My Favorite Story, June 14th, 2026

good at any time. Well, good morning church. This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. Would you do me a favor here in the room? Would you just turn to somebody around you and tell them, I'm glad you're here today. Tell them I'm glad you're here today. I am glad you're here today. Amen. Glad you're here today. You never know who needs to hear those words. We come and we gather not only to be encouraged, but to be an encouragement. And so we are glad that you are here today, both in the room and watching online, as well as in the chapel. My name is Justin Bilson. I'm one of the four teaching pastors here at Fellowship. And all summer long, we're in this series called My Favorite Story. And so obviously here at the West Campus, we hear from the teaching pastors, myself, Ben, Brandon, and Mark. But in addition to that, we're also going to hear from some of our campus pastors from the other six campuses who don't normally get to share here. And so it's good that we get to hear from other voices as we collectively share our favorite story from God's word. And so today I want to direct your attention to the book of Genesis. You shouldn't have to turn far. It's right there. The book of beginnings. Genesis chapter 22 is where I want to direct your attention today. Genesis chapter 22, as we look at one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament and in the scriptures. Genesis chapter 22.

We're going to walk through verses one through 19, but I'm only going to read verses four through eight just to lay the foundation for our time together this morning. Again, Genesis chapter 22 is where we're going to be. We'll put it on the screen if you don't have it in front of you. Verse four says this, on the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey, I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you. And 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 they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father, Abraham, my father, and he said, here I am, my son. He said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for burnt offering? Verse eight. And Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. So they went both of them together. That's the word of the Lord to us this morning. As we talk about a call to faithful obedience. We're going to talk about this morning, church, a call to faithful obedience. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for our time in your word. Thank you for the opportunity, both in the room and online, to be able to worship you all across this nation, wherever we are, but right here in central Arkansas, across all of our campuses today, to be able to lift you and worship you and to fellowship with one another, to encourage one another and to be encouraged by one another. And now to sit at your feet, to open up your word and ask that you would speak to us. Lord, I thank you that your word is life and light to us. And so I ask, as I always do, that you would let this word come alive. Let it jump off the page. Let it captivate our attention.

Let it challenge us. Let it change us. Let it convict us in the areas that we need to grow. Thank you that your word does not leave us the same, but I praise you and I honor you for the ways that you're at work in our church and the lives of those here in the worship center and the chapel and online and all around central Arkansas and the world. Lord, thank you for the ways that you're working. But as we approach your word, we do so humbly and we ask that you would speak to us today. We need to hear from you. We love you, Lord, and we thank you in Jesus' name, amen. Church, for as long as I can remember, I've always been fascinated by the Old Testament. This fascination began in the early years of my faith formation as a child growing up in Syracuse, New York, actually in Sunday school. And my grandmother was my first Sunday school teacher. So as you can imagine, there was no such thing as I missed class. No, you did not. But I remember vividly each week talking. about different Bible figures in the narrative of Scripture. I remember vividly being in awe of this man named Noah who built an ark and survived a flood with his family and the animals on the ark. I remember hearing the story about the three Hebrew boys who survived this burning, fiery furnace. I remember being captivated by the story and the imagery of the Red Sea crossing as Moses lifts up his staff and the children of Israel cross over the Red Sea on dry ground. These were just a few of the stories that captivated me as a child. And even to this day, I love the stories

and the history of the Old Testament. That's why I've chosen as one of my favorite stories today, this passage before us in Genesis chapter 22. This story, if you're unfamiliar with it, the sacrifice of Isaac is one of my personal favorites because in it, we see radical obedience, willing sacrifice, the divine promise and provision of God. And I also see Jesus. We're gonna talk about that in a moment, but for now, let me set the stage for us just so that you are aware of what's going on, not only in the text, but what is going on leading up to the text because context matters. So that's why there on your bulletin, if you have it in front of you, I suggest that in order to understand Genesis 22, we have to go back to Genesis 12. Genesis 12, we're introduced to a man by the name of Abram. Abram is called by God to leave his father's country, leave his old life behind and go to a new land that God will show him. This is his first act of obedience. And in Genesis 15, the Bible says that God makes a covenant with him and even to his offspring. Skip over to Genesis 17 and 18. God says to Abram, you will be the father of many nations. I'm changing your name. You will no longer be Abram. You will now be Abraham.

