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Okay, we are going into probably the most celebrated story of what we call the Abraham uh saga or the Abraham narrative. Okay, and this is is uh it is the climax of the story. In fact, how how we know this because after this there is no record of God directly speaking to Abraham. All communication shuts off after this or direct communications. And it's such a famous story. It is found not only or not only celebrated or or known in Christian circles is extremely famous in Muslim and Jewish circles. The the Jews call it the Akida. The the Muslim you know Haraya [ __ ] or Haraya Quran well they celebrated of course in the in the in the Islamic version it is I is who is uh sacrificed. Now in all three faiths the main story you read a lot of people who preach it whether is is the Muslim version or Jewish version or even quite a lot of Christian version the story on the main trust is very similar give your best to God sacrifice your best God will honor you back sacrifice even that which you hold dearest to you now on one level it makes sense but on another level the story has difficulties. How many of you here are gamers? I know it is older generation. How many of you know this game? Ah, I've got gamers. Okay, very good. So, I'm not talking to what? Okay. Okay. Now, this is a famous game and it's called the binding of Isaac. Is literally taken from this narrative. It's extremely famous game. Those of you who don't know the history, the story follows a young boy who likes to draw and he stays with his mother. Okay. The mother spends her time watching TV, Christian TV programs. It is the the whole story is shown through the narrative of a kid who draws you know and the mother watches Christian shows only. One day the mother thinks she gets a revelation from God to kill her son as a sign of obedience to God. Prove to me you love me. Prove to me your loyalty. Kill your son. And so in the video, the mother goes out and tries to kill the son. The son escapes through a trap door to the basement and fights demons and the rest of it is video game stuff. Okay, I won't go there. But my point, if you know the game, I I look at the author of it. He was a churchgoing man and he could not accept this story. In fact, all the characters of the game, you know, there's Kane, Samson, and those of you who know the game, they all pick the guy who wrote the game knows his Bible very well. And he had one main complaint. God is asking Abraham to murder his son. This is the difficulty of the story. And here's the thing. When you talk to Christians, uh, and you know, we can't whitewash this. You know, I found this in a website of a exbaptist minister who gave up being a Christian Baptist minister. No, he studied theology. He taught in it and then he say his fate evaporated and this was one of the main reasons. I read it to you. Lots of people did what Abraham was prepared to do. Sacrifice a close relative in obedience to a higher power. We are told more than once that Abraham loved Isaac. I presume that at least some pagans love their children too. It is only natural to love one's offspring. The only difference between the pagan who sacrificed a child and Abraham who tried and was stopped is that the letter was supposedly following the true religion. But does one get special credit and praise just for being right? If it is indeed praiseworthy to be prepared to kill one's child in obedience to a deity, then Abraham and his pagan counterparts are on the par. If the pagan child sacrifice was too immoral to deserve praise, then so was Abraham. Here's the difficult thing and and another uh uh famous philosopher so Kirat said what if after today's sermon you went back and you shot your son. Wow painful and then you say well because brother an Limy you must give up your best then they come and arrest me. No, the point is the story has difficulties and you know it it begins to talk about blind faith because why do you think the one of the most dangerous things in the world together is not the lack of faith of people who have too much faith. The world is unsafe because people are prepared to kill themselves and blow themselves up in France, in Jakarta, everywhere. And if you follow enough of the of of of of online newsh, this story is one of the motivational stories. So we can't just say, well, we have the right god. So where Abraham, this is God. That's a whitewash. So it's a difficult topic, but I want us to go through it. Now, let me give you the other flip side. There's one side. This this if you're not a Christian, this is how you argue it. Let me give you the other side of it. It's a long intro. Let's just say let's assume for a moment all of you only got one kid like me. I got one daughter. apple of my eye. Let's just say you only got one kid. All of just suspend that for a moment and Dr. Peter comes up to you one day and says you know there is a hospital wad in Sububang Jaya with 20 people who are very sick but your kid something in your kids your only firstborn kids bloodstream or something can cure these 20 people or you say okay fine I go and donate I ask my kid to go and donate. Then Dr. Peter tells you there's one small catch. There's a 10% chance your kid would die. Now I throw you a question. Would you do it? See suddenly stone silence. Not so simple, right? So the issue is also on the other side on the practical reality. You take