Introduction

Last week we looked at the subject of “The Bridge to God.”

We discovered that because of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden, when they disobeyed God, man became separated from God both physically and spiritually. This created a gap, a chasm between us and God.

We then saw that God provided a bridge for mankind — His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and paid the debt of our sin.

But the gift that God gave us through His Son is one that each person must choose to take or not.

This morning we want to turn our attention to a subject I’ve entitled:

In God’s Hands

If you have put your trust in Jesus Christ to be your Saviour, you can be assured that you are IN GOD’S HANDS.

Your salvation can never be lost.

But this morning we want to explore one aspect of what it means to be in God’s hands, and that is faith.

Not faith in respect to salvation, but faith to trust that you are IN GOD’S HANDS and to leave it to Him rather than your own hands, your own wisdom.

Let’s start by looking at a man whose faith is renowned in the Bible and who James 2:23 calls “the Friend of God.”

This man, of course, is Abraham.

Abraham’s Great Test of Faith

Turn with me to Genesis 22:1–18.

We notice first that God did tempt Abraham. The word tempt has the meaning of test.

And the test Abraham was about to face would have to be one of the most extreme tests anyone could be asked to endure.

God tells Abraham to take his only son, whom he loves, and offer him for a burnt offering.

What was Abraham’s response?

He gets up early the next day, saddles his ass, takes two young men and Isaac, gathers the wood for the offering and heads off to where God said to go.

How is this possible?

How can this be Abraham’s response?

Reading this passage can so easily just roll off the tongue, but we really need to stop and grasp the gravity of the situation.

This is Isaac — the promised son through whom God said He would make a great nation and by whom He would bless all the nations of the earth.

So, if Isaac is offered as a sacrifice, then how on earth will all that God promised come to be?

What would your response be?

Would you get up and get on with it the next day, or would you say, “Now hang on God. Let’s talk this out because this is making no sense…”?

Abraham, like all of us, likely had his next day and week all planned out.

But we see that he has no delay in going.

Abraham Trusted God’s Promise

In verse 5 Abraham tells the young men to stay behind while he and the lad go and worship.

But then he says:

“and come again to you.”

That’s interesting.

Abraham continues to trust God even though he doesn’t know exactly how God is going to fulfil His promise.

Isaac is not a little child. He is likely in his late teens or even twenties. He is strong and in his youth, while Abraham is an old man.

Isaac could easily have resisted.

Yet there is no indication that he did.

This demonstrates the godly teaching he had received from his parents and his own faith in God.

Abraham also says they are going to worship.

The word has the idea of bowing down oneself.

Abraham is bowing down to God’s will and doing what God has asked, as impossible as it may seem.

Then Isaac asks the obvious question:

Where is the lamb?

Abraham must have been dying inside as his son asked him this.

Yet again his faith in God is unwavering:

“My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.”

And then Abraham binds Isaac and lays him on the altar.

Try to imagine this scene.

Here is Abraham’s promised son, whom he deeply loves, laying on the altar and looking into his father’s eyes.

Abraham is looking back at his son with the knife held high.

Yet Abraham still knows and trusts that God will keep His promise.

Abraham Knew God Would Keep His Promise

Hebrews 11:17–19 gives us an insight into Abraham’s thinking.

Abraham accounted that God was able even to raise Isaac from the dead.

In other words, Abraham knew that one way or another, the promises God had made concerning his son would be kept.

It makes you wonder:

How did Abraham come to have such a dependable faith in God?

How was Abraham able to trust that he was secure IN GOD’S HANDS?

Well, there is a whole back story of what led Abraham to learning to trust IN GOD’S HANDS.

That is what we are going to dive into.

Learning to Trust in God’s Hands

There are three questions we want to consider:

1. Where do we see God promising Isaac to Abraham?
2. Does Abraham not TRUST IN GOD’S HANDS?
3. What has God promised for us today?

1. Where Did God Promise Isaac to Abraham?

Turn with me to Genesis 12:1–8.

God tells Abram to get out from all he currently knows — away from his country, his kindred and his father’s house — and go to a land God would show him.

This would have been difficult to say the least.

To up and leave your home and extended family and go to a land that was notoriously wicked was a big ask.

Yet God promises Abram that He would make a great nation of him.

Remember, Abram is 75 years old and Sarai is 65, and they have no children.

God promises to bless Abram, make his name great and make him a blessing.

God Repeats His Promise

By Genesis 15, some time has passed and Abram still has no child.

Perhaps Abram was having doubts because he points out that his current heir is Eliezer, his steward.

But God reassures him.

Eliezer is not his heir.

God tells Abram that his heir will come from his own body.

And Genesis 15:6 says:

“and he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”

Then, in Genesis 16, Abram and Sarai decide to take matters into their own hands.

At the age of 86, Abram is convinced by Sarai to take her handmaid so that she could have children through her.

