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What I'm about to say is pertinent to our message this evening, but there have been a few requests for me to bring a message that I had brought previously, and it has to do, its theme is boxes, bottles, and books, and its thrust is that there is no waste in the economy of God. What I have been informed is that there are tapes on that message. I've given it here on two occasions.
The third occasion might not be as meaningful, but those who have not heard it and want to hear it, there are tapes that Brother Willie has along that theme. Now for this evening we have already sung various hymns with regard to the will of God. Now why is will so important? Why is it so fundamental? Well will is the foundation of ethics. That's why God has given to man a will.
An animal is not an ethical being. An animal is not a moral being. An animal functions by way of instinct. But God has not given to animals a will. Then we also notice this, nothing is moral that does not proceed from that will. Nothing is moral that does not proceed from the will. Without the exercise of the will, Adam could not become either sinful or holy.
That's why he was tested in the sphere of the will. Then he did not will the will of God and he fell. Ever since then his progeny, and it includes you and it includes me, we have become fragmented where the will is very confusing within us. And so we notice ever since then mankind has manifested the same characteristic of not willing the will of God.
For as soon as Adam refused God's will, by choosing to the contrary, he begat not only sons in his own image, but sons with the same character. Again we notice the first failure was disobedience to the will of God, and we find that in Genesis the third chapter. and as soon as there was disobedience to the will of God, in the sixth chapter of Genesis you will notice there is compromise with that which is contrary to God.
You know, not all of us who begin well in our Christian life end well. Therefore, let not him who thinks he stands be so confident because he can fall. It has been to my sorrow and also as an object lesson for myself to meet fellow students with whom I went to Bible school and seminary. And I began to see such a change in them. where the things of the Lord were once very precious, they have become secondary, not at all meaningful, not all who begin well and well.
The second, we notice something else, that in the midst of an idolatrous world, God reached down to Ur the Chaldean. and according to the genealogy from the line of Shem, there was a man by the name of Abram. Now whether Abram bowed to idols, I know not, but one thing I am sure, that when Melchizedek came upon the scene, Abram no doubt knew Melchizedek because there was an immediate concourse.
of conversation. And there were God-fearers in those days in the midst of idolatry. And in the midst of that darkness, God especially revealed himself to Abram. And as he revealed himself to Abram, I want you to notice in Romans the fourth chapter, will you turn to it please? In Romans chapter four, after showing that God gave a revelation of himself in nature, and man refused that revelation, and in the second chapter of Romans, God gave a revelation of himself in conscience, and man refused that revelation, and in the end of the second into the third chapter of the revelation of Romans, God gave a revelation of himself in his word and those who were supposed to be teaching of the word while living contrary to it.
Then finally he began to show how one is justified and it is by faith. Therefore verse one, what shall we say then that Abraham our Father as pertaining to the flesh hath found. For if Abraham was justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. For what sayeth the Scripture? Like in the twelfth chapter of Genesis, it says here, Abraham, believed God and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.
So we notice that the first thing that Abraham received from God was righteousness. For it tells us in verse nine, cometh this blessedness and upon the circumcision only. or upon the circumcision also. For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. What else did Abraham receive? Here is what he received and an inheritance. And we find that in verse thirteen.
For the promise that he should be heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. What else did Abraham receive? Not only righteousness, not only an inheritance, but also a posterity. And we notice that in verse seventeen. As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations, before him whom he believed even God, who quickness are dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
And in verse nineteen, And being not weak in faith, He considered not his own body now dead when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. Now we ask ourselves how marvelous it is. Here was Abraham. He received righteousness and inheritance, a posterity, all received by faith. But we also should ask ourselves, was it that easy?
Did it come out of the blue? Was it just thrust into his lap? Oh, no, not at all. For in Romans four, it tells us that these things could only have been Abraham. and chapter of Lebanon, Hebrews, that these things became those who were in the honor roll that is mentioned there in God's Hall of Fame. It came by and through faith. But is faith an easy thing?
Can I work it up? Can I just say I will believe? And with all my energies I move in that direction. That is not so. Before it all became Abraham's, his faith was tested to the highest degree in the sphere of his human will. It had to be tested. Every time it was tested, and every time the test was met, the Lord God took him further on. And so, for this evening, we will see that when God called him, he also made a covenant with him, and then led him to a cross.
And when you tell with me to the book of Genesis, And in the book of Genesis, I want you to notice in chapter fourteen. And in chapter fourteen, before that in chapter twelve, the Lord God called Abraham and he said, Abram, I will make thy seed as the stars in the heavens. Abraham believed God. and as he believed God, God reckoned it unto Abram for righteousness. Why is faith so fundamental, so foundational?
Why is it so pivotal where God is concerned? Why? As we had one evening, blessed are they that have not seen and yet believed. Why is it so foundational? Because in the beginning the father of the human race refused to believe God, and ever since then it was the Lord's will to bring the path of glorious blessedness of himself to the individual who would manifest faith by what he says.