And I'm even going to give you and your wife, Sarah, a child in your latter years. This promised child, Isaac, is born in chapter 21. The promise is fulfilled. And the Bible says after making a treaty with King Abimelech, Abraham and his family settle in Beersheba. They live quietly and we would presume peacefully until one day, according to Genesis 22, God decides to test Abraham. Scholars would suggest that this test comes some 15 to 20, even some say 30 years after the birth of Isaac, which would make Isaac, if that is correct, that would mean Isaac would be anywhere between in his late teen years or even into early young adulthood. It would mean that Abraham was well over 110 years old at the time. Despite all of this, God tells Abraham, he says, take your son, Isaac, go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. This is God's command. And verse three, Abraham, the Bible says, responds in obedience. He gets up the next morning, he prepares his son, he prepares the elements to make the altar, he gets two servants and he says, let's go, make a three-day journey from Beersheba to Moriah. The Bible says they get to the place of sacrifice. They get to the place where they see the mountain of far off and the text says that Abraham

looks at the servants and says, camp here, stay here. I and the boy are going to worship, we'll come back in a few. So now we see the father and son, Isaac and Abraham alone, they make this trek up the mountain, which historians say this is a smaller mountain in comparison to other surrounding mountains. It's small in size, but it's significant in meaning because this is the place where God tests Abraham's obedience. As they're going up the mountain, Isaac says, I just read it, but Isaac says to his father, he says, I see the fire, I see the wood, but where is the lamb for burnt offering? Notice what Abraham says, he says, son, God will provide for himself the lamb for burnt offering. Church, I love this and I wanna pause here for a moment because I love this exchange between father and son because Isaac asks an honest question that there is no visible lamb or animal sacrifice, so where is it? And Abraham not only says it, but he shows his confidence in God because he believes that God will provide. Did you know that word provide, just a fun tidbit of information, did you know that word provide in Hebrew literally means God will see to it? When he says to him that God will provide him. Himself God will provide for himself a ram or a lamb what he's suggesting to him is that God himself

Will see to it that the sacrifice is there He says this not only to reassure Isaac, but I believe to reassure himself that God will provide To get on top of the mountain and Abraham notice what he does in the text He builds an altar if you study his story, you'll note that Abraham has a habit of building altars in Genesis chapter 12 verse 6 The Bible says he built an altar to mark the place of divine encounter with God in that same chapter again in verse 8 He builds another altar so that he can worship God in this new place And then in chapter 13, he builds an altar in the place where God made a covenant with him Abraham builds Altars, but I suggest us Church today that this altar in Genesis 22 is by far the most important altar of his life Because this is the place where he marks his obedience to God On this altar he binds his son and lays him on the wood and verse 10 says he prepares To take the knife to slaughter his son and in that moment the angel of the Lord Calls out to him and says do not lay your hand on the boy Do not do anything to him for now. I know you fear God seeing you have not withheld your son from me After this he lifts up his eyes I would imagine he hears some commotion behind him and he turns and he sees a ram Caught in the thicket behind him and the Bible says he takes the ram and Isaac gets off of the altar He puts the ram on the altar and sacrifices the ram instead of his son Then at the end of this he names the place Jehovah Jireh Which means the Lord will provide or the Lord will see to it This is what takes place in the text. I love this room fascinated by this story And there are so many nuances and details that we could consider But let me just show you a few things that captivated me in my studies this week First thing I noticed is there in verse 1 when it says that God tested Abraham this divine test God Tests Abraham and I need us to understand that the definition of this word Test is important because it gives us context behind the purpose and intent of God. Why is God?

