ever came to God.

[23:29] Now some people I understand or say they're nine ten years old and God bless them folks that's great and you know I wish I would have got saved when I was that young but I didn't.

[23:39] I had a hole and I tried to fill it. I tried to fill it with the thing of the world but God finally filled that void in my life one day God filled a void here that didn't really even take him place yet physically and as I said several verses ago and Abraham be mine there was already a void there.

[24:01] There was already a void thinking I'm about to kill my son. I'm about to offer him up to the Lord and there is all kinds of arguments that Abraham could have made Abraham could have said Lord you promised this boy to me you promised him to me and Sarah back when we were still Abram and Sarah there's all kinds of arguments that he could have made but he was simply obedient.

[24:27] Although they traveled for three days and that boy I'm sure was in Abraham's mind God fills that void here. I feel that void and people will say well the Bible here says that God tempted Abraham and he did he tested it he tried it God don't just save you and then let you go on your way.

[24:46] He don't do that with any of us God does test our faith. Now he wasn't tending Abraham to sin well he asked him to kill up and kill his son he was testing his faith he was testing his faith in him.

[25:02] Now the surrounding nations at this time and all throughout the Old Testament the surrounding nations practice child sacrifice. We find that in history we find it in the Bible we find we find it all kinds of places people offered up their children under the God Mullah.

[25:21] They offered up their children and selfish matters but they thought that they were doing good and doing so. But we know from scripture that God does not approve of human sacrifice.

[25:37] We know that very well in scripture I mean of God's in the very Ten Commandments the moral code that God give us live by and says they'll shut not kill.

[25:47] That tells me that you know I shouldn't kill you you shouldn't kill me I shouldn't kill my children or your children. God makes it very plain in the scripture that he has a disdain for human sacrifice.

[26:03] So if he had a disdain for it in the book of Exodus and God says I am the Lord not changing up the book of Malachi and Genesis the preceding book to Exodus.

[26:15] He would have the same outlook on it. You had the same outlook is now shut not kill and you shouldn't and we won't continue on.

[26:27] Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh as it is said this day in the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen that is one interpretation or translation of the Hebrew text that this was originally written in is that in the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen the other translation is in the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided Jehovah Jireh being the provider and God does provide there's Hebrew scholars that for years have argued over the placement of a couple of vowels in that saying or slogan however you want to phrase it as to what the proper translation of it is.

[27:05] Why don't you say it's both and be done with why are you God isn't provided and the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen both of them would be correct in my mind may be in a New Testament Christian but they want to argue over that God bless them.

[27:23] I'm going to get between and silly to argue over stuff like that though verse 18 or I'm sorry verse 15. And the angel of the Lord caught in the Abraham out of heaven the second time and said by myself have I sworn say it to the Lord for because thou hast done this thing and has not withheld thy son, that only son that in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven and as the sandwiches upon the seashore and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies and then thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice.

[28:06] Again this angel as the scripture puts it speaking under Abraham says by myself have I sworn say it to Lord.

[28:17] I said I believe this angel was a theophany of the Lord. I believe he was the Lord himself because of the things that he says here especially in verse 18 says because thou hast obeyed my voice.

[28:33] Thou hast obeyed my voice. Thou hast obeyed what I told thee to do. You have truly worshiped me and your obedience to me. We all know that when we hear it tossed around all the time and churches that obedience is better than sacrifice and it is.

[28:52] It is. The actual scripture says to obey is better than sacrifice but it means the same thing. We've all heard that multiple times you've been in church any amount of time that obedience is better than sacrifice and it is because obedience is the purest form of worship that we can give to God.

[29:12] What does it mean to fear God? We're supposed to fear God are we not? Why do we fear? Well it depends on your definition of fear really.

[29:25] The outside, I shouldn't say the outside, the unsaved world. The unsaved world more and more and more has zero fear of God.

[29:36] And I'll be honest with you all, a lot of that is the church has fought because the church has lost their fear of God. And the unsaved world says well if those people don't fear God why should I fear God?

[29:51] I remember Bible schools, Sunday schools and church services when I was a kid where I felt like I needed to be safe five different times before I ever got out of the service.

[30:06] It was put in my head that I was a sinner, lost sinners go to hell and I didn't want to go to hell. Now that was one fear of God. Another fear of God is simply reverencing God.

[30:20] Releasing who he is. That's the fear that the church has lost. That's the church has lost the idea of who God really is.

[30:32] They've lost the thought that he's the very speaker into existence of the entire universe. They've lost the thought that he's able to crush us at any point that he so desires.

[30:48] He is God and the church has lost that sight of God. They have lost that thought of God and therefore it has bled out into the world and the world says that the church of the people of God don't fear him.

[31:01] I have nothing to fear. And that's where they've gotten this idea that I'm missing and I were actually talking about this on the way to church this morning. That's where they've gotten the idea that they can go out and they can do whatever they want.

[31:13] They can live how they want. They can act how they want. And them and God will have some sort of arrangement come judgment days. The only arrangement that God has got with humanity is in his son Jesus Christ.

[31:26] That is the only arrangement that there is. And in his shed blood. That's the only way out from underneath the condemnation that God placed on the earth and God placed on mankind in the same book that we're reading from this morning.

[31:40] I got a little bit off track there, but that's okay. That in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed.

[31:51] This isn't the first time this promise has been made to Abraham. But Abraham has just proven to God in the test and the trial that God has put in through and the temptation that God has put in through.

[32:02] Like I said, God didn't tempt Abraham to sin. James makes it very plain that God cannot be tempted, neither tempted to eat any man. That every man has drawn away of his own lust.

[32:14] Lust within his conceit brings forth sin. Sin when it is finished brings forth death. So God does not tempt man to sin. Where does that temptation come from?