apart all the rhetorical it. How far would you and I go? I I won't go. You don't tell me 20 people, you tell me 200 people, I'm not going to go. You tell me 2,000 people, I won't go. 20,000, I won't go. You reduce from 10%, 5%, 3%, I say you go find someone else. Are we not right? It's a painful text and it's a very real text and it's very powerful. So this morning, I hope we we really look at yourself because it's about real faith and the only son Isaac. and ask that God really touch you this morning as we just prepare our hearts to to just hear God in this. So let's come before the Lord in prayer. Lord, we just ask this morning with fear and trembling. We come before you Lord fear and trembling and we ask ourselves this morning we challenge ourselves as all of us sit here where is our faith? Is our faith real? Is it a product of mass mass conditioning? Are we is does faith require our mind? What happens when faith and facts collide and how much our faith affect our life? Oh Lord, we ask for your spirit to move. I ask for for fear and trembling that I would decrease and not I be glorified, Lord, but but you be glorified and your spirit do a mighty work here this morning. We say this in Jesus name. Amen. Uh one of the most famous books and the the frontr runner of atheism is this man called Richard Dawkins. The god delusion sold two million copies. Richard Dawkins at the age of 13 was confirmed in the church of England. He went through a struggle at the age of 17, gave up everything. His crusade now is basically very simple. Christians, you are stupid. Simple oneliner. All Christians are stupid people. Okay? And this is what he says. Faith is a great copout, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is believed in spite of even perhaps because of the lack of evidence. Hey, here's a question I ask you. How do you know what you believe is right? That is the point and that becomes dangerous, isn't it? So, how do you know if what I say this morning is from the Lord or just a persuasive guy who could be a car salesman? And this happens in any church out there. So we we're going to go through this step by step. All right? And I want to break it down in three points uh which the text will tell us. And real faith and true relationships, real faith and hard choices. Real faith and meaningful sacrifices. Let me take the first one on true relationships. You see the way Richard Dawkins puts it is this. No. You see, if there's a God, show me the data. If the data is not conclusive, I don't believe in God. The scientific approach. Show me data. You Christians don't have the data is gray. The best is you are agnostic about it. Okay? All this feely thing. You see the spirit tells you you cannot really know. But let me just take a word. Faith is something that you don't have to be a Christian to actually experience. You know it's a universal word. I will tell you atheists have faith. I'm going to explain that in a while. But let me take first from the book of James. This is what James says. Was not our ancestor ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? And the scripture was fulfilled that said Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now there are two ways first to look at this text and you see people like Richard Dawkins and those who hate Christians, they'll need nitpick scripture. But the first thing the book of James does is that they tie this story to a larger picture. And in this story, James is tying it to Genesis 15:6. Now, what's interesting in Genesis 15, the first line of it, God tells Abraham, "Do not be afraid." And you read the chapter, it is a man struggling with his faith. Do not be afraid. And God works out with him his faith very lovingly and I think Peter preached on this chapter and at the end of it his faith is restored. So the first thing we got to do we're going to look at the bigger picture here. The second thing what James does is very interesting. At the end of this James says something which I want to throw to you is foundational to faith. He says this he was called God's friend. God's friend. Now, a scientist who say, "I don't believe in God. Show me the data." is not treating God as a friend. He's treating God as an object to be put under a microscope to be dissected. Now, try doing that to God. See what God will do to you. This is God, you know. So, first thing is God's friend or what does that mean? Walk with God. That's really the whole Abraham narrative with this and God walks with you. Now I I give you a simple example, okay? You know, can you imagine say if uh an an angel came before Abraham, you know, I mean angel came before Lord and say, "Hey Abraham, how's it going dude? How's it going?" Good on you, man. Listen, you know, you're in I got a proposition for you, Abraham. You go to Canaan, walk this way, go to Egypt. You go to Egypt, you invest in stocks, cattle, sure go bull run one, make a lot of money. And then you avoid Sodom. No, red light area. Don't go there, you know. And then no matter what your wife tells you, don't be funny with the maid. Okay, don't do that. And then when you very, oh, you shall get a son. Agree or not? Sign on a contract here. Okay, thank you very much. you I mean God could have done that right he could have laid out the whole plan you just follow now for a lot of us that's what we want we want God give us a map list it all out down sign a contract become Christian but what's