As tiny babies, we look to someone bigger to provide for us, most likely our parents. We’re dependent on them to see our needs & provide for all our basics like food and diaper changing, a warm place to sleep and nurturing love. As grade-schoolers, our need for provision expands to homework help, milk-money, after-school activities, and serious equipment like bicycles & skateboards. J We trust our parents to see those needs and care enough to provide! By our teen years, the provision requirements swell to even more serious levels. And of course adulthood brings a whole new league of needs. The reality of being “out on your own” to “fend for yourself” can be terrifying.

What tops your “needs” list right now? Not your “toy” list or wish list of things that would simply be fun to have. I’m talking real needs. Go ahead and jot down one or two…

Maybe you have to find a new job—fast—like yesterday!
Maybe there’s a stack of bills staring at you. Who knows how you’ll pay them?
Could be your car has 300,000 miles on it and is sputtering along on its last leg.
It may be a special ministry need—$ essential for impacting others for Christ!
Possibly your marriage needs serious help and restoration.
You or someone you love may be facing a serious emotional or health crisis.

This morning we’re going to discover this awesome truth: God provides what I need when I need it!

There was a couple in the Bible named Abram and Sarai. At the top of their needs list was one word: “BABY.” God had made a special covenant with Abram. He called Abram to leave his home country & travel to a far away land. God promised to bless Abram abundantly and to transform his family into a humongous nation of people. There’s a problem though…Genesis 11:30 tells us…

Now Sarai was not able to have any children. (New Living Translation)

How in the world could they become a great nation full of people when they couldn’t even have one baby? Years passed. Frustration mounted. Still no son to carry on the family line, start a tribe and build a nation like God had promised! God continued to make this outrageous promise to Abram that he would have a son and would become a great nation. Look at Genesis 15:1-6…

Abram showed real faith! What is faith? That’s one of those pious sounding, million dollar words that gets flippantly thrown around when people are talking about religion or God or churchy stuff. But what is genuine faith? The real-deal kind of faith is this: Making the choice to place my total trust in God’s promise and then obediently following His directions for my life.

While God’s promise was very real and Abram’s faith was very evident, God’s timing was not so readily evident. Have you noticed how often life requires waiting and serious patience?

Most of us hate to wait for all sorts of things. Patience is not our forte. In line at the grocery store…in the Drive-Thru line at Wendy’s…I especially hate to wait at…(supply a humorous spot!)

Think about those items at the top of your “Needs List.” I’m guessing you feel like you’ve had quite a wait and it’s taking a lot of patience on your part! It was the same way for Abram & Sarai.

In fact, even though Abram had trusted God, the wait seemed unbearable, and just like we so often wobble in our faith, Abram & Sarai struggled. At one point Sarai felt such desperation to have a child that she took matters into her own hands & hatched a scheme without God’s direction. Look at Genesis 16:1-3.

Notice it had been 10 long years since they entered the land. And Abram goes along with Sarah’s idea for a surrogate. And it seemed at first their crazy plan had worked! Hagar gets pregnant. But then as so often happens in life, Sarai decides that what she thought she wanted isn’t really what she wanted after all. She and Hagar end up squabbling and jealousy erupts between them. You know, “three’s a crowd,” and that’s certainly true in marriage. A son is born to Hagar and Abram and they name him Ishmael. Look at Genesis 16:15-16.

Now notice chapter 17:1-2…Abram is now 99 years old! That’s 13 MORE years of waiting! And God is still promising to make a great nation out of Abram!

God dialogues with Abram and changes his name to Abraham, which means “the father of many.” And he changes Sarai’s name to Sarah, which means “princess.” People’s names in the Bible often carried very special significance. Their names often tell us something about their character – who they are – and also about God’s intended purpose for them – who they will become. Abraham will be the father of a nation, and Sarah will be the mother of royalty. Look at Genesis 17:16…Kings will be among her descendants.

