September 13 2026

Havasu Christian Church    

September 13, 2026

Character Studies in Genesis

Genesis 22:1-14

“How has God called You to be Faithful?”

INTRO: Faithfulness; we all know it when we see it! You have a dog that comes when you call… It’s faithful. You visit a geyser in Yellowstone, and it blasts scalding hot water into the air right on time, it’s faithful. You have a spouse that you can always trust and count on, in many ways and circumstances. They are faithful. Your car starts every morning when you are getting ready to go somewhere. It’s a faithful car. You have a friend that is there for you, whenever you really need them! They will drop whatever they are doing to help you… You have a faithful friend.

        All of these are faithful. They may be faithful in their own different ways, but they are all faithful.

        God expects US to be faithful! There are some things that God expects of all of us…. To be people of integrity. To serve Him by serving others. To follow the rules for life that He gives us in His word. To be in fellowship together so we can lift each other up when we struggle!

        But there are also acts of faithfulness that God requires of individuals. What He expects of you, He may not expect of me, and what He expects of me, He may not expect of you!

        Today, we will see God challenge Abraham to be faithful in a way, I hope He never challenges me to be faithful.

1. The Challenge!

Genesis 22:1-2 (NASB) Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 

     2   He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”

1. Wow! That’s a challenge!
2. Sacrifice your son!
3. This isn’t a “Give your children to Me so I can be in charge of their lives” kind of sacrifice.
4. This is a “Cut your son’s throat and burn his body up on an altar” kind of sacrifice!
5. This is something that Abraham has the ability to accomplish.
6. If Abraham chooses to do what God says to do, he can accomplish it.
7. He is “King of his castle… He is Lord over his servants. He can do basically whatever he chooses to do and no one is going to stop him!
8. Abraham is given an AWFUL choice to make.
9. Option 1: “Follow your heart.”
10. If you want a verse about following your heart to tattoo on your forearm, there is one.

Ecclesiastes 9:3 (NASB95) This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.

1. Option 2: “Follow your God.”
2. There are LOTS of reasons why this is a good idea!
3. My personal favorite: “God knows ALL the things I do, and He also knows ALL the things I do not!”
4. We are given opportunities to decide whether we will follow God, or follow our hearts!
5. There will always be LOTS of reasons that we’ll be able to come up with to “follow my heart.” But all of those reasons will be false!
6. Make the decision to Follow God!

1. Abraham makes a decision.

Genesis 22:3-8 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 

     4   On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 

     5   Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” 

     6   Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 

     7   Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 

     8   Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

1. Abraham makes his initial decision.
2. He sets out.
3. Two young men to be of assistance.
4. His son, to be the sacrifice.
5. Himself, to DO the sacrifice.
6. At this point, he can still back out.
7. He may have already fully committed to do this, but maybe he’s still weighing his options.
8. “Maybe God will change His mind.”
9. There was a thought process that happened before he and Isaac walked up the mountain.

Hebrews 11:17–19 (NASB95) By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

1. Abraham has thought this through.
2. God didn’t expect him to just “do the deed” without thinking about what he was doing. He put some thought into this.
3. Fact #1: God has promised me that this son Isaac, will be the child through whom I will have descendants, “like the sand of the seashore.”
4. Fact #2: God does not lie!
5. Fact #3: That can’t happen if Isaac is dead.
6. Fact #4: God has the power to do anything that He chooses to do.
7. Abraham’s Conclusion: God will raise my son from the dead, after I sacrifice him!
8. God expects us to “think things through.”
9. We are made in the Image of God.
10. He expects us to try to understand.
11. Maybe we will come up with a bit of logic and have God do something we never even thought of, like Abraham.
12. Maybe we’ll “figure it out” and be correct.
13. Maybe we won’t come up with a rational idea about what God is doing.
14. But that’s when we just have to trust Him!
15. Abraham made his difficult, unthinkable choice!

Genesis 22:9-10 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

1. This is just one verse: but it says so much!
2. Abraham has made his final decision… HE IS GOING TO KILL HIS SON!
3. His mind is made up! He is reaching out to pick up the knife.
4. In Abraham’s mind, it is a “done deed.”
5. There will be times when we are called on to “Pick up the knife.”
6. To do what God says, even when it is awful to even contemplate.
7. We may be called to give up something good…. Because God has something for us that is SO much better!

1. The Angel of the Lord speaks to Abraham.

Genesis 22:11-14 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 

     12   He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 

     13   Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 

     14   Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”

1. The Angel of the Lord tells Abraham to stop!
2. I doubt Abraham had ever heard words that sounded sweeter to him than these!
3. God knows that Abraham really means to be faithful in EVERYTHING!
4. Not only that, but Abraham now knows exactly how far his faith will take him.
5. This is not “Tell them you’re my sister” Abraham.
6. This isn’t “Sure, I’ll have sex with your handmaid so we can have a baby” Abraham.
7. Abraham’s faith has grown!
8. Like Abraham, we only know what we are capable of when we set out to do our best!

In the movie “Facing the Giants” there is scene where the football coach asks one of his players, Brock, to do a “death crawl.” He’s going to see how far he can go on his hands and feet, no knees touching the ground, with another player on his back. But there’s a catch. The coach doesn’t ask him to go a distance, he asks for Brock’s best. He asks repeatedly, “Will you give me your best?” Brock assures him that he will. The coach adds a twist. He blindfolds Brock so he won’t know how far he’s gone. With the blindfold in place, Brock “assumes the position, and Jeremy gets on his back.

        This young lineman is strong, so at first, the going is easy. The coach is encouraging him, and giving him guidance as to which way to go. The coach continues to encourage him, asking for “His very best.” “Don’t quit! Keep driving! Give me your very best.” “Don’t quit till you’ve got nothing left.

        Brock begins to complain about the pain, about how heavy the other guy is. The coach keeps yelling encouragement! You can! You can!

        The young man finally collapses and in tears cries out “I’ve got to at least be at the 50, I’ve got nothing left.” The coach removes his blindfold and says “Look up. You’re in the endzone!

1. Abraham didn’t really know what he was capable of until he did it!
2. Abraham is given a substitute for his son!
3. “The Ram in the thicket.”
4. This animal will take the place of Isaac!
5. God made sure that ram was in exactly the right place, at the right time, where he would be needed!
6. His life would be taken in place of the life of Abrahams son, Isaac.
7. About 2,000 years later, a son went up a hill in that same range of mountains, carrying wood. It may very well have been the same exact spot.
8. His name is Jesus… He is carrying a cross.
9. He is going up this hill to be a sacrifice.
10. He is going willingly, for our sakes.
11. There is no Ram in the thicket! He is “the sheep that is led to slaughter.”
12. Jesus will die on that hill, and everyone who lived faithfully to God in the Old Testament times, will be saved by “the blood of the lamb.” Every person who accepts Jesus as their Lord will be given forgiveness because of that blood.
13. All of us have sinned, and we deserve death for that sin. But Jesus is our “ram in the thicket!”
14. He died so we could live…. Forever!

Conclusion: We started out, talking about faithfulness. But we didn’t say anything about WHY we should be faithful!

        JESUS and His Sacrifice should be motivation to be Faithful!

        He faithfully lived a sinless life, and died a sacrificial death, so you and I could become Children of God!

        How do you not honor a sacrifice like that??