the problem with that problem with that is that that's not a relationship you know last week I I I had to settle between a contractor and a and a client and a doctor both want to sue one another so I architect go between men Okay. How much is your price? When can you deliver? Lawyer become stakeholder like that and then go both shake hands. But they hate each other. That's a relationship. But they hate each other. But what's happening here is God's trying to build up a relationship. And there are two things about faith. And you don't have to be Christian to do this. Let me give you another example. Say you got an accountant that works for you and for many years you know and you after a while you trust the accountant so much you can take a bag of money leave it to the accountant and go for Chinese New Year holiday and your friends tell you why you don't see you know he can steal the money you say why I trust him what does it involve it involves not seeing not seeing now the other thing is the accountant does very well and you give him a portfolio and and then The friend said, "Hey, how do you know he will make money? I put my hope in him." There's hope. He will make money for me. So, there are two things here. And and Hebrews puts this very right. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and being certain of what we do not see. And you don't even have to be Christian to appreciate it. Non-Christians have faith in their friends. And this is where the beginning point is. Faith is a journey and we start off on that and the three aspects of that. First, it allows for doubt, not blind faith. It allows for doubt. You know, you you look at the journey Abraham brings his frustrations and doubts to God. There's so many of it. The first thing chapter 15 is he tells God, you know what? What you give me? What great reward? I don't have a kid. I already decided my estate goes to my slave Eliza. God says no. Later on he'll tell God you know you know what Ishmael I'll give it to Ishmael. God says no. So there is a journey and his frustration when God tells Abraham you know your your your wife is going to be your wife is going to be pregnant. What does he do? He laughs. He laughs. We find it very clearly in in Genesis 17 you know and and what's interesting not only Abraham all the heroes of faith that end of the Hebrews text he say they were all commanded by their faith yet none of them receive what has been promised what's Abraham promised again and again your descendants are going to be like the sand of the sea wow that's that's a lot a lot of people you think he ever saw it God tells Abraham you see the stars. That's your descendants. Wow. He never saw it. So, there's always this element and God allows for the struggling of doubt. And friendship goes two ways. I want to throw that to you this morning. It requires intimacy. Abraham negotiates with God. We know that in the story of of Sodom and Gomorrah. He negotiates. He understand God's will progressively. One of the most interesting thing like we said, God reveals as he goes on. So journey of faith is like taking a walk you know and you have enough light to take the first step then enough light to take the next step enough light to take the third step you don't have it charted in front of you and lastly he brings his vulnerability before God because God knows the thing he wants more than anything else and what's that we find that in the entire narrative he wants a son and we're really going to talk about that this morning this is about father and son story right from chapter 15 when God says I am your great reward Abraham says oh sovereign Lord what can you give me since I remain childless okay chapter 17 and when God says to Abraham okay uh verse 15 as for Sarai I will bless her she will be the mother of many nations Abraham fell face down he laughed and he said to himself will a son be born to a man hung 100 years old. He struggles but he takes it before God. He takes his vulnerability before God. But lastly, most importantly, Jesus says this. He says, "You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you my servants because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I've called you friends. Then everything I've learned from my father, I have made known to you." God is not going to allow anyone to put him under a microscope and dissect him. He is God. Simple relationship. Let me ask you, when you had your kid and your kid was very small before we become teenagers, they like to we don't go there. But when they're very small and you love your kid, what's the first thing you do your kid? You set a vertical relationship. I'm your father. You're my child. I love you. I will die for you. But make no mistake for it. You listen to me. And that's why atheists will never declare God, never find God because no matter what evidence there is, their hearts are hardened. So this morning we start off on big picture. The big picture is this. Number one, obstacles to being friends with God. Do we have a dichotomy in our lives? For a lot of us, Monday go back to work. We have a different set of thinking on Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday especially Sunday another set of thinking the moment your mind splits your ethic splits your culture splits your faith will split. Secondly, faith which is only in the mind. That is the context of James. And that's why with people like Richard Dawkins