Remember, Abram was first promised a son at 75.

He has now been waiting eleven years.

And the promise still hasn’t happened.

So they come up with their own solution.

But this was not what God had promised or what God had planned.

Then in Genesis 17, God appears to Abram again.

He is now 99 years old and Sarai is 89.

And God again promises that Sarai would have a child.

Abraham falls upon his face and laughs.

This was not scorning laughter or doubt, but merriment or joy. We know this because God does not rebuke Abraham.

Sarah, however, later laughs within herself and is rebuked by the LORD because of her doubt.

Twenty-Five Years of Waiting

God had spoken and appeared to Abraham multiple times, telling him and confirming His promise.

Yet it took 25 years from when God first promised a son until Isaac was finally born.

God waited until it was impossible in man’s wisdom for Sarah to become pregnant.

Then God made it possible.

This testifies to His divine intervention.

God was teaching Abraham that His promises do not depend upon man’s wisdom or ability.

God keeps His word.

2. Where Did Abram Not Trust in God’s Hands?

Now we need to go back and continue the journey Abram was taking through Canaan.

In Genesis 12, Abram leaves as God commanded.

But interestingly, this was not the first time God had told Abram to leave.

Acts 7 tells us that God had already told Abram to get out of his country and away from his kindred.

What happened?

Abram did not obey fully.

Instead, his father Terah moved them all down to Haran.

Terah was a worshipper of other gods.

You see, there was a good reason God wanted Abram to get out of the country and from his kindred.

Terah was not a godly influence.

Eventually Abram leaves Haran and heads toward the promised land.

It would have been a long and arduous journey — around 640 kilometres from Haran to Canaan.

Quinns Rocks to, say, Kalgoorlie or Kalbarri.

They would have been travelling with a large company of people and a vast quantity of cattle.

Yet Abraham goes out by faith, not knowing exactly where he was going.

Hebrews 11:8 says:

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”

Abraham is living by faith for sustenance and direction.

So what changes?

What causes Abram’s faith to waiver?

When the Road Gets Bumpy

Genesis 12:9–13 brings us to a grievous famine.

This wasn’t a minor inconvenience.

It was severely difficult.

They had a lot of mouths to feed — people and cattle.

Perhaps there was a family or management meeting.

Maybe there was panic.

Maybe people were saying:

“Abram, what are you going to do? We are going to die unless you do something!”

Do you remember during COVID how people panicked over toilet paper?

This is far worse than some toilet paper.

It was clearly becoming a life-or-death situation.

So what does Abram do?

He decides to leave Canaan and head down to Egypt.

He takes himself and his family away from where God told him to be.

And we can’t forget that God had already given Abram clear promises concerning his seed and this land.

At this point, Abram doesn’t build an altar to the LORD and seek God’s leading.

Instead, he makes his own decision.

Abram’s Own Wisdom Creates Problems

As they approach Egypt, Abram begins to realise what could happen.

Sarai is incredibly beautiful.

Abram fears that the Egyptians will kill him so they can take her.

So he comes up with a plan:

“Let’s say you are my sister.”

Technically, she was his half-sister.

But what future problems could there be if Sarai was taken to be married off?

Hadn’t God promised Abram that He would bless his seed, make a great nation of him and give him the land?

He sure had.

So how is this going to work out if she is married off to some Egyptian?

Do we stop and consider the unintended consequences of acting in our wisdom and logic rather than seeking God’s mind?

I think it would be fair to say that we often haven’t or don’t.

The Egyptians see Sarai’s beauty and she is taken to Pharaoh.

Abram receives riches, but that was probably little comfort.

His heart must have been breaking because that was his wife and she was about to be married to Pharaoh.

God’s Hand Was Still at Work

Yet even though Abram had made a bad decision, God’s hand continued to work.

God plagued Pharaoh and his house.

Eventually Pharaoh discovered that Sarai was Abram’s wife.

He was going to marry her, but God protected her.

She was not defiled or married off.

Pharaoh sent Abram and Sarai away with everything they had, including the gifts Abram had received.

But their testimony had been shattered.

The princes of Pharaoh had originally commended Sarai — praised her.

The testimony of God’s people should be something that even unsaved men can see and praise through our conduct, conversation and testimony.

Because unsaved people are very quick to point out sin or hypocrisy when we stumble.

They can discern the difference between someone walking with God and someone who speaks of God but is not visibly walking with God.

Abram and Sarai should never have gone to Egypt.

God had been supplying all their needs.

But when the trial came and the road became bumpy, they jumped out of God’s hands and, if you like, into their own frying pan.

Returning to the Altar

Having learnt a valuable lesson in seeking God first, Abram returns to the altar in Genesis 13 and calls upon the name of the LORD.

This is what he should have done before galivanting off to Egypt.

There is something encouraging here for us.

When we sin, we can confess our sin and be restored to fellowship with God.

