1. Genesis 22:1 says, "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham..." The idea is God was testing Abraham.
2. The story of Abraham and his son Isaac is one of the most remarkable stories in the Bible.   God promised Abraham a son back in Genesis 12:7 -- "And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land."
3. Then again in Genesis 13:15 and 16, "For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.  And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered."
4. In Genesis 15:2, 3, Abraham said to the LORD, "Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?... Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir."
5. Then next we read, in Genesis 15:4-6, "And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.  And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
6. The LORD expanded upon this promise in Genesis 17:1-10.
7. Then in Genesis 17:19, God told Abraham his promised son would be called Isaac. Isaac's name means, "Laughter" (cf. 17:15-17; 18:1-15; 21:6).
8. It is very sad and disturbing that the homosexuals have claimed June as their month to celebrate and flaunt their perversion. In 2000, President Bill Clinton proclaimed June to be "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month," and on June 1, 2009, President Obama proclaimed June to be "LGBT Pride month."
9. I say this is disturbing because we celebrate "Father's Day" on the third Sunday of June. Homosexuals are incapable of being fathers.
10. I realize homosexuals are adopting children, but they cannot procreate.  And it is wrong to allow them to adopt children.
11. Well, let us get back to Abraham.  The promise was fulfilled in Genesis 21.  "And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.  For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.  And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac" (Genesis 21:1-3).
12. This brings us to Genesis 22.
13. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.  Sarah was 90 (21:5; cf. 17:17).   They waited a very long time to be parents.
14. And Isaac grew up.  We do not know how many years have passed.  Genesis 22:1 just says, "And it came to pass after these things..."
15. Abraham waited a long time for a son, and Isaac had grown into a fine young man, and then the LORD appeared unto Abraham and said, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" (22:2).
16. I heard J. Vernon McGee say on the radio that Isaac was about 33-years-old at this time.  The Hebrew word translated "lad" in Genesis 22:5 can refer either to a young boy or a young man.
17. Dr. McGee based his position on two things: one, Isaac was a type of Christ, and Christ was 33-years-old when he went to the cross.  Secondly, Sarah died not very long afterwards, and she was 127-years-old when she died (Isaac being about 37-years-old when his mother died).
18. I am not sure I agree with Dr. McGee, but in any event, Isaac was probably not a little boy, but a young man.
19. I have preached from Genesis 22 before. It is a beautiful picture of Calvary.  Abraham represents God the Father offering up his only son ("whom thou lovest"), and Isaac represents the Lord Jesus, who willingly obeys his father.
20. Philippians 2:8 says, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
21. Hebrews 5:8 says, "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered."
22. We see here in Genesis 22, the test, the trial, and the triumph.

• The test -- Abraham was tested like few men have ever been tested.  God wanted Abraham's best -- his "only son, whom thou lovest" (22:2).  This test called for absolute unquestioning faith in God.
• The trial -- there was no hesitation on Abraham's part.  No doubts, no reluctance, no arguing with God.  Abraham's great faith is referred to many times in Scripture (cf. Hebrews 11:17-19).
• The triumph -- at just the right moment, God interposed and stayed Abraham's hand (22:11-14).

I. ABRAHAM'S ROLE AS A FATHER

1. Even his name means "Father."  His original name was "Abram," which means "high father."  The LORD changed it to "Abraham," which means, "father of many nations" (Gen. 17:5).
2. In the Bible, God expresses His relationship to us as a loving Father to His children.
3. For example, in Matthew 5:16, Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
4. I have heard JW's argue that the only proper name for God is Jehovah.  But when Jesus taught His disciples to pray He said, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name" (Matt. 6:9).
5. This is undoubtedly emphasized more in the New Testament, but it is taught in the Old Testament as well.
6. Psalm 103:13 says, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him."
7. Isaiah 64:8 says, "But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."
8. The Bible teaches that all true Christians are part of God's family.  The apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3:14, 15 -- "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named."
9. To get into God's family, you must be born again.   John 1:12 says, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
10. Our Lord told Nicodemus (a very religious man), "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again" (John 3:7).
11. Fathers, you may be a good father, but are you a child of God?  Are you born again?  Are you saved?
12. God has placed the father as the head of the family, which brings us to my next point.