in the end, the way he lives his life, he got divorced three times. You read a lot of very famous atheists know Burton Russell, uh Niche, even you should read what uh Darwin says about women. Actually, a lot of them are very unpleasant people. You know, KL Marx, I read a fair bit. They're terrible human beings because the the the logic doesn't translate itself into your lives. So whether you're religious not religious agnostic or atheists or a churchgoer is the same. The faith is the mind. So it doesn't change you. And most of us our faith is comfort zone. That's what we're really going to talk about today. We have not left like Abraham. He left and the journey takes him so far and he climaxes at Mount Moriah. Now let me now take you this a simple question we asked this morning. Do you want God as your friend? That's the challenge this morning. Do you want God as a friend? You start off on that and we build on that. Now let me go to the second part and this is where we really go into the meat. You know this is such a famous story. There's so many paintings of it. Have you noticed one thing common in most paintings and I I sort of Googled a lot of pictures. You know, you see what we are not told is Isaac's uh reaction when he's bounded or binded. Sorry, my grandma's not fantastic. We're not told. And all the pictures what they do, they show Isaac like he was drugged, you know, sleeping, you know. So I picked up one painting which really really really put a thing in me you know because I think this is the impressionist painting and what he did was the painter was trying to paint Isaac's final expression before the knife went to the throat. I I think painters try to do that and you get into the emotions you understand how painful this story is. And I want to ask you to take the next 15 minutes to really get into this. Why? Let me tell you how the story begins. And you feel it now. You see how he says he says this in verse two. Take your son. Not enough. It repeats your only son to rub it in is take your son. Your only son whom you love. You notice the way it pushes it in. It's going to be very painful, you know. And then three days you walk and you know in this three days you take your son up to Mount Moriah you're going to kill your son. So that's what the text is trying to push in know the emotional turmoil and the pain and because of that like I said a very famous uh existentialist philosopher said this there's what you call a theological suspension of ethical these are big words but it simply means there's a suspension of the moral law for the sake of higher law although God must be obeyed murder is immoral so is God contradicting himself for asking Isaac to be sacrificed I want to go into this a little bit because I think it's important to handle difficult questions. Why? Because if you go on a website and you look at a lot of other faiths who justify why is all right to go and kill innocents, it's very simple. Because my God is real. I can walk into Jakarta and bomb you infidels because my God is right. So, we can't go along that road. So, let's break this down. Number one, nowhere in the Bible does God ask anyone to literally sacrifice their children. This is a one-off incident. Pagan religions do it regularly. Let me give you another example. The Bible tells you not to lie. But there's one incident where lying save lives. That's the prostitute Rahab. When the spies enter into the promised land, she lies. Does the Bible tells you you should lie? Of course not. That was a one-off incident that was required to save lives. So, this is a one-off event. So we can't make this a general rule. Secondly, scripture is very clear. God detests human sacrifices. He he makes it very clear about the Malachites, the Moabites, all the other pagans. This is clearly in scripture. God detests human sacrifices. So we can't say God is justifying murder. And thirdly, I don't think Christians go and blow other people up. Thank you very much. Suicide bombers are not common. So there's one level but now let's take it down on emotional level. All right and here is this. You find a key word repeats itself in the text. We find this first in verse 8. God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son. By the way can you imagine how painful that is? You're walking up the hill with your son you know three days you know and then the son asks you dad who are we sacrificing actually dad's got to sacrifice you. So he says you know God will provide. Now either there's a copout or his faith is strong. Now that's quite important because before that he tell this to the servants. You find this he says stay with the donkey. Verse eight. Well I and the boy boy will go over here. Here here what he says. We will worship and then we will come back again. Either there's a copout. He's lying. Or he has faith. By the way I wonder what Abraham told his wife Sarah. Hi honey. I'm going to take Isaac up on a hill for a little camping trip. I'm going to kill him. I mean, really, and the story takes you into emotions. Now, the word provide is so important. It repeats again, Abraham got the place the Lord will provide after God reveals his hand. And he says again, and to this day, it is said on the mountain the Lord, it will be provided. It is what they call a motive, a theological motive. Is the main aim of the story. God will provide. So, put that in the back of your head. Now here's the way we