Catch Abraham’s response in vs. 17. He bows low and yet he laughs. He does the math. He’s almost 100. Sarah’s no spring chicken either—she’s 90. He understands the basics of human biology and says, “Um, Lord, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re well passed child-bearing years. Let’s just stick with the “Ishmael Plan.” That’s gotta work!

God tells him, “I’m not kidding with you, Abraham.” Catch vs. 19. The name Isaac means “Laughter.” Abraham had laughed. Later on when God breaks the news to Sarah, she laughs to herself. But it’s God who will get the last laugh. Remember, this is God and nothing is too difficult for Him! God had to have some fun with them. I love the Lord’s sense of humor. “You’re going to name this child ‘Isaac’ – Laughter. So every time you call him for dinner, you’re going to remember that you laughed at my ability to provide for you what I promised. Every time you call him by name to take out the trash or pick up his toys, you’ll remember again how amazing and wonderful and powerful I am to provide.”

After Isaac was born to Abraham & Sarah, he filled their lives with joy and was the source of abundant laughter every day. They had seen God provide! Even after waiting for almost three decades, they had seen God provide that top item on their “Need List.”

All along, they were learning…God provides what we need, when we need it!

What tops our need lists will be different for each of us, but the challenge of choice for each of us is the same. Will we respond in fear OR will we respond in faith? Will we doubt God And try our own schemes or will we keep on trusting Him and obeying Him?

In the reality TV craze of the past couple of years, one of the shows that’s remained consistently popular is “Fear Factor.” Contestants are challenged with different frightening stunts, like climbing high beams between skyscrapers or eating buckets of earthworms. The person who can complete all the death-defying, gross-defying challenges in the fastest time is dubbed the “Fear Factor Champion.” Those winners demonstrate amazing levels of boldness to press forward, face their fears and not quit!

What’s your “FAITH Factor?” Even though the wait is long, do you continue to hold on and trust God? Do you continue to persevere in following Christ, even when he doesn’t immediately solve your crisis, give you the dream job, miraculously pay the bills or fix your marriage? Think about it. So often, the greatest provision we need from God is not exactly what we think we need. So much of the time, it’s not really an INSTANT provision of that item at the top of our “need list.” What we truly need is the character he forms in us as we wait to see him provide.

Building a great violin takes serious time & patience. Master violinmakers look for the oldest wood available. They might salvage wood from a covered bridge built in 1866 in New Hampshire or gain wood from a 150-year-old table discovered in Alaska. As wood ages, it dries and becomes more dense and resonant. After the fronts and backs of the violins have been carved from the antique wood, the craftsman dries them in the sun at intervals for a year. Even then the aging process is not complete. Finished violins must be played over time to reach their full potential because playing them causes the wood to vibrate and become even more flexible, thus improving the tone quality and overall sound. Truly vintage, high quality violins, like those made by Antonio Stradivari or Guiseppe Guarneri, can cost between $200,000 and $3.5 million.

It’s in those waiting times that we are shaped into more flexible instruments with a richer tone to our lives. It’s there that we truly learn to trust God. It’s in waiting and struggling and even whining and stumbling that Abraham’s faith grew stronger and stronger! It works the same way in your life and mine today. So look at your need list for a minute. What if you have to keep waiting for the new car? What if it ends up taking a longer stretch of time to pay off that debt? What if the great job is still several jobs away? Could you realize that right here in your time of stressful waiting, God is growing your faith and your ability to press on in obeying Him?

That’s not the end of the story though for Abraham & this precious son, Laughter. One day, God tested Abraham’s faith. Look at Genesis 22:1…

How many of you enjoy tests? Just mention the word and many of us break out in a cold sweat, our palms get sweaty and we start to panic. Have you noticed how much of life seems like one test after another?

Early in grade school…spelling tests.

At 16 or 17…a driving test.

To work at McDonalds…a math test…Can you count?

To get into college…placement tests.

If you’re not feeling well, the doc sends you for medical tests.