testing Abraham Here's why God is testing Abraham. God is testing Abraham because he wants to reveal the character of Abraham God's purpose in testing Abraham was to reveal his character It was not to to to lead him into sin because scripture is clear that God does not tempt us or lead us into sin But he is testing him because he wants to reveal his character Leave that up there for a second But we know this because the word test in the ancient Hebrew language. It means to prove or reveal We also know this because notice what the angel of the Lord says how he responds he says now I know that you fear God and what's interesting about that is it's not to suggest That he's unsure or as if the angel of the Lord were were waiting biting his nails and waiting Anxiously to see does Abraham fear God. I'm unsure. I don't know. No, that's not what he's saying What he's saying is that through your act of obedience you have proven It's been revealed that you are fully devoted to God and you will let nothing come before him It's gonna remember the purpose of the test the purpose of the test is to reveal his character And as I thought about that I could not help but remember some of the moments in my own life and I believe you think about yours Moments of testing maybe you're in one of those moments right now and it seems like God Tends to use hard situations in our lives to reveal our character Because I'm a witness And I believe someone else in this room and watching me online can agree with this that when life gets hard I mean when life gets really hard It will challenge you even if you don't verbally say it It may be a passing thought and the thought is do I really believe what I say? I believe and do I really believe that God is who he says he is. I Really believe what I say, I believe see when things are easy and everything is good. If everything is relaxing. Yes, you're fine But when life gets hard and you feel like your back is against the wall You're between a rock and a hard place to I really believe what I say I believe do I really believe that God is who he says he is we sing about him being a healer. We sing about him being a way maker.

We sing about all these things, but do you really believe? Do you really believe it? Because here's what Abraham's story teaches us. If I believe that he is who he said he is, look at this, then obedience is my response to whatever he asks of me. If I really believe that he is who he said he is, then obedience is my response to whatever he asks of me. And I understand that obedience is my response, as Abraham teaches us, even when God asks me to do the hard thing. Because here's the thing, church, I don't want us to overlook the fact that what Abraham was asked of by God was a hard thing. And I say that because notice what the text does not say. The text does not say that God said to Abraham, Abraham, go to the land of Moriah with your son and sacrifice an offering, a burnt offering with Isaac. Doesn't say that. The text also does not say, Abraham, get up and take Isaac and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice an offering to me on behalf of Isaac. Doesn't say that either. Here's what the text says. It says, take Isaac and go offer him as the sacrifice. Go offer him as a sacrifice. This is his command to Abraham. And how does he respond? He responds in obedience. This is powerful.

And we admire his faithful obedience and dedication, but I cannot help but wonder as I was reading this story and every time I read it, I cannot help but wonder, did he wrestle at any point in his heart after hearing this request from God? Was he anxious or nervous walking up the mountain to the top of the mountain? Did he get any sleep the night before? Did he tell Isaac what God told him or better yet, did he tell Sarah? And if he did, how did that conversation go? I ask these questions and I think about these things and unfortunately the text does not tell us, but I don't want to rob Abraham of the reality of his humanity. Because we don't know what he felt, but we know what he did. The Bible says he obeyed God. Please note that his obedience is not blind obedience. It's not blind obedience. No, it is a wholehearted obedience that is anchored in his faith in God because obedience flows out of a heart that loves God, that believes in God, that is devoted to God. And that's why for me, this is the central truth. This is the main thrust. This is the main point of the message. Here it is in a sentence. This is what the sermon is about. Our character is revealed through our obedience to God and our willingness to give up the thing we love most