1 John 1:9 reminds us that:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

But there is another interesting part of Abraham’s story.

In Genesis 20, Abraham finds himself in another situation with King Abimelech.

And what does he do?

He and Sarah again say they are brother and sister.

Guys, what are you doing!

The same stupid mistake you did before.

Did you not learn anything?

But I think we just need to “park up for a second.”

Haven’t you and I done the same thing repeatedly?

We sin.

We confess.

And then we repeat.

As much as we may shake our heads at Abraham and Sarah, perhaps we need to shake our heads at ourselves and take stock.

We need to consider our past errors before we go ahead and do the same thing again.

3. What Has God Promised Us Today?

Like Abram, what does God want us to do?

Live by faith.

Stop and wait.

Listen.

Stay in close fellowship with Him.

We need to resist our own way of doing and thinking.

Take Heed Lest We Fall

Turn with me now to 1 Corinthians 10:12–13.

It is very easy to read the account of Abraham and Sarah and point to all their flaws and poor judgement.

We might say:

“What were they thinking?”

“How did they possibly think that was a good idea?”

“I wouldn’t have done that.”

“I wouldn’t have gone there.”

“Of course I would have prayed first.”

But look at the warning in verse 12:

“let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”

If we get into the mindset of “I would never have done that,” God says:

Take heed lest you fall.

The word heed is an action word. It means to look at, behold, beware, perceive and regard.

God gives us these examples of Abraham and Sarah for a reason.

They are there to cause us to examine the choices we make and the consequences that follow.

These examples are written for our admonition — to call our attention, to warn us, and to help us avoid the same pitfalls.

God Is Faithful

But where is our promise?

1 Corinthians 10:13 gives us a beautiful and practical promise.

Whatever temptation or test we face, it is not unique to us.

It might feel like it.

We might think:

“Oh, my trial. No one understands. No one cares. No one knows.”

But God says it is “common to man.”

It may be a test, but it is not a one-of-a-kind test.

And then comes the wonderful part:

God is faithful.

Remember how He kept His promise to Abraham.

God keeps His promises.

He will not allow us to be tested above what we are able to bear, but He will make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

God is faithful.

We are safe in His hands.

But notice something important.

God makes a way to escape, but we still need to take that escape route.

We still have a choice.

We Are in Christ’s Hands

What promise did Jesus give us?

Turn to John 10:28–30.

Here, in black and white, is our promise:

We are in Christ’s hands, and Christ is in the Father’s hands.

God always keeps His Word.

Even if we compromise or choose a path without seeking God’s mind, we are still in His hands, and He will fulfil His promises.

But that doesn’t mean we should make our own decisions and then ask God to approve them afterwards.

You see, just like Abraham and Sarah, we can rationalise or justify our choices.

Or we ask God to stamp our choices “approved” after the fact, hoping it will be okay.

This is not trusting in God’s hands.

What Can We Learn From Abraham and Sarah?

There are some very practical lessons we can take from their lives.

• There will be tests, trials and temptations.
• It will be a long road at times.
• Wait on the Lord — seek Him out. Your faith will strengthen.
• Often, we learn the same way Abraham and Sarah did, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
• Their faith became strong because they learnt through temptations and trials to trust in God’s hands.

We saw this personified in their obedience when Abraham was willing to offer Isaac and trust that God would keep His promise.

We too, like Abraham, can strengthen our faith.

And perhaps it should start with Psalm 46:10:

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

When Life Feels Like a Storm

Our lives can feel like a turbulent storm, just like when Jesus was in the ship.

Look quickly with me at Mark 4:39–40.

Jesus asked His disciples:

“How is it that ye have no faith?”

We can draw a parallel between the wind and the sea storm and the chaotic and stressful circumstances of our lives.

When we are experiencing what seems to be a storm of life:

Be still.

Go to the altar, like Abraham eventually did.

Seek the Lord.

Trust in what He has promised and what He will do.

He will make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it.

Because we are in God’s hands.

Conclusion

There will be storms.

There will be tests.

There will be temptations.

Sometimes the road will be long and sometimes it will become very bumpy.

Our natural response is often to take matters into our own hands, just as Abraham and Sarah did.

We rationalise.

We justify.

We make our own plans.

We try to solve the problem using our own wisdom.

But God calls us to something different.

Trust Him.

Wait on Him.

Seek His wisdom.

Stay in fellowship with Him.

Abraham’s faith did not become strong overnight.

It was strengthened through years of waiting, testing, failure, restoration and seeing God faithfully keep His promises.

And when Abraham finally stood over Isaac with the knife in his hand, he knew something that years of walking with God had taught him:

God keeps His promises.

That is what it means to be IN GOD’S HANDS.

When the storm comes, don’t immediately jump into your own hands.

Be still.

Go to the altar.

Seek the Lord.

Trust Him.

He is faithful.

We are in God’s hands.