go through and this is more for all the mathematicians out here. We got a lot of scientists here. I'm going to give this in 20th century thinking 21st number one. God has repeatedly assured Abraham Isaac will be the channel of God's covenant that that is without fail. You read 15 to 22. It is repeated so often now you can say okay God we get it. We get it. For the covenant to work and the covenant is to bless the nations, it has to go through Isaac. How do we know that? Because number one, Abraham offers his slave Elijah. God says no. Then God Abraham offers Ishmamail. Can we use Ishmamail? God says no. That mean it's very clearly is Isaac. Non-negotiable. It's got to be Isaac. That's one. But number two, God tells Abraham Isaac has to be a burnt offering. you the the term burnt offering means this you know burn mean hungus nothing left the text is set up to tell you there's nothing left of of of Isaac he's extinguished from existence now here's is for all you mathematicians are logic dictates from point one Isaac must live details on point two Isaac must die contradiction right but if you're mathematician you just need to work out the science you know is quite logical the maths is this No, if both are not contradictory and scripture is telling you both are not. So how do you resolve this? The equation simply says this. Even if Isaac sacrifice, God's covenant through him remains. It's a logical sequence. Now how do we know this is true? Because Hebrews says this. Abraham reason. He used his brains. You know by faith Abraham and God tested him. Offered Isaac as a sacrifice. Now here's what look at what the author says. He who had received the promises, he knew the promises are true, was about to sacrifice his one only son, even though God has said to him, "It is true, Isaac. Your offspring will be reckoned." Notice what the Hebrews writer is doing. He's trying to look at the tension. On one hand, kill Isaac. But on the other hand, Isaac must leave. How do we reconcile the two? And I love this verse. Abraham reason. Hello. He used his brains. Faith is not taking your brains and putting in a back seat. You think it true. Abraham reason God could raise the dead. That's really fascinating. First time resurrection is brought up here and figuratively speaking he did receive Isaac back from the dead. Now that's really taking it in. So let's put it up here now and give us a bigger perspective because let me take you another point. When God eventually stopped Abraham's hand, why didn't the story just end there? Why didn't God say okay God I know Abraham you love me but let's stop instead the sacrifice had to go on a ram had to be sacrificed it means the story is telling you the sacrifice is central to the story so let me give you the verses God said take your son your only son Isaac whom you love the repetition comes in verse 12 A you have not withheld from me your son your only son notice the emphasis and again verse 15b one more time have not withheld your son, your only son. The text is telling you, you love your boy more than life. Now, I can appreciate this story because I have a very small family. Me and my wife have only one kid, my daughter, and she is the apple of our life. You take her away from us, we cannot breathe. The text sets you up for that. Then the text says, you know, the air that you breathe, the child you love, that which you hold so much to your heart that you you're paralyzed. If if I take that away from you, you know what? Don't behold for me. That's the way the story goes. Why? Because of this. Because Romans says this, he who did not spare his own son gave him up for us. You notice the language. And in fact, in other translation, it is not spare. The actual word is you know what? Withheld. Same root word. Do not withhold your son Abraham. Why? Because I your God will not withhold my only son. Abraham the son you love very much. Your only son. And what does John 3:16? God so loved the world, he gave his what? One and only son. The text is meant to drive that home. and is very powerful. God will provide. God establishes his covenant with Abraham through his son Isaac. Isaac has to be sacrificed. The ram substitute Isaac as a sacrifice. And through the sacrifice, the covenant is ratified so to say. Isaac become the channel of blessings to the nations. That's small picture. Big picture is did. God will provide redemption. He will redeem. God establishes his covenant covenant with us through his one and only son Jesus Christ. Jesus has to be sacrificed for our sins. Jesus is the lamb substituting us because of sins. And through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we become the channel of blessings to the nations. The story nails this home. Now, I know all of this is very heavy. I'm going to tell you how this works out for us because I in my weakness am not going to sacrifice the chance of my daughter 5% 10% 2% to save 20 people in a w in Sububangjaya but God gave his one and only son to die a painful death to save all of you millions of us because our sins. That is the heart of the story. And if that doesn't motivate us in our faith, nothing would. So let me go to second point. Hard choices reveal ourselves. In verse 12, God says, "Now I know you fear God." You think God doesn't know. You think God only knew them. You see, when the Hebrew language uses that, God is actually saying,"Abraham, you don't know yourself." We find this