to show that we hold nothing above God. I read it again. Our character is revealed through our obedience to God and our willingness to give up the thing we love most to show that we hold nothing above God. This is what the text teaches us. And here's the thing. The text shows us this and Abraham, yes, he is sacrificing his son. Please know that God could have asked Abraham for anything at any time because he's God. He is sovereign. He is in full control of creation and he reserves the divine right as God, the one in the Psalms who the psalmist says, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof and all the things that dwell in the earth, the earth belongs to him and all of us who abide in it. And that is why God reserves the right at any time to ask anything of his creation. Okay, Justin, I get that. I hear that. But here's the tension I have in the text. Why of all the things God asked for, why would God ask for this? God, you gave us this child. We waited over 20, almost 25 years for him to come. And now you are asking me to sacrifice him as a burnt offering? Friends, I don't know if Abraham asked any questions

in his heart. I don't know if he did. But when I read this text, I also have to admit that I find it very difficult to not put myself into the shoes of Abraham because as a father, I cannot imagine. I cannot imagine having to do this. And I'm not saying that I believe because I do not believe that Abraham's specific test is universal for all of us. What I do believe is that when we look at this story, we celebrate his faith in the power of God. So much so that the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 11, verse 17. Through 19. Look at this. It says that when he was tested Abraham when Abraham was tested He offered up Isaac and he who had received the promises Or was in the act of offering up his only son of whom it was said through Isaac Shall your offspring be named he considered? I love this that God was able even to raise him from the dead which figuratively speaking. He did receive him back Church that blessed me because it shows that Abraham was so confident in God that he recognizes Even if I do kill Isaac the God I serve has the power to restore him back to life And so Abraham was confident in God God had all power God has proven himself to be a man of his word And so that is why Abraham says I am willing to obey even at great cost Because my obedience is rooted in my faith in God Says I thought about that. It challenged me to think about this question. I don't want to pose this question to you The question is this as I look at Abraham's story and we celebrate his obedience, but here's the question We need to ask ourselves. How is my obedience to God? How is my?

Obedience to God and when he speaks to my heart about something he wants me to do. Do I do it? How is my obedience to God and when he speaks to my heart about something? He wants me to do do I? Do it. I Want you to sit with the weight of that question for a moment? Because as I thought about that this week, I was convicted church. I was convicted because yes, I do Obey God, but I also at the same time wrestle with what dr. Crawford Loritz calls comfortable disobedience Comfortable disobedience because my flesh and I know I'm not alone in this my flesh wants to do what is easy and comfortable and convenient and my Justin's flesh will intentionally avoid hard things because doing the hard thing Challenges me to not only trust God in the present. I also have to trust him for the outcome and Trusting God for the outcome brings to light my need to be in control And here's the thing We all wrestle in some way shape or form with the desire for control and that is why? Christ tells us that to follow me. You must not only trust me as Savior, but you must surrender to me as Lord Because Jesus is not only my Savior He must also be Lord of my life because hear me church you cannot walk in obedience to Christ if you have not surrendered to him as Lord That means trusting in his word and leaving the outcome of your life in his hands So we're called to this act of obedience And we're called to this act of obedience and he says if I were to ask of you the thing that you love most Give it to me. Why because here's what he knows about us. He knows that we can turn the things we love into idols Which means that those things in our lives that we love they become just as important to us as God but God is clear in the scriptures the scriptures remind us that he is and should be and must be above all And so I have to guard my heart against the danger of divided loves Jesus says if you want to follow me, you have to love me and love my father more than anything Luke 9 23 the call to discipleship is a call to pick up a cross. It is a call to faithful obedience

And that's why he asks us Will you give me the thing that you love most to show that you have placed nothing? above me Will you give me the thing that you love most will you give me your comfort your your your pursuit of the things that make You comfortable will you give me those life plans and that? Incessant need that you have to control the outcome of everything. Will you give me your Spouse you give me your need or desire rather for spouse. Will you give me your children? Will you give me that longing and desire that you have for children? Will you give me your job? Will you give me your business? Will you give me what I have given to you? Will you give it to me? Will you show me? Lord, there's nothing above you. There are no idols. There is nothing that you're competing with in my life I trust you with everything I have and I trust you with the outcome of my life And even saying that statement, right? That is what makes obedience hard when you think about it That's what makes obedience hard because it means that I have to let go Go of my control and to trust God in every area. Obedience is not easy, but it's worth it. So I make the choice to obey and I rest in the trustworthiness of God because he's a man of his word. And we see evidence of this in the text because God said, and Abraham even told Isaac that I believe God is going to provide and look at what we see in the text. Abraham, before he goes forward with killing his son, the angel of the Lord says what he says. Abraham looks behind him. He sees the ram and I get excited because this is the first time, church, in the scriptures that we see substitutionary atonement. Substitutionary atonement is taking one sacrifice

