3-31-19 Sermon Notes
“Provision” – Genesis 22:1-14
Introduction
This is week five of the “Unbreakable” series. This series was designed to remind us of God’s promises – Presence, Protection, Preservation, Persecution, Provision and Position.
This message begins with two examples of God’s provision. The first one is about the ‘planting’ of West Shore Community Church here in Big Arm, Montana. When we decided to start a church, we needed a place to meet and a church to sponsor us along with the basic necessities such as hymn books a keyboard and someone to play it. And one other thing – someone to bring the message each Sunday. The second example is about a person in the church who needed several things to happen in order to enter a recovery program.
Message
Part 1
Let’s begin with the first example simply by listing how we were able to open West Shore’s door for ‘business’ in August of 2013.
First, we had to sell our home in Tucson, Arizona. That happened within two weeks of putting it up for sale.
Next, we were able to become part of the Easthaven Church family. Easthaven is a Southern Baptist Church in Kalispell, Montana- 50 miles north of Big Arm. Therefore, we had a sponsor church that provided us with song books, bookkeeping and accounting along with insurance. In addition, one of the pastors on staff agreed to do the ‘preaching.’ And one more thing, one of Easthaven’s members offered to bring his own keyboard and play for us. Remember this is a 100 mile round trip since he lived in Kalispell.
Next, we were provided with a place to meet. The local fire district granted us permission to meet in their fire station. It is a two-story building with the fire engines housed on the bottom floor and a meeting area with a kitchen and bathrooms on the top floor. There is no charge for using the building (and we use it a lot with special events, bible studies, etc.). We have volunteered to pay $50 a month to cover the cost of the utilities and provide maintenance to the building and grounds.
To put it in a nutshell – We sold our home in the spring of 2013, put together a plan, implemented it and opened our doors in the fall of 2013. The chance of all that happening on its own within that time frame seems to me to be rather slim. God provides!
The second example is a very recent one about God providing a way for one of our church members to enter a recovery program. This took place during the fall of 2018.
First, this person needed encouragement and support to enter treatment. Several church members stepped forth.
Second, two dogs that needed a home while this person was away. Two people in the church offered to keep them during that time. One went to one home and the other to another. That was huge!
Third, transportation was needed to go to the Billings area (400 miles away) where the treatment center was located. One of the church members volunteered to do that. Mind you, this is an eight hundred mile roundtrip!
Fourth, someone was needed to check on their house and collect their mail. And yes, there was someone to do that.
As this person’s pastor, I must admit that the provision for a home for her two dogs (and they are fairly large) was an obstacle that seemed insurmountable. Trying to board them or even to find a shelter that would take them proved to be a dead-end. Imagine coming home to an empty house if they had ended up in a shelter. So, the best possible outcome took place with the people who volunteered to take care of them.
This is just another real life example of how God’s provides for His people. For all of this to fall into place was no accident. God provides!
Part 2 – The Ultimate Provision
While the two examples of God meeting immediate circumstances, there is a provision that He has for us that is unending. I can think of no better example than God providing Abraham with a ram to be sacrificed instead of his son, Isaac.
Read Genesis 22:1-14
“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then 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.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 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. 14 So 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.” This scriptural account speaks for itself.
Concluding Remarks and Application
On the one hand, we can all think of ways that God has provided our physical and even spiritual needs when we did not see any way that they could happen.
In two weeks, we will be celebrating Palm Sunday and a week later, Easter. The parallels between the sacrifice of Jesus and the almost sacrifice of Isaac are striking. At Easter, we will be looking at the ultimate provision!
Next Week – “Position”