in Genesis when when God says to to Adam, "Where are you hiding?" You think God didn't know they were hiding or God asks Cain, "Where is your brother?" You think God didn't know where what Cain had did. The the language is set up because Abraham needs to realize one thing. Do you love God first or do you love Isaac first? Do you love me for who I am or do you love me because I give you your son? And that is what God is trying to pull out of Abraham. Now there are few lessons for us. The first is this. The basis of being able to make any hard choice. Any hard choice brothers and sisters is the fear of God. Not the love of God, not desiring God, not knowing God. All of this has their value. In fact loving God, desiring God, experienced God are all couched in this world. We have lost fear of God because today we have turned God to be a fuzzy feeling. God I love you. Hallelujah. You know you are my everything. But we don't fear God. And I tell you when you get into a difficult choice, it is the fear of God. Let me put it to you in simple everyday language. I give you two examples. One is very simple. You go back on Monday and you got business decision. What do you think is going to make you walk the narrow path? Fuzzy feeling about God. The only thing is going to make you do it is the fear of God. Somebody sent me that day a WhatsApp messages about a certain leader who told a lot of money. We won't mention names and claimed that the money was a donation. No names mentioned. And he said that this person doesn't fear God. And I say it's right. He can call himself religious. He doesn't fear God. I mean I mean sometimes now in this country some of the explanations given are so stupid. You know I'm sorry to use such a language up here on the pool but it's so blatantly they see religious people don't think you believe that you really are. It's so illogical. But the only way you could write that is because you do not fear God. So all of you business people, all of you who struggle out there, the only thing that keeps me on a narrow path is fear God. Here's another thing for all of us relationships. When you have fights with people you love or struggles with that, what's the thing? We get all worked up. Number one, we get our emotions over us. Damn, God will pull you out. Says you fear God either that everyone else is wrong except you. The other side of us is that we get into relationship fight with someone else. We want that relationship to be repaired at all cost. So we want to reconcile at all costs. And God says, "Fear me." It's not about reconciling between you and him. You reconcile with me first. And I tell you, when you pull yourself out of that, the hard choices are easier to write out because Abraham feared God. But and what is the fear that drives him? Here's the thing. We are reminded during hard choices, God is always faithful to his covenant. And Abraham knew that. Abraham knew no matter what Isaac will be the channel of the covenant and that was his foundation of his faith and he could move to very hard decisions because of that. And this morning I ask you, do you know the foundations of your faith? A lot of Christians don't because our foundations are shaky. We don't know what God wants of us. We don't understand. We don't read the word. We don't know what it means it is to honor God, to obey God and to cling to God. So when bad times come, we cannot make hard choices and we fall. But here the assurance given is God is faithful to his covenant. And you must understand when this book was written because when it was written very likely Israel was either in exile or Israel had just entered the promised land. And when a Hebrew reads this in a time of exile, a time of Habacook, they say, "God will provide." When a Hebrew man reads this as they entered into the promised land and they fight the Malachites, they say, "God will provide." And as you go out there today in your struggles, God will provide. So let me now go to the main text real faith and meaningful sacrifices. And this is really the core of it. You see, let me ask you about sacrifices. Let me simple example. Oh, you notice I got no more tail. I kept the tail for 14 years. You know, a very major sacrifice. Hh. You don't cut a tail for 14 years for no reason. Why I do it? You go ask Vincent or Michael or the BB guys. But the point is I will tell you, you don't cut a tail for 14 years without thinking twice, without struggling through it. Now, I never kept that tail because of I want to be fashionable. So I'm 50 years old. So too old to look trendy. Now the tail is important to me. Let me tell you why I kept the tail. The tail I'll tell you is is because when my wife got pregnant with my daughter, I started to keep the tail and I was praying Lord bring this child to full blossom and God did. So I kept the tail and that's why is 14 years because my daughter is 13 years. Go check IC. What I'm trying to tell you is that it's very sentimental to me because it's about my firstborn. We're talking about firstborns today. But I cut it for a reason. Now the question you need to ask me and I need to ask myself is why did I cut it? What was the basis of my sacrifice? Now let me tell you what a lot of people were not Christians would tell you. They tell you to be sacrificial is a noble character and that has value to a certain level. In fact, when I was preparing for this text, one secular writer said the story