WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:02.540 I invite you to Genesis chapter 28. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:05.940 That's where we're at together today in Genesis chapter 28. 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:08.440 And a rather interesting story. 00:00:08.440 --> 00:00:13.880 It kind of starts off a little mundane before it gets to the to the climax of the of the great conclusion here. 00:00:14.020 --> 00:00:21.120 But one of the things that we're reminded as we get ready to engage the story is that God has this way of meeting us even when we're not 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:22.560 expecting it. 00:00:23.160 --> 00:00:26.760 especially when circumstances might have humbled us. 00:00:27.580 --> 00:00:32.930 the Bible tells us that God is near the broken hearted, that God works through those that are humble, really not the proud. 00:00:33.180 --> 00:00:37.020 But you see the Lord continuing to come to the humble and to the broken. 00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:45.120 And in today's story, we're going to certainly see that in the life of Jacob, as we've been following along from Abraham to Isaac and now more into the story of Jacob. 00:00:45.480 --> 00:00:52.540 And Jacob has developed this reputation of being a liar, a cheat, a deceiver, and in the bad 00:00:52.540 --> 00:00:58.480 decisions that he's made, we've learned some of those decisions he's made have been instigated entirely on his own. 00:00:58.480 --> 00:01:03.060 All the deception and lying that he did, but also his mother helped him further. 00:01:03.220 --> 00:01:07.940 That, along with the way that they deceived Jacob's own father, Isaac. 00:01:08.100 --> 00:01:11.650 And because of that, it's brought division to the family. 00:01:11.660 --> 00:01:18.660 It's brought conflict into their lives, and it's ultimately led to the family breaking up to the point that, Jacob's brother Esau 00:01:18.660 --> 00:01:20.830 got so angry with him that he wanted to kill him. 00:01:21.260 --> 00:01:27.940 And so while the family last week was together and sure, they had their problems, a week later they're fighting and ready to kill each other. 00:01:27.940 --> 00:01:35.380 And now the family's going through all the consequences of being divided because of the sin, and it's left Jacob all alone. 00:01:35.940 --> 00:01:39.130 We're going to discover in this chapter that is exactly where Jacob is. 00:01:39.220 --> 00:01:40.080 He's all alone. 00:01:40.220 --> 00:01:41.970 And this is the place where God meets him. 00:01:42.960 --> 00:01:46.020 but as this story starts to unfold, I don't have time to read it all. 00:01:46.020 --> 00:01:53.140 So I'm going to just summarize here in the beginning as it starts, as we start to read what's going to happen here in Genesis chapter eight, the first five verses, 00:01:53.620 --> 00:01:56.250 we're finding Isaac now talking to Jacob. 00:01:56.500 --> 00:02:02.020 He's talking to Jacob for the future of finding a bride, but also getting away from his brother who wants to kill him. 00:02:02.460 --> 00:02:02.560 Right. 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:09.580 And so at the end of chapter 27, we see that in the beginning of chapter 28, that Jacob is now being told to flee 00:02:09.580 --> 00:02:16.320 to the land where Laban lives, which is a few hundred miles away, and there he'll find a bride. 00:02:16.340 --> 00:02:17.510 And by the way, get away from your brother. 00:02:17.740 --> 00:02:18.700 He's going to lop off your head. 00:02:19.140 --> 00:02:21.420 And what's sad in this story is his dad. 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:23.540 Isaac is conversing with Jacob is. 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:30.030 This is really the only time we find in these chapters between Jacob and Isaac, that the two are communicating with one another. 00:02:30.860 --> 00:02:38.560 we saw early on that when these twins were born that Rebekah loved Jacob and Isaac loved Esau. 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:43.040 And it creates this conflict, these, this playing of favorites between the family. 00:02:43.040 --> 00:02:43.890 It messes up the kids. 00:02:45.160 --> 00:02:48.600 And now you finally see Isaac talking to his son. 00:02:48.600 --> 00:02:54.220 And really, the only time we find him having a conversation, it's to tell them to run away, to flee. 00:02:54.260 --> 00:02:59.130 And what makes the matter even worse is this is the last time that we know that Jacob even sees his mother. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:04.960 And so this is this is a goodbye for at least until they to meet together in heaven. 00:03:05.060 --> 00:03:12.340 But with his mother and their relationship and then it goes on in verse six and nine, as if to exacerbate the problem 00:03:12.340 --> 00:03:19.520 that we've seen in this family, that Esau, when he realizes he's brought division to his family, that he makes another 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:21.460 decision that brings further conflict. 00:03:22.540 --> 00:03:30.260 it told you at the end of the very last two verses of chapter six, the very last two verses of chapter 26 and chapter 27, that 00:03:30.260 --> 00:03:33.550 Esau made decisions to marry multiple women. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:37.130 And those women created problems for the family, the greater family. 00:03:38.320 --> 00:03:45.830 And Esau realizes the decisions that he's made, and he decides to go now, make a pact or an agreement with Ishmael. 