That is why faith is so fundamental. The Word of God tells us that the Lord God called him, said he would make of him a great nation. Then in the fourteenth chapter, you remember, you remember how that Lot was taken captive. And as Lot was taken captive, there was Lot living in Sodom and Gomorrah. And having lived in Sodom and Gomorrah, he finally went into captivity. Here was Abram, a man living a pilgrim's life, dwelling in a tent, dwelling in a place where God had promised there would be his blessings and a land that his seed would finally possess.
The man of the world was taken into captivity and the man living as a pilgrim had all the energy derived from the spiritual communication, all the energy was in him to arise to the occasion of one who was living in Sodom Gomorrah, who was taken captive. You and I can only arise to the occasion in the days in which we are living, when there are so few of us who are energized by the Spirit of God Through obedience to the Word of God to help those who are in a helpless condition, even though they deserve to be in the place where they find themselves.
It's rare that any of us would arise to such an occasion toward an individual who deserves to reap the consequences of what they brought upon themselves. It's only the pilgrims. living a pilgrim's life and spirit that can arise to such occasion. And so after Abram was called and then arose to the occasion to help Lot and to fight against the enemies of Sodom and Gomorrah, and he came back victoriously, we noticed that the first thing that Melchizedek who met him, the first thing that Melchizedek did was give him knowledge.
And we find that right here in verse eighteen of chapter fourteen in Genesis. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the most high God. Why was he the priest of the Most High God? Because the other priests were priests over High Gods. But this priest was different. He knew about the Most High God. And as he met Abram, here's what he did.
He gave to Abram a knowledge concerning the Most High God. And it tells us in verse nineteen, And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, he is the possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand, and he gave them tithes of all. What did Abram do? As soon as he was given the knowledge of God, that if he, God, was the most high God, he possessed heaven and earth, and he was the possessor thereof, Abram met the test His will moved according to the revelation given toward him.
He met the test in what way? The Word of God tells us in verse twenty-one. And the King of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said, What did he say to the King of Sodom? I have lifted up my hand. And in the Hebrew, the underlying meaning is that I have lifted up within my soul my hand to say that is true. I have lifted up my hand.
And I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord. He is the Most High God. He is the possessor of heaven and earth. And when a heathen king wanted to give him wealth from the booty that he had gotten back from the enemy, he was able to meet the test His will moved in the direction of the revelation of God given unto him by word through Melchizedek. And here's what he said. He, God, is the possessor of heaven and earth.
And I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet. that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say I have made Abram rich. What happened there? Was Abram being tested in will, separated him from what a heathen king would offer him, and he was looking to the most high God to bless him even in that sphere. Secondly, we noticed something else. Not only did Abraham will toward God what he learned about God, and not only did he meet the test, but as time went on, as he began well, he didn't finish too well.
For the Lord God promised him a seed. It would be coming from his loins. And even though it was impossible for Sarah to bear children, he would bring it to pass. But it's so hard to wait on the will of God. It is very difficult. And Sarah could not wait any longer. And as she could not wait, we know this. She tells Abram, take Hagar. and have children a son by her. And Abram listened, and as he listened, he performed what Sarah wanted.
And ever since then the world has been in turmoil since Ishmael was born. God did not intend for an Ishmael, but nevertheless Ishmael was born. And when Ishmael was born, the most high God who revealed himself to Melchizedek, to Abraham, as the possessor of heaven and earth, would not reveal himself for thirteen years to Abram. There was no spoken or visual revelation. And when Ishmael became to a bar mitzvah age at the age of thirteen, then the Lord appeared unto him, not as the possessor of heaven and earth in the beginning, to Melchizedek, but now in the seventeenth chapter, will you notice verse one, verse one of Genesis?
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am, the next two words read it audibly. The Almighty God, why did he appear to him as the possessor of heaven and earth? Because the King of Solomon was on his way to intervene. Why did he appear now as the Almighty God? Because he was going to show Abram that he was the God of all might.
And when the situation seemed hopeless and helpless, they did not have to intervene by concocting what had happened. And Ishmael was born. He was the Almighty God. And he said unto Abram, Walk before me and be thou upright. You are not upright, Abram. Walk before me uprightly. Abram, did I not make a covenant with you? Abram, did I not tell you it shall be your own seed? Abram, did I not say that Sarah would mother a child?
Therefore, verse two. Walk thou uprightly, and I will make my covenant that I have made between thee and me. When I said, I will multiply thee exceedingly. Remember that, Abraham? Then why did you not trust me? And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant, Abram, you had nothing to do with this. You were in a deep sleep. I knew if you entered into that covenant, you would break it.
And Abram, because you would break it, I would have to break my part of the covenant. So Abram, I put you into a deep sleep. it is my covenant it is my responsibility it is my doings it is my work it is my will as for me in verse four behold my covenant is with thee and thou shalt be a father of many nations neither shall thy name any more be called Abram but Abraham it is my covenant verse seven Verse nine, it is my covenant.