in place for another. Justin, why are you so excited? I'm excited because this Old Testament story is pointing ahead to New Testament fulfillment because in Genesis 22, it's a ram, but in the gospels, it is a lamb who will come and lay down his life for the sins of humanity so that you and I, through his sacrifice, will be saved from our sins and freed. This is what Jesus does and I love this story because in many ways, it points to the foreshadowing or it foreshadows and it points to the obedience of Christ. It reminds us that we are called to respond in obedience to God, not because we want something from him, not because we want something from him, but because of who he is. He is God. We are his children. We are made in his image. We have been bought with a price. We have been redeemed and we are obeying him because of what he has done, because of who he is and we trust that Jehovah Jireh is with us and so we choose to obey. Even when it's hard, our answer is still yes because we've seen his faithfulness demonstrated over and over and over and over again. This is our hope and so when we look at Abraham's story, we do not take away from this wondering

if God will test us or will God test us. No, it is certain God will test us, but he tests us because he loves us. He didn't test us because we've done something wrong. No, remember the purpose of the test, it is a divine test and it's to reveal our character, to show our obedience to him and that when he asks, we will say, I hold nothing above you. So here's where I leave you today. I wanna leave you with this to consider, will you obey? Even when he asks you the hard thing, will you obey? Will you obey and will you surrender all to me and will you trust that even in the midst of your test, as hard as it may be, will you look around and see that Jehovah-Jireh, the God who will provide is with you. Father, thank you for the awesome reminder today, sobering word and a beautiful story to remind us that you call us to a life of obedience. Lord, we live in a culture that is at times addicted to the pursuit of success and more and fame and fortune and comfort and ease. Lord, you remind us through this story, through this word, that you've called us not a life of independence, but a life of dependence and a life of obedience to you. Thank you, Lord, that even when it is hard, because we know that what you asked of Abraham was a hard thing and we know, Lord, that our flesh wants to do its own thing. It wants to go its own way.

It wants its own happiness. It wants its own comfort, but thank you, Lord, that every day you give us the grace to walk in obedience. We cannot do it in our own power. We give you all that you've given us. We give it back to you. We hold it with open hands. We trust you with all that we have and we surrender. And we surrender because the first step to full obedience begins with surrender. And maybe, Lord, we've been holding some things back. Maybe we've been saying, I'll give you this, but I won't give you that, but Lord, we surrender all. We surrender all. As a matter of fact, church, would you do me this favor before we sing? As a sign and a symbol of our willingness. to surrender. If you can, would you just lift your hands all over this room as a sign of surrender that, Lord, whatever I need to give to you, I give it. I surrender my children's lives into your hand, whatever they will become, whatever they will be, whatever hard decisions that need to be made, Lord, I give them to you. My grandchildren, Lord, the desires that I have, maybe a longing for this, or longing for a spouse, or longing for children, or longing for a different job, or longing for something else, whatever it is, I give it to you.

I've been carrying it, even if it's grief, Lord, I give it to you. I cannot carry the weight of this on my own. I cannot carry it. I try to fix it, and I make a mess of it every time. So, Lord, I surrender. And I thank you for the freedom that comes in surrender. And I will obey, because I delight in you. I thank you for your word. I thank you for your truth. I thank you for the way that you lead me. It's not burdensome, but it is beautiful. Lord, help us to surrender. Help us to obey, and we hold nothing back. We give all to you, our blessed Savior. We surrender all in Jesus' name, amen.