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:54.000 And if you remember the story of Isaac and Ishmael, their brothers, Ishmael hated Isaac to the point that he wanted to kill 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.420 Isaac, just like Jacob is being threatened by his brother Esau. 00:03:57.580 --> 00:03:58.580 Esau wants to kill Jacob. 00:03:59.270 --> 00:04:06.500 Ishmael wanted to kill Isaac, and now Esau decides to make a covenant with Ishmael or build a relationship with Ishmael by marrying one 00:04:06.500 --> 00:04:07.550 of his daughters. 00:04:08.220 --> 00:04:15.260 And so you see that this decisions that they're making, this family isn't just affecting this immediate generation, that this is going to impact generations to 00:04:15.260 --> 00:04:15.660 come. 00:04:16.540 --> 00:04:19.540 From Esau comes the descendants of the Edomites. 00:04:19.540 --> 00:04:26.140 And if you read in the Old Testament, you see the Edomites continue to create conflict for Israel throughout the Old Testament. 00:04:26.780 --> 00:04:30.630 And so these decisions have long terme ramifications. 00:04:31.020 --> 00:04:38.100 And because of it, Jacob, though he was with his family last week and they were everything seemed okay, though there were some a little bit of conflict, and 00:04:38.100 --> 00:04:40.980 he certainly did have, a deceiving heart. 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:42.610 Now all of a sudden he's running for his life. 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:44.200 He's all alone. 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:45.840 He feels lost. 00:04:45.840 --> 00:04:53.020 But one of the great things we're going to see in this chapter is that God often does his greatest work in 00:04:53.020 --> 00:04:55.340 our lives when we feel like we're in exile. 00:04:56.780 --> 00:05:00.080 Now, sometimes that could be literal and other. 00:05:00.260 --> 00:05:05.490 Times it could be figurative, but there's times in life where we feel isolated and alone. 00:05:06.400 --> 00:05:13.400 We can look back often at those moments and realize my relationship with the Lord took great leaps during that period of time. 00:05:13.940 --> 00:05:17.470 And so the question we want to talk about today is, what do I do when I feel lost? 00:05:18.080 --> 00:05:20.020 And I want you to know we're going to look at just three points. 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:20.990 What do you do when you feel lost? 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:24.280 I came up with these great theological statements. 00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:25.420 And then and then I realized, you know what? 00:05:26.100 --> 00:05:32.930 If we feel like that as people, we're in this place of vulnerability, a place where you don't want to make things real complicated and heady. 00:05:33.140 --> 00:05:34.400 So I simplified it. 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:36.420 I simplified it down to three points for us. 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:38.550 So how do we respond when we feel lost? 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:41.120 And for a moment you're going to read these and think, oh, that's easy, right? 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:45.600 But I'm going to help us recognize the challenge to these simplistic statements. 00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:51.660 It should be easy for us, but we tend to complicate it as people and what it is that God desires to do. 00:05:51.740 --> 00:05:54.380 So point number one in your notes is this what do I do when I feel lost? 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:57.450 Number one, be sincere about your position. 00:05:58.520 --> 00:06:01.180 Be sincere about your position. 00:06:01.440 --> 00:06:08.300 And that means you don't need to pretend like things are great when they're not, nor do you want to over exaggerate where you find yourself. 00:06:09.200 --> 00:06:14.370 But you do want to be sincere about your position, and you may hear that and think, oh, that's easy, I got that. 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:19.340 But we all know that there's very few men on this earth that when they get lost, are going to say something about it. 00:06:19.400 --> 00:06:19.780 Right? 00:06:19.780 --> 00:06:23.800 Like, you need some directions and you're not pulling over to the gas station to ask. 00:06:23.880 --> 00:06:29.160 You're you are just taking the scenic route for the day and wherever, wherever it is that you're supposed to go. 00:06:29.300 --> 00:06:29.400 Right. 00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:32.440 And so being sincere about your position is important. 00:06:32.620 --> 00:06:40.310 And we see this in the life of Jacob in Genesis chapter 28 verse ten says, Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:47.940 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set, taking one of the stones of the place, he 00:06:47.940 --> 00:06:51.350 put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 00:06:52.420 --> 00:06:56.940 This is an interesting verse to really start off this discussion with us. 00:06:57.120 --> 00:06:58.400 But what is this trying to tell us? 00:06:58.400 --> 00:07:00.080 Like they don't make them like they used to. 00:07:00.080 --> 00:07:01.790 I mean, what man today is like, I need to go to bed. 00:07:02.020 --> 00:07:02.710 Give me a stone. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:03.440 Right. 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:05.890 That is we we're like, I need my Tempur-Pedic. 00:07:06.280 --> 00:07:06.620 Right. 00:07:06.700 --> 00:07:08.120 Her setting, my setting. 