of Abraham is very famous to a Buddhist story found in Thailand. And the Buddhist story is this about Prince Versanatra. And what he did here, you find this relief in Thailand is that first he gives a white elephant to the village. He's a very giving man. After he gives a white elephant, he gives away all his money. After he gives all his money, and why this story is tied to Abraham is he gives away his wife. Don't do that. Okay? After he gives away his wife, he gives away his children to slavery. Even worse, in fact, it's so famous that in Thailand there there's a culture part that shows it. And the story says that Buddha then came and saw the heart. His heart was so noble. I don't know really whether that's true because I I I read it few times to understand it and and and Buddha therefore restored him to all his riches and the story was basically saying that it is a noble virtue to be sacrificial. I think that is true to a certain level but I will tell you this what the text is telling you today sacrifices done by Christians is not based on that. No matter how noble it is, that is not your basis for sacrificing. Now why do we sacrifice? Same reason why Abraham sacrificed Isaac. The motive for any sacrifice should be the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The reason why I cut my tail should be this. Anything less than that points it back to myself. Now let me tell you how this works out. In the end, sacrifice is this. you know, is about pulling out what is the most important to you, giving it to God, and then asking why are you giving it to God? So, here's my question to you today. What is your Isaac? What is your Isaac? You see, let me give you a few Isaacs. First, Isaac, my job because it's my identity. Can you really say everything you do in your work is for God? If it is, when it comes to a push and show, you're prepared to surrender that at the risk of getting a promotion to honor God. Then your Isaac, your job goes to God. I go to KK every two weeks. I'll be honest to tell you, I make a fair bit of money. It reached a point now, you know what God is telling me? Honor train. train because going every two weeks is not efficient. You know what the selfish nature tells me? Don't train. Why? I make money, ma. If I train you, you don't need me. You know old kung fu masters, they teach all the kung fu, the last kung fu, they don't teach. You see? So that the student will never be as good as the master. So third generations, everybody cannot fight really. Notice that you see because it's our Isaac. The kung fu master Isaac is his his his mong you know his manu. He's not going to give you everything. You notice it could be my work. It could be my dignity. I tell you what it is for church people very active. It could be your church ministry because you love to get up and preach, get up and sing, get involved in this ministry that becomes your Isaac. You know what it is? It becomes your idol. And what the text tells you because God is saying, look, you love this boy so much. Where am I in your place, Abraham? And we often think I idols are bad things, you know, bad habits, your sinful habits, your struggles in money and all of that. But you know what the text is telling you? Idols can be good things, noble things, nice, lovely things. But even that's not the root of it. Let me tell you the real painful root. Actually, the framing of the question is wrong. It isn't what is your Isaac? No. The really to frame the question is who is your Isaac? That is where it is painful. So you pause a moment now. Every one of you stop and ask and list in your mind who are the people in your life you love the most. For me, I will tell you my wife, my daughter, because it's my mom and dad, everyone. You you you make a mental list of everyone you love. Then you ask yourself another question. Do I love God more? I love these people. Now, if you're honest to yourself, loving an invisible God you don't see and loving a child who you can touch and hug or a wife you can hold or a father mom you can go back to, which is easier to love. That that's what the story is telling. And you know what? glue that is only going to allow you to love God above someone you can hold and touch and feel fear of God. That's why it goes back to be a friend of God, you need to obey God. Now, let me give you how this works out. I want to suggest this to you as we close that we all struggle with selfish sacrifices. We say we sacrifice but deep deep down inside there are selfish motives. Number one, we want to keep our Isaacs attached to us. I love my daughter, my wife, my family. I want them to me. Here's one test. All you family members with older kids, your kid comes back and tells you he wants to be a pastor. Would you let him do it? If your kid comes back and says he wants to go to Libya, to Syria, are you going to let him do it or you want to keep him close? And then you tell yourself, I'm trying to protect him. Actually, you're not protecting him. You're protecting your love for him. You see, when we love people, it does things to us. You know, we say we're doing it for the other party. Actually, we're doing it for yourself. I give you example. Last week, Harvard had his kid. The baby was hanging around. Very cute baby. So I I I held the baby. Oh, feel very good. Now am I am I hugging the baby for the baby's sake or for my sake? For my sake. We go and hug the baby. I feel good. You