II. ABRAHAM'S ROLE AS THE HEAD OF HIS FAMILY

1. In Genesis 18:19 the LORD said this about Abraham, "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him."
2. Fathers, can God say that about you?  "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD..."
3. Or does God look down from heaven and say, " I know him, but he is a slacker.  I know him, but I cannot count on him."
4. Does God say, "I know him. He skips Sunday School.  He often skips church services.  He often skips prayer meeting.  He seldom prays.  He seldom reads his Bible, etc."
5. We know what God says about Abraham.  What does God say about you?
6. According to the Bible, the father is to be the head of the home.   Way back in Genesis 3:16, God said to Eve, "Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."
7. Man is to govern the home not as a dictator or a tyrant, but as a loving husband and father.  God is a God of order, not confusion and chaos.
8. First Corinthians 11:3 says, "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God."
9. Ephesians 5:23 says, "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body."
10. Some one said, "The husband is the head of the home, and the wife is the heart of the home, and anything with two heads and no heart is a freak of nature."
11. We cannot improve upon God's plan for the family.  Instead of rebelling against God's program for the home, men and women should humbly submit to it.
12. Men and women need to realize that God has ordained the family.  Foolish people say man invented the family, and therefore they think man has the right to reinvent the family.  That is absurd!
13. At a press conference the other day, a crooked state senator named Carl Kruger (who is a homosexual) announced his support for so-called "gay marriage" legislation.  He said, "What we're about to do is redefine what the American family is. And that's a good thing."
14. No, Mr. Kruger.  It is not a "good thing."  It is a very wicked thing!
15. To think that this perverted politician and his ungodly allies in Albany have the audacity to tell God that He made a mistake, and that now they are going to "reinvent the family" is outrageous!
16. By the way, there was an article on the editorial page of yesterday's NY Post, written by Michael Benjamin, who recently retired from the NY State Assembly.  He says the homosexuals are paying big bribes to the politicians to get them for vote for so-called "gay marriage."
17. God has ordained three basic institutions: the family, the government, and the church.  The family came first.
18. The family is the first and foundational institution of human society, and ever since Adam, man has been the head of the home.  God created Adam and Eve.  Not Adam and Steve!
19. God created Adam and Eve and gave them these instructions: "Be fruitful, and multiply" (Gen. 1:28).
20. If Christian men and women would only realize that our loving and all-wise God wants to bless them and guide them, then they would be happy to follow God's plan.
21. Abraham followed God's plan.  Abraham was the head of his family.   First Peter 3:6 says, "Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement."
22. Sarah obeyed Abraham, and she called him "lord."   Sarah would be roundly criticized by the woman's lib crowd today!
23. It's a good thing Sarah was not a woman's libber or a feminist.  In Genesis 18:6, "Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth."
24. If Sarah was a woman's libber or a modern-day feminist, she would refuse to make the cakes!

III. ABRAHAM AS A MAN OF FAITH

1. Abraham's name is mentioned 311 times in the Bible -- 237 times in the Old Testament, and 74 times in the New Testament.
2. The very first verse in the New Testament says, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1).
3. Abraham is often referred to as a man of faith. When we consider Abraham we think of him as a great man of faith.
4. God called and Abraham went, and God promised and Abraham believed.   "Trust and obey, for there's no other way..."
5. Romans 4 speaks of the faith of Abraham.
6. Galatians 3:7 says, "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham."
7. Hebrews 11:17 says, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son."
8. The Bible says, without faith it is impossible to please God.
9. Do you have the faith of Abraham? (cf. Gen. 22:12).

CONCLUSION:

1. James 2:21 says, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?"
2. This seems to contradict many other Scriptures which teach that we are justified by faith.
3. James goes on to say, "Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God" (James 2:22, 23).
4. In other words, Abraham's obedience was evidence of his faith.
5. Many people claim to believe in Jesus, but they give no evidence of saving faith.
6. Titus 1:16 says, "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."