00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:12.930 And if your pillow is not fluffed right these days, it's like I will complain about all day tomorrow that. 00:07:13.080 --> 00:07:14.900 That I just didn't quite get the right amount of sleep. 00:07:14.900 --> 00:07:17.380 And here's this guy sleeping on a stone, right. 00:07:17.380 --> 00:07:18.660 They were just tougher back then. 00:07:18.700 --> 00:07:22.000 You think that is that what this passage is trying to communicate to us? 00:07:22.140 --> 00:07:23.380 That absolutely not. 00:07:23.400 --> 00:07:23.600 Right. 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:24.460 That's ridiculous. 00:07:24.460 --> 00:07:32.160 But looking at this verse, what it really wants us to understand is experientially where 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:39.200 Jacob finds himself so that we can begin to connect and relate to his story, to understand, 00:07:39.340 --> 00:07:41.750 really, Jacob's story is a lot like our story. 00:07:42.880 --> 00:07:50.110 Jacob, in these moments, it's telling us he's going from Beersheba to Haran, which is a distance of several hundred miles. 00:07:50.340 --> 00:07:54.760 And so this would have been a formidable trip for Jacob to go through this. 00:07:54.780 --> 00:07:58.360 This journey would have been a long journey that would have taken several days. 00:07:58.900 --> 00:08:00.740 This is not what Jacob had planned, right? 00:08:00.760 --> 00:08:01.040 He was. 00:08:01.260 --> 00:08:02.060 He was with his family. 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:04.080 Now all of a sudden he's running for his life. 00:08:04.780 --> 00:08:12.320 And then all of a sudden it starts to explain to us, Jacob, when he's going on this journey, notice, notice this, these two verses, it's 00:08:12.320 --> 00:08:18.840 telling us something by not telling us something meaning, okay, we know he's going from Beersheba to Haran, but tonight he's going to bed. 00:08:18.880 --> 00:08:19.560 And where is he going? 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:20.000 To bed. 00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:21.140 Nobody knows. 00:08:21.200 --> 00:08:21.760 It's not even. 00:08:21.780 --> 00:08:24.380 It's not a remarkable place worth even telling you. 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:28.760 What it's saying to you is Jacob in this situation, finds himself in the middle of nowhere. 00:08:28.760 --> 00:08:29.880 He doesn't even know where he is. 00:08:29.900 --> 00:08:34.419 There's nothing to really mark this spot in Jacob's day. 00:08:34.419 --> 00:08:42.000 In order for a people group to settle a land, there's something typically you need within the substance of that land, either a, well, 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:48.350 some sort of body of water, a river, a lake, something, a pond, you need fertile ground. 00:08:48.980 --> 00:08:50.520 And what makes this place so unremarkable? 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:52.860 There seems to be there's no markers there. 00:08:53.800 --> 00:08:56.080 And because of that, there's no one really living there. 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:58.070 And so this town really doesn't have much of a name. 00:08:59.300 --> 00:09:03.810 And so because of Jacob's decisions, he's found himself in the, in the middle of nowhere. 00:09:04.560 --> 00:09:11.620 And then when it tells us he's using this stone for a pillow, what it's really saying is, Jacob is in a position where 00:09:11.620 --> 00:09:12.890 he found himself destitute. 00:09:14.380 --> 00:09:20.920 I mean, at the very least, if you've got an extra jacket or blanket, you would expect that you would just ball it up and sleep on it. 00:09:21.660 --> 00:09:28.050 But the fact that he's had to choose a stone by which to lay his head on is just helping you understand the predicament of which he finds himself. 00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:32.320 He is absolutely alone and he knows it. 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:36.180 And this is only further exacerbated by the fact that it's night. 00:09:37.100 --> 00:09:40.040 And I think this is not just identifying the time of day for you. 00:09:40.040 --> 00:09:41.270 So you're aware of the time of day. 00:09:41.900 --> 00:09:44.010 It's really a positioning of the state of his soul. 00:09:45.300 --> 00:09:52.420 Yes, it's physically dark, but this is more of a metaphorical foretelling of where Jacob is as 00:09:52.420 --> 00:09:59.680 God gets ready to intersect him in this point of his life, that it's not just physically dark outside, but it's just dark all the way around. 00:10:00.760 --> 00:10:07.880 That Jacob is kind of reevaluating how he got where he is, and he doesn't really know how to get moving forward. 00:10:07.900 --> 00:10:15.160 He knows a destination where he's about to go, but how this is all going to play out when he's just left everyone that he loves, he's just lost. 00:10:17.040 --> 00:10:21.760 And so we find in the story he's being honest with the position in which he finds himself. 00:10:21.780 --> 00:10:22.440 He's being sincere. 00:10:22.980 --> 00:10:26.910 Let me say about the position in which he finds himself. 00:10:27.220 --> 00:10:31.110 And what Jacob is saying to us is he knows he's lacking. 00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:38.820 I mean, anytime you're going to bed at night laying on a rock and using a rock as a pillow, you're saying to yourself, I need to do something different. 00:10:40.300 --> 00:10:45.860 And so these opening verses help us to see the sincerity of where his heart is. 00:10:45.920 --> 00:10:49.250 Maybe, maybe even saying all the deception, all the games he was playing. 