Verse ten, it is my covenant. Verse thirteen, it is my covenant. Verse nineteen, it is my covenant. And Abram said, Oh, that Ishmael might look before thee. And the Lord said, No, Abram, Ishmael is not to receive that blessing. It's Sarah who bears son. and again after being spoken to and the Lord remonstrated him and he fell on his face he came back and by faith again his will moved in the direction of God's will whereas in the beginning he refused to take anything from a heathen king now in this test he sent away Ishmael He sent him away, and the Lord's will was done.
And as time went on, and if you would read the life of Abram, it would be checkered, and it would ricochet now and again. Until finally, here is what we notice when we come to chapter twenty-one. As the process went on, and the Lord dealt with him. And Sarah finally did bear Isaac. The word of God tells us in verse thirty-three of chapter twenty-one in Genesis, and Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord.
What was his name? Read it audibly. the God who lasts forever the everlasting God he revealed himself as the most high God the presenter of heaven and earth and he met the test by refusing anything from a heathen king then after the for after falling from the will of God and doing what he did and Ishmael was born and the Lord appeared on him as the God who was almighty and with being almighty he could bring the impossible to pass and when he realized that he met the test again his will became God's will became his will and he sent Ishmael away but now he had Isaac And you know, my mother in Jewish used to tell me, I was a beautiful baby.
I was huggable. I was pinchable. And oh, how she loved me. And there was a superstition in Poland that you can get the evil eye because of the beauty, the charm of the baby you are. And she tied a red ribbon around, I've got whether my neck or one of my fingers. Nature played an awful trick. But nevertheless, nevertheless, what happened was, as time went on, for twenty-five years, Abram was waiting for the promised one who was Isaac.
And then after knowing Him and loving Him and seeing all the promises concentrated in Him as the first fruit from whom nations would spring forth, all how He loved Him. As a baby He adored Him. As a father He was taken up with Him. And He embraced Him and fondled Him. and Abram has to be the type of father who when Isaac reached the age of twenty-five and after fifty years, twenty-five years of yearning for him, twenty-five years of having him, and in that fiftieth year as he calls on the name of the Lord and calls on the God who lasts forever, the highest test in the sphere of Abram's will is found in Genesis twenty-two.
And it came to pass after these things that God did test Abram and said unto him, Abraham, and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son. Oh, I know. He's thine only son, and I know that too. And his name is Isaac, Abram, or Abraham. I know that my will became your will, and you rejected what the King of Sodom had for you. Avrim, I also remember when you fell by the wayside and I appeared as the Almighty God and then you began to realize that I'm the God of all might and you sent Ishmael away.
But now Avrim, being that you called on me as the God who is everlasting, then my promises are everlasting. Abraham, now here is the test as to whether my will is going to be your will. Take now thy son, thine only son 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.
I do not believe, I cannot believe, that's why I do not believe, that Abram trembled, that Abram was tearful, that Abram was gnawed in his hands when he held that knife. or whether he was furrowed in his brow. No, the eleventh chapter of Hebrews tells me something altogether different. And in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, here is what we read. Verse seventeen, by faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac.
and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten Son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called, accounting or reckoning, and believing that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence he received him in the figure. That's why he took the knife resolutely. and before that he said to the servants the lad and I are going to worship and then we shall come back he was resolute he gave up the gifts of the king of Sodom he gave up Ishmael and now he met the greatest test of all wherein Avon's faith goes deeper than Abel, than Enoch, than Noah.
He's the father of faith. Why? Because he believed that God will justify his seeming unrighteousness. Being that he is the everlasting God, although it seems unrighteous for me to offer Isaac, I give him because the Lord God will justify that which seems unrighteous. And when he was about to plunge the knife into Isaac, the Lord said, Abraham, Abraham, I just wanted to see you go through the process. Now I know that I mean more to you than to Isaac.
Here, take him back in a fuller, deeper way than you've ever persisted. The free man never belongs to himself, as we noticed this morning. And when Christ has set us free, he set us free that we might be enslaved to him. And as we are enslaved to him, and his will becomes our will, then immediately we are free. We can give up everything because in the beyond is the fullness that is in Christ Jesus. So, we notice in the life of Abraham, his faith was perfected to the highest degree.
when although the promises seemingly would not be fulfilled, he believed that God was the God who lasts forever and that he would raise Isaac from the dead. Again I say, beloved, as we are along in years and soon we shall be on the other side, remember this, not all who have begun well end well. And may the Lord, through this time that we've had together, may His Spirit, in spite of the human instrument, so work in each of our hearts that some new illumination of His revelation being given unto us, we might walk in obedience to the full will of God.
The Lord bless you. I trust. The Spirit of God will burden you to lift up in prayer both my wife and myself that we might be true children in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. Shall we pray? Our Heavenly Father, we praise thee in making us realize that the will is always being tested. And when thy will becomes our will, then we are ready to part with those things that are contrary to thy purposes.
Then and then only will the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in our lives. Bless thy people. Bless Park of the palms. May the Spirit of God rest here. May thy people be filled with all the fullness of God. And as we part one from the other, it's only until he comes. We ask it our Father, in the name of him who loved us and gave himself for us. Even the one who gave his only begotten Son, whom he loved, and then raised him from the dead.
We praise thee. In Jesus' name, amen.