When is the last time you had to take a faith test? Abraham found himself facing a huget. Catch Genesis 22:2 (NLT)…

“Whoa! What in the world? You can’t be serious, God? I thought we learned the lesson already: You provide what we need when we need it! We got it, God. And you gave us Isaac! Great—lesson learned—class dismissed! Right?!”

Notice God’s little jabs—“your only son—yes, Isaac, the one you love so much.” “What’s God thinking? This is the son we’ve waited for, prayed for, hoped for, dreamed for, and then finally received. Life is so good! Sacrifice Him—as a burnt offering? You’ve got to be kidding! I’m NOT laughing now, Lord!”

All these emotions must have flooded Abraham’s heart and mind. Tests like this are no picnic. How do you respond to faith tests? Particularly faith tests involving God’s provision?

You commit to tithe to God faithfully, and your refrigerator croaks.
You volunteered to serve as an adult helper with the junior high group on Wednesday nights, and then you’re offered overtime with some sweet pay.
God nudges you to start supporting a child through World Vision, but some months you’re not sure how all your own bills are going to get paid.

It’s often through tests like this that our faith & obedience can grow stronger! Abraham is faced with a whopper of a test. He shows us Three Faith-Filled Responses we can use to pass such faith tests in our own lives. Take a look at Genesis 22:3…

Faith-filled Response #1: Jump to Action!

Abraham didn’t procrastinate, argue with God, drag his feet or complain. He heard God’s command and he got moving promptly.

You know how this works with kids. Have you noticed they have boundless energy? Outrageous amounts of energy! I believe that energy is wasted on the young. J They can still be bouncing off the walls at 9 pm. But then tell them to pick up, get on their p.j.’s and brush their teeth. All of a sudden, all energy is gone. “I’m soooo tired…”

All too often, that’s our response when God tests us in an area and calls us to give sacrificially and go to a new level of faith & obedience. Suddenly, we’re slow to action.

A truly faith-filled response involves jumping to action and saying, “Yes, I’ll go for it and trust you, God!”

Look at vs. 4-8…

Faith-filled Response #2: Deep inside, trust God to work powerfully!

I love Abraham’s confidence. “We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” He already anticipated Isaac’s return with him! And when Isaac asks him about the lamb, with faith-filled expectation, Abraham tells him, “God will provide a lamb, my son.” The word we see in our Bible as “provide” is actually much richer and picturesque in the ancient language. Abraham literally says, “God will see to it.” It’s the idea that God, as the loving, caring, strong Father, with eyes of gracious favor and compassion, will see our need and meet our need!”

It’s when we’re tested we’ve got to hold onto God’s Fatherly vision to see our need and meet our need!

Here’s another

Faith-filled Response #3: Make a commitment & follow through with the details.

Back in Genesis 22, catch vs. 9-10

There was no turning back for Abraham. He was ready to follow through. No shortcuts. No balking. Even though it’s difficult, costly & even dream crushing!

Now look at God’s response…vs. 11-19

He tells him to lay down the knife! God says, “Now I know…you’ve passed the test with flying colors! A+ for Abraham!” Hebrews 11:17-19 highlights why!

Abraham saw a ram caught in the bush and sacrificed it instead of Isaac! God had indeed provided! In fact, zero in on Genesis 22:14.

What a place to be! What a special spot! The events on this mountain, on this dramatic day, point toward an even more monumental moment. Hundreds of years later, another Son of Abraham would be sacrificed. The loving Heavenly Father saw our need for a Lamb & he provided. He saw our need for forgiveness, transformation and eternal life. So he willingly sacrificed His precious only Son, Jesus, in order to provide for our greatest need! Have you accepted God’s wonderful provision of loving salvation through His Son? Jesus came as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world! (John 1:29)

The same God who saw our greatest need and provided salvation through sacrificing His Son is able to see your everyday needs and meet those in phenomenal ways.

God provides what we need when we need it!

What’s your faith factor? Are you jumping to action? Are you trusting Him to work powerfully? Are you following through with the details?

WELCOME