00:10:50.100 --> 00:10:51.430 He's kind of come to the end of himself. 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:55.850 So point number two, what do I do when I feel lost? 00:10:56.040 --> 00:10:58.390 And I'm going to give you this in a little bit in advance and explain this. 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:00.580 Cling to God's word. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:05.640 Cling to God's word. 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:13.100 And I know again, it's an overly overly simplistic statement, but when you're in that state where you really you 00:11:13.100 --> 00:11:20.430 do feel alone, the importance of God's Word needs to be cherished in our lives. 00:11:21.560 --> 00:11:23.620 Sometimes when life gets difficult. 00:11:24.520 --> 00:11:32.360 The temptation is to determine our steps by our circumstances and our feelings. 00:11:33.960 --> 00:11:38.540 Rather than on our God and His promises. 00:11:39.760 --> 00:11:43.690 And the unfortunate thing about our feelings is that our feelings can be misleading. 00:11:45.540 --> 00:11:51.920 and if you use that to determine what is true or what you think might be true, it can really lead you astray. 00:11:53.640 --> 00:11:58.550 And on the other side of that, God, God's word is full of his presence. 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:00.860 It's full of his promises. 00:12:02.940 --> 00:12:06.610 It's full of his power over and above our problems. 00:12:08.200 --> 00:12:11.340 And in verse, what you need is hope. 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:13.360 And there's no greater hope than in the Lord. 00:12:13.420 --> 00:12:17.840 And so this is exactly what God brings unexpectedly to Jacob. 00:12:17.880 --> 00:12:20.020 And I want you to see this story in verse 12. 00:12:20.020 --> 00:12:20.870 This is what God does. 00:12:20.940 --> 00:12:23.000 He says, and he dreamed. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:23.900 Talking about Jacob. 00:12:24.540 --> 00:12:26.660 And behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth. 00:12:26.660 --> 00:12:28.400 I love this like he's learned. 00:12:28.400 --> 00:12:28.700 Jacobs. 00:12:28.800 --> 00:12:29.700 Jacob's a talker. 00:12:29.700 --> 00:12:30.780 Jacob's a storyteller. 00:12:30.800 --> 00:12:32.150 Jacob likes to manipulate situations. 00:12:32.800 --> 00:12:34.360 Jacob likes to lie about it. 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:34.780 God's like. 00:12:34.780 --> 00:12:40.660 The only time I'm going to get this guy's attention is when I got him closing his mouth, and the only time he's closing his mouth is when he's dreaming. 00:12:41.060 --> 00:12:44.050 So I was like, I'm going to get you when I need to. 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:46.120 And so God's talking to him in his dream, and he dreamed. 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:51.020 And behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. 00:12:51.100 --> 00:12:54.420 And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 00:12:54.540 --> 00:13:01.640 And behold, there the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac, the land of which 00:13:01.640 --> 00:13:03.920 I will give to you, and to your offspring. 00:13:04.780 --> 00:13:06.740 Your offspring shall be the dust of the earth. 00:13:07.400 --> 00:13:11.460 And you shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. 00:13:11.880 --> 00:13:14.300 And you and your offspring shall be all. 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:16.340 Shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 00:13:17.620 --> 00:13:24.800 So here in the story, Jacob, he immediately sees this ladder, and this ladder really becomes a reflection of God's presence with 00:13:24.800 --> 00:13:25.850 Jacob. 00:13:26.040 --> 00:13:31.290 In fact, I don't know that the Hebrew word translated ladder is really the best way to translate this. 00:13:31.680 --> 00:13:39.040 this word really can also be translated as a ramp or a staircase, which I think is a far better picture, because if you think about what it 00:13:39.040 --> 00:13:46.260 means to use a ladder like angels ascending and descending on a ladder, that you see angels coming and going, but when you're on a ladder, you can't really do that. 00:13:46.260 --> 00:13:50.740 You go one direction and you got to wait till you're done going one direction and you can go the other direction. 00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:57.840 But this ramp carries this idea of the heavens being open, and there's this ascending and descending and the 00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:04.880 way the ascending and descending happens is important to recognize, because we've already seen the idea of a ladder being 00:14:04.880 --> 00:14:06.570 built in the Tower of Babel. 00:14:06.760 --> 00:14:09.870 If you remember, early on in Genesis we talked about the Tower of Babel. 00:14:10.280 --> 00:14:13.680 Man said, we're going to build this tower to show how great we are. 00:14:13.680 --> 00:14:14.760 It's going to reach to the heavens. 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:15.920 It's going to be for our glory. 00:14:16.760 --> 00:14:18.960 And that's very much a picture of all religion. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:26.180 All religion is this idea of you availing yourself to the love of God, you doing the work to demonstrate how great you are. 00:14:26.180 --> 00:14:30.080 So God has impressed with you and can't do anything but accept you, right? 