think the baby baby cares Jose is being passed around. You know, you hear me? But it's the same in the people we love. We our child comes home and he does something and your heart melts. You say I'm doing it for him. Hello, you're doing it for yourself. You you you you have a a father whom you have a very good relationship for 30 years. You've been giving a lot of things. You spend a lot of times you say I I I love that person. Hello. There's a selfish motive still behind it because that love drives you. That love is your foundation for living. That love is the air you breathe. And you take that away from you, you fall apart. And God is telling you for your sake, don't do that. I'm going to give you a reason why. But let me break down the symptoms first. The first is selfish because we want to keep our Isaacs to us, our children, our wives, our fathers, our what you won't let that go. Here's the other point. And when that other party changes, you know, and your kid grows up and he's not so attached to you some more or the person you love finds someone else who spending more time away from you or your mom and dad you spend a lot of time, you suddenly find some khaki to go and play majong. Your love goes from being a selfish attachment to being this. You know, it becomes manipulative. You manipulate because you want to get back the love you had the way it made you happy. You maneuver and you manipulate. And you honest to yourself, we all do this. We do this in our careers. We do this in our ministries. We do this to all good things because these good things make us happy. And why is that? because we are insecure of losing it. And when after we maneuver and manipulate so that this person becomes more attached and the person resists, what do we do? We become bitter. We become envious and we become strugg and we struggle. And lastly, we hope our Isaacs respond to sacrifices the way we desire. and sometimes very sad. You see, you see parents as they get older and they always tell their children, you know, why don't you do this like then they'll list down the neighbor's son who bought them a big Mercedes car or this person who did that or you start to compare. But you see, this is when you think you're being selfless, but it is selfish. And I want to tell you the core of the story. You see, when God does this to Abraham, God does it for purpose. As CF Lewis puts it very well and to me this is the most important point on the message. He says this, "If I love God more than I love my children, I will love my children better." To me, that was one of the most powerful things I I ever learned. You know, you could replace children with dad or mom or friend or anything because what happens after this? Isaac grows up well. Isaac grows up to be a fine boy. Isaac grows up to be a blessing. Why? Because Abraham loved God more than he loved Isaac. And as we approach Chinese New Year, which is a time of reunion, as we approach all of this, as about family and relationships, I want to just say this main point to all of us today. Love God first with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul. Because of that, then you can love your children, your father, your mother, your neighbor. And that, brothers and sisters, is the story of Isaac. So, as a worship team just uh prepares us for a song, I I want us to just close in prayer. And I just want us I want you to do one thing now. I want you to think of your Isaacs. Whether it's your job or your ministry, but more particularly I want you to think of people you love. And as we prepare to bring ourselves to God, I want you to surrender that person to God. Is a struggle. You think right now of your children or your your your mom is someone that if you take that person away, you can't breathe. You say, "Lord, I will not withhold that person I love from you." And when you do that, God will tell you this, "Love me first and you will love that person better because then that love will not be selfish. It will not be possessive. You will not be manipulative. You will not be demanding." Let's come before the Lord in prayer. Lord, we just ask this morning. This is such a such a heavy text, oh Lord, and such a difficult text, but so beautiful. It's in the end is about faith and the and and the real son, Lord. And you, oh Lord, who did not withhold your son from us, your only son, but gave up your one and only son to die a painful death. No ram caught in the thicket, so that we shall be set free from sin. and be a covenant blessing. So now Lord from that let us go out and do likewise that we walk in a faith which is as friends of God. A faith that can take hard choices because we cling on to the covenant of God and because we have the fear of the Lord. Oh Lord we put you first and right now all eyes closed we the quietness now moment right now. Oh Lord we put our Isaacs before you. our children, our mom and dads, our close friends, our wives, our husbands, whether we have good relationships, whether they are bad relationship, whether they in strange relationships, our brothers, our sisters, our families, oh Lord, strain or good, they are our Isaacs, oh Lord, that we put them before you. And we say, oh Lord, we want to love them. We want to love them the way you taught us. And how do we do that? By loving you first. And when we love you first and do not withhold them from you, we will love them better. And we say this in Jesus name. Amen.