[32:27] It comes from inside your chest. It comes from inside my chest. It comes from our own dark desires that nobody else knows about. It comes from our own wants and our own passions that we're going to take to our graves with us one of these days.

[32:41] It comes from within. We can't blame the devil. We can't blame anybody on our lusts, on our sins. We can only blame ourselves on that.

[32:52] We can't blame Adam and Eve. We can only blame ourselves. If we could blame Adam and Eve, then everybody sent Adam and Eve should be saved right now. If we can point a finger back at them, but we cannot do that.

[33:06] We make our own decision. You decide what you're going to do in your life. You decide whether to go with God or go with the world.

[33:17] The Bible says the friendship with the world is enmity with God. So God even told Israel, I said, I said before your choices, I said before your life and death, choose life.

[33:30] He left it up to them to do it. You read that in Deuteronomy. Anyway, and in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice.

[33:45] Not because you traveled three days, not because you worked hard, not because you climbed this mountain in your old age, but because you have obeyed my voice.

[33:58] There's too many church members. I ain't speaking over here. I don't know y'all that well yet, but I've seen it. There's too many church members to say.

[34:09] Well, I head up every bake cell that we have. I'm the Bible school director every year. I teach Sunday school. I do this and I do that.

[34:22] That's not worshiping God. That is not worshiping God. Worshiping God is obeying his voice. Obeying his word.

[34:33] That is worshiping God. If you're depending on that, if you're depending on what you do for the church, for God to chalk that up somehow to use an active worship, you're in a sad shape.

[34:47] You obey the word of God and that is worshiping God. I said, nothing to do with Abraham's actions, nothing to do with his journey there.

[34:58] I'm talking individually with the three days with the mountain climb or anything like that. It was simply that he obeyed God. If God had told him, stay home, build an altar here and offer up your son as a sacrifice unto me.

[35:13] And Abraham had listened. It would have been the same amount of worship as those three days journey that climbed up into the mountain, but it would have been the same amount of worship because it would have been obedience unto God.

[35:26] Abraham returned unto his young men and they rose up and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. Abraham did exactly as he promised that he would do.

[35:40] He returned to the young men and they rose up and went together. We read several verses previous to this that Abraham and Isaac went together.

[35:52] And now they've gone up into the mountain, they've gone up into the mountain, they've worshiped God, they've come back. Now Abraham, his son, and his servants all go together.

[36:04] They go back to Beersheba. This ain't no place Abraham ever built an altar, in fact he built one under his shoe too as well. He built an altar in a different place and revered to God, to honor God, to sacrifice unto God.

[36:21] But he goes back to Beersheba. He goes back home to do what? To live out the rest of his days. Maybe he was waiting on God to speak to him again.

[36:34] Unfortunately, this is the last scriptural account that we have of God speaking directly to Abraham. Correct. But what matters is when God spoke to him.

[36:46] He would have been years before and we've got years afterward when God did speak Abraham listened. Abraham did exactly as he should have.

[36:59] Something else I would like to point out before I sit down here. I know people are coming out of the classroom. That's okay. Back in verse two again, we talked just a little bit about that word love.

[37:13] Now the first reference in the scripture is about a father's love towards his only begotten son, Abraham, towards Isaac. Something else though that we need to consider is, and I recommend this for all of you all.

[37:30] When you're studying scripture, there's a certain word or certain phrase that you're wanting to know a little bit more about. You go back in the first time in scripture that it's used. You look at the surrounding context and it should flow like that through the rest of scripture.

[37:44] Most times, 98% of the time it would. So that being said, we see this word love here in verse two of Genesis 22.

[37:55] In the New Testament, we look at the first uses of love in the New Testament. In the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the first use of the word love is God at the baptism of Jesus Christ when he says, This is my beloved son.

[38:13] And the different writers have different ways that that was phrased and that's fine. That's their account. That's not a contradiction in scripture at all. That's their account of what happened. But every one of them say, This is my beloved son.

[38:25] Speaking of the father's love towards his son, John is the only exception. And John is a gospel all together different. Where's the first use of the word love in the gospel of John?

[38:41] John 3 16. The first three gospels we see it as the father's love toward the son.

[38:51] But in John's God, it was God's love toward the world. God's love toward mankind. God's love toward his creation. Which tells me that every ounce of love in your life, every act of love that you either give or that you receive, every act of love period, goes back to God somehow because God is the originator of this thing that we call love.

[39:17] Whether it's by the father toward the son or by the father towards humanity. All of it goes back to Bible says in 1 John, God is love. I thank God for that too.

[39:30] I understand that Bible says we love him because he first loved us. And I appreciate that too. I thank him that he loved me when I was good and unlovable.

[39:42] I thank him that he loved me when I was still out in sin. Not caring about him going against his ways and against his laws and against his everything about God.

[39:52] The church, the church's people, everything. I was rebellious against God just as you were. You might not feel like you were as rebellious as I was against God and the things of God, but you were.

[40:05] Everyone of us were. You wouldn't know better of a sinner than I was. Maybe a man's eyes. Maybe a man's eyes you were. And just like a man's eyes, a man's eyes allows not nearly as bad as a murder.

[40:22] And God says both sin and both sins deserve hell. Sin is sin is sin in the eyes of a thrust holy God. It doesn't matter how big or how small you think it is.

[40:33] But anyway, I want to point that out before I sat down. About love and old testament. This is the first use of love in the old testament. The father towards the son and the new testament, the first three gospels.

[40:44] The father towards the son. But the gospel of God is the father towards humanity. So man, love goes full circle all the way back to its origin. Oh, my God.

[40:55] Thank you all for your attention. God bless you.