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:30.240 He? 00:14:30.260 --> 00:14:32.880 The reason God loves you is you just can't be turned away. 00:14:33.260 --> 00:14:35.700 That's not Christianity at all. 00:14:35.700 --> 00:14:37.960 Christianity is the exact opposite of that. 00:14:38.160 --> 00:14:45.240 That the story is not about us reaching to heaven, but rather heaven reaching down to us that God finds us in our mess, that 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:48.160 God pursues us by his grace and God. 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:54.960 God delivers himself to us, that we may know him, which is a very powerful concept when it comes to Christianity. 00:14:55.060 --> 00:14:58.230 What makes Christianity different than all religions in this world? 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:02.890 That the transcendent God would love you in such an intimate way? 00:15:03.560 --> 00:15:10.580 sometimes we have this erroneous way of thinking about God where, when things might be a little difficult in our life, we might say to ourselves, but I can 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:11.200 handle this. 00:15:11.260 --> 00:15:11.580 I don't want to. 00:15:11.680 --> 00:15:13.320 I don't want a busy guy with my problems. 00:15:13.560 --> 00:15:15.110 He can go handle the bigger problems. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:18.960 And, I'll just take care of me because it looks like I've got this right now. 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:26.020 So let God let God take care of those other problems, and I'll just deal with this myself, as if to think erroneously, that God 00:15:26.020 --> 00:15:27.860 only has a limited amount of power. 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:29.870 And if you use it, it's going to be all used up. 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:30.840 Right? 00:15:30.900 --> 00:15:31.780 And that's not true. 00:15:31.780 --> 00:15:33.990 That's not biblical, and that's not who God is. 00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:35.980 God made you for relationship. 00:15:36.300 --> 00:15:39.420 God made you to know you, to know him. 00:15:39.800 --> 00:15:46.880 It's incredible to think the God who created all things spiritually and physically would be that intimately concerned with 00:15:46.880 --> 00:15:49.220 your well-being, that he would make his presence known. 00:15:50.180 --> 00:15:52.080 And that's exactly what he does with Jacob. 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:52.680 Here. 00:15:52.780 --> 00:15:57.330 You either see the story of this angel's coming and going, and sometimes people get infatuated with the idea of angels. 00:15:57.340 --> 00:16:04.740 In this passage, I want you to know, the point of talking about these angels isn't to fixate on the angels, but to recognize that in the midst of darkness that 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:05.870 God is still active. 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:13.270 Jacob in the midst of darkness, that God desires to make himself known in our faults and our shortcomings, 00:16:13.580 --> 00:16:16.780 that heaven has opened up and God has declared himself. 00:16:16.860 --> 00:16:19.960 God has come near, and I love the way he gets. 00:16:20.100 --> 00:16:22.380 He gets Isaac's attention in the story or not. 00:16:22.400 --> 00:16:23.180 Excuse me not Isaac. 00:16:23.340 --> 00:16:30.240 He gets Jacob's attention in the story because he says in this passage, when he introduces himself, he says, I'm the Lord. 00:16:30.800 --> 00:16:33.000 He says in verse 13, the God of Abraham. 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:34.880 Your father and the God of Isaac. 00:16:36.540 --> 00:16:43.920 Notice he has yet to say, and the God of Jacob, meaning Jacob, hasn't developed that personal relationship with the Lord yet. 00:16:44.140 --> 00:16:46.320 He hasn't truly surrendered his life to Christ. 00:16:46.340 --> 00:16:47.880 He's made life all about himself. 00:16:47.880 --> 00:16:49.240 That's the reason he's been lying. 00:16:49.520 --> 00:16:50.140 He's been deceitful. 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:54.540 He's just there for his own pleasure, being his own God, trying to serve himself. 00:16:55.220 --> 00:16:58.540 But now God is introducing him in the midst of this place of humility. 00:16:59.760 --> 00:17:05.020 And God is telling him, look, I've been walking with your fathers, and here I am, my desire. 00:17:05.020 --> 00:17:10.760 And this night, when you find yourself on a rock at your most vulnerable, my desire is to walk with you. 00:17:10.760 --> 00:17:10.859 And. 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:12.700 And I want you to see what God says to him. 00:17:12.800 --> 00:17:13.150 This is incredible. 00:17:13.520 --> 00:17:20.780 Verse 15 he says, behold, I am with you, and I will 00:17:20.780 --> 00:17:22.710 keep you wherever you go. 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:28.830 And I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:31.960 a couple of things. 00:17:32.040 --> 00:17:35.020 God's in these statements, both the I am and the I will. 00:17:35.020 --> 00:17:40.540 I love this before before Jacob gets to the I wills or the promises of what God wants to do. 00:17:40.980 --> 00:17:43.940 God wants to begin with an act of promise in these moments, right? 00:17:43.940 --> 00:17:45.200 Which is I am. 00:17:46.060 --> 00:17:49.040 I am with you, Jacob. 00:17:49.040 --> 00:17:50.840 You may feel a certain way. 00:17:50.840 --> 00:17:55.580 There might be what we feel, but there's the truth of what God says. 00:17:56.620 --> 00:18:04.120 And it's more important to align your heart with the truth of what God says than how we feel, because our feelings can deceive us. 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:10.980 And so there may be times where we go through these seasons where we might feel a certain way, but God says, says differently. 00:18:11.020 --> 00:18:12.820 Have you ever gone through situations like that? 00:18:12.820 --> 00:18:19.820 Can I just tell you, it's a beautiful opportunity to communicate to the Lord that your love for him and by faith exceeds 00:18:19.820 --> 00:18:21.190 how you feel? 00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:23.300 Feelings are important. 00:18:23.340 --> 00:18:24.180 I don't want to diminish those. 00:18:24.340 --> 00:18:26.760 I hope you have wonderful feelings today, right? 00:18:26.760 --> 00:18:30.020 I hope today is a glorious day where you get to appreciate all kinds of things. 00:18:30.860 --> 00:18:31.400 But. 00:18:31.520 --> 00:18:34.230 But the truth of God is what is always consistent. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:34.900 Feelings. 00:18:35.020 --> 00:18:42.360 Feelings come and go, and anytime our feelings may be lacking or may be in a struggling position, it becomes this beautiful opportunity 00:18:42.360 --> 00:18:49.400 to acknowledge the truth of what God says to demonstrate to God, God, my love for you, my commitment to you far exceeds the 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:52.010 way I feel because my faith is more important. 00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:53.980 And so God is. 00:18:54.060 --> 00:19:01.120 He's giving Jacob these promises to Jacob to be able to trust in this situation, despite his circumstances 00:19:01.120 --> 00:19:02.020 and the way he might feel. 00:19:02.020 --> 00:19:05.200 He says, I am I am actively with you, Jacob. 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:06.320 You are not alone. 00:19:06.320 --> 00:19:07.660 You may feel alone, but you are. 00:19:07.800 --> 00:19:08.460 You are not alone. 00:19:08.460 --> 00:19:09.480 Then he goes to the I wills. 00:19:09.640 --> 00:19:10.760 I will keep you. 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:13.930 Though Jacob, in these moments may feel, he may feel vulnerable. 00:19:14.840 --> 00:19:16.050 He may feel unprotected. 00:19:16.700 --> 00:19:19.260 Being out in these elements as he's making this long journey. 00:19:19.760 --> 00:19:21.860 The reality is that God will be with him. 00:19:21.860 --> 00:19:24.730 He promises to protect him and he says, I will bring you back. 00:19:25.360 --> 00:19:32.680 You think when you when you journey with the Lord and trust in him, we could be people of great anxiety trying to figure out every problem that we need to solve, 00:19:32.780 --> 00:19:33.240 right? 00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:34.370 How do I know I'm going to come back? 00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:34.760 Right? 00:19:34.760 --> 00:19:36.100 How do I know I'm going to be taken care of? 00:19:36.100 --> 00:19:37.800 How do I know that all these things are going to work out? 00:19:38.180 --> 00:19:41.160 And God is saying that that's his promise to Jacob. 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:42.580 I will bring you back, Jacob. 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:44.600 You will not lose your way. 00:19:44.600 --> 00:19:45.470 You're not going to get lost. 00:19:45.520 --> 00:19:46.800 You're going to have your needs met. 00:19:47.080 --> 00:19:49.450 And he says, I will not leave you. 00:19:49.840 --> 00:19:53.350 Not only is he with him now, but he's going to continue to stay with him. 00:19:53.660 --> 00:20:00.300 And every one of these statements, the I am, the I wills, just screams the grace of God into Jacob's life. 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:02.110 See, if we were to start before. 00:20:02.260 --> 00:20:03.820 Before I read to you what God said. 00:20:03.860 --> 00:20:10.900 If I were to say, okay, God is going to appear to Jacob and everything that you've learned about Jacob up until this point, none of 00:20:10.900 --> 00:20:13.480 it's been really spectacular, right? 00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:17.740 He has been a man of shady character, lying and deceitful. 00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:25.230 And if I were to say to you, God's going to come to Jacob and he's going to say something to Jacob, what do you think God would say to Jacob? 00:20:25.940 --> 00:20:29.960 I would think our human tendency would be like, oh, well, God's going to get the hoop and stick out, right? 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:31.900 That's what's going to happen here. 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:34.700 He's going to tell him exactly what he thinks he's going to say, man. 00:20:35.060 --> 00:20:37.080 Man, Jacob, I really loved Abraham. 00:20:37.220 --> 00:20:41.360 He wasn't perfect, but I loved him, I loved Isaac, but you, man, I must have messed up here somewhere. 00:20:41.520 --> 00:20:47.180 Like maybe a comment like that or something along the lines of, I'm giving up now, something like that. 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:48.360 But that's not what he got at all. 00:20:51.120 --> 00:20:54.820 Rather, he got the exact, exact opposite. 00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:01.550 When God speaks, we might expect God to chastise Jacob for his deception wrongdoing. 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:05.410 But what God does is give his grace. 00:21:06.600 --> 00:21:14.000 And what Jacob is learning is that God is the opposite of everything he is experiencing in life, 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:16.280 and even in his own feelings. 00:21:17.620 --> 00:21:26.000 It's incredible when you read in Scripture even how Jesus interacted in the gospels with sinful people, 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:31.680 when you read, it seems like really the crowds that Jesus interacted with, it became very polarizing. 00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:33.040 Sometimes there were the religious. 00:21:33.180 --> 00:21:36.260 Leaders, the elite of society, the ones that people looked up to. 00:21:36.600 --> 00:21:37.630 And then there were the sinful people. 00:21:38.800 --> 00:21:41.900 And Scripture says to us over and over, Jesus was a friend of sinners. 00:21:42.600 --> 00:21:49.340 But then we read passages like Matthew 23 when he comes to religious leaders, that's when he gives the 8 or 7 woes. 00:21:49.340 --> 00:21:56.400 Depends on your theology in that, but he gives the woes to them, the warnings, he tells them they're whitewashed tombs on the outside they may look beautiful, but on the inside they're 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:56.950 dead. 00:21:57.560 --> 00:22:00.210 And the Pharisees hated Jesus because of that. 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:03.470 But when it came to the sinners, Jesus was compassionate. 00:22:03.560 --> 00:22:04.340 Why? 00:22:05.180 --> 00:22:08.970 I can tell you that the difference is, at least for the sinful people. 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:11.130 They knew they were sinful people. 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:16.560 They had the brokenness and the humility of the situations in which they found themselves in life. 00:22:17.120 --> 00:22:23.640 And Scripture says to us over and over again that God works through the humble, that God opposes the proud, the religious elite. 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:27.250 They think they have it all together that are impressing God with who they are. 00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:36.280 But the sinners Jesus came to in the midst of their brokenness and offered grace. 00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:44.660 And this is what you find in the life of Jacob, that God's presence is there, that God is loving him, and 00:22:44.660 --> 00:22:51.230 he's speaking truth into his life, though his circumstances and his feelings may tell him otherwise. 00:22:51.380 --> 00:22:52.490 And the same is true for us. 00:22:53.580 --> 00:23:00.580 Our feelings can often conflict with what God says, especially when we're the ones that 00:23:00.580 --> 00:23:01.240 mess up. 00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:09.640 When you know that the reason you might find yourself in a situation might be because some decisions that you've made or some crowd 00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:16.700 that you've run with, and all of a sudden you find yourself empty and you might think to yourself, well, God, God loves other people, but what 00:23:16.700 --> 00:23:17.260 about me? 00:23:17.300 --> 00:23:20.870 I feel destitute, I'm just metaphorically sleeping on a rock. 00:23:22.080 --> 00:23:22.620 And what do you do? 00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:29.420 The answer is to let the truth of God speak into your life over and above your feelings. 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:36.720 I think the warning in Scripture over and over again is that your feelings are can be misleading. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:43.560 In fact, if I gave us a freshness up just a moment on our Satan theology, which is a you're welcome. 00:23:43.560 --> 00:23:51.180 If this is your first Sunday, I want to talk about Satan for a minute, but I think it's important to know how the enemy works in our lives and 00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:55.490 what he's trying to accomplish in your life versus what God desires to do. 00:23:56.080 --> 00:24:03.260 In Second Corinthians chapter 11, verse 14 very clearly says about Satan, no wonder even Satan disguises himself 00:24:03.260 --> 00:24:04.850 as an angel of light. 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:06.220 you know what? 00:24:06.220 --> 00:24:07.410 Angel of light really represents? 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:10.760 Positive, warm feelings, right? 00:24:10.770 --> 00:24:12.150 That's really what it's like. 00:24:12.520 --> 00:24:15.100 Satan does not show up with pitchfork to scare you away. 00:24:15.320 --> 00:24:17.400 How can he deceive you if he's just scaring you all the time? 00:24:17.420 --> 00:24:19.320 You're not going to listen to that, right? 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:20.660 But here's what he's saying. 00:24:21.080 --> 00:24:27.340 He wants to give the deception of the choices that you're making, being the right choices when they're contrary to the Lord. 00:24:27.400 --> 00:24:34.460 In fact, if you read the whole context of Second Corinthians chapter 11, that's what it's talking about a different message, a different gospel, this angel of light giving the warm fuzzies 00:24:34.460 --> 00:24:35.770 about the trail that you're on. 00:24:36.360 --> 00:24:42.200 So while feelings can be great and you want to have great feelings as you follow the truth, right? 00:24:42.200 --> 00:24:45.940 Feelings can also mislead you and make you feel good about things that are. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:46.500 They're a lie. 00:24:46.600 --> 00:24:52.010 Like, I think when Jacob made the decisions to deceive, he completely felt that this was going to work out to his advantage. 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:54.940 And so feelings can be a lie to us. 00:24:54.980 --> 00:24:58.380 Not only that, in revelation 12 it says, um. 00:24:58.380 --> 00:25:05.680 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, the authority of his Christ, have come. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:11.280 For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 00:25:11.420 --> 00:25:18.640 Now, I'm not going to give the whole theological context of this verse, but I do want you to just the last half of that verse, it's really giving you a picture into 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:22.570 the demeanor and the purposes of Satan, and it gives them a title. 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:25.720 It refers to him as the accuser of the brethren day and night. 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:27.120 He's accusing you. 00:25:27.340 --> 00:25:29.870 And the question would be, what is he accusing you of? 00:25:30.620 --> 00:25:37.490 And because he's relentless in this right day and night, but what he loves to do is to throw your past on you. 00:25:38.360 --> 00:25:45.720 When you've messed up the feelings of shame and worthlessness, all the brokenness that you might have in your life, the 00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:49.280 reasons that you might give an excuse of why God may not love you right? 00:25:49.740 --> 00:25:51.430 That's what he loves to do. 00:25:51.840 --> 00:25:58.190 Because if he can get you stuck in your past, he knows he's going to keep you from appreciating the presence of what you have in the Lord. 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:06.580 And so one of those two ways this is these aren't the only ways, but these are some of the ways that acknowledges that he moves in our life, 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:07.040 right? 00:26:07.040 --> 00:26:14.040 He wants you to feel like, the decisions you're making for you, isolated from God, is the truth that you should follow, which is no truth 00:26:14.040 --> 00:26:14.360 at all. 00:26:14.360 --> 00:26:18.320 And it is not freedom. 00:26:18.320 --> 00:26:22.440 And then the other side of this is this idea of this accusing you in your life of the brokenness that you have and the things that you've done wrong. 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:25.640 Just like Jacob sleeping on this rock, he finds himself in this position. 00:26:25.720 --> 00:26:28.800 He's probably replaying all the poor decisions that he's made in his life. 00:26:29.640 --> 00:26:32.250 But I can tell you, this is exactly why the Lord came. 00:26:32.860 --> 00:26:35.420 This is exactly why the Lord's coming into Jacob's life right now. 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:35.600 This is. 00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:37.760 This is what is grace ministers to us. 00:26:37.760 --> 00:26:44.400 This is why God, rather than chastising Jacob, offers to him the opportunity of hope in knowing him and walking with him. 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:46.280 He's saying, Jacob, look, I was the God of Abraham. 00:26:46.280 --> 00:26:47.180 I was the God of Isaac. 00:26:47.180 --> 00:26:48.500 They were broken too. 00:26:48.620 --> 00:26:50.900 But I want to be your God. 00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:53.400 It's the it's the truthfulness of who God is. 00:26:53.840 --> 00:26:58.810 Jesus died on the cross for your sins, for your sin, to carry your guilt and shame. 00:26:59.080 --> 00:27:02.910 So if you carry that around, you're doing something Jesus has already taken on your behalf. 00:27:03.640 --> 00:27:06.500 Why in the world would you listen to the enemy trying to throw that back upon you? 00:27:06.500 --> 00:27:10.910 When Jesus wants you to enjoy the presence of God walking with you right now? 00:27:11.700 --> 00:27:15.100 In fact, Second Peter five eight says this be sober minded, be watchful. 00:27:15.120 --> 00:27:18.820 Your adversary the devil prowls around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. 00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:22.280 I mean, his whole goal in your life is to destroy you. 00:27:22.840 --> 00:27:29.940 In fact, even this week, if you're doing our yearly Bible reading, reading through the New Testament and Mark chapter five is where we were this week 00:27:29.940 --> 00:27:35.540 on Friday, I think we read the story about Mark five, which is the man who is demon possessed and not just by one demon. 00:27:35.540 --> 00:27:38.180 He's possessed by Legion, which is like thousands of demons. 00:27:38.180 --> 00:27:40.190 He's really possessed. 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:42.700 And you know what's interesting in that story? 00:27:42.700 --> 00:27:46.040 And I don't want to get us too freaked out here, but I'm going to. 00:27:46.540 --> 00:27:48.060 I'm going to share something, and then I'm going to tell you why. 00:27:48.220 --> 00:27:50.560 I don't want you going around freaking people out of this. 00:27:50.560 --> 00:27:51.540 Okay. 00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:59.580 when you read about demon possession in the in the gospels, when Jesus interacts with people who are demon possessed, there tends to be 00:27:59.580 --> 00:28:05.310 one of two, one of two things that is almost always there and sometimes both of those things. 00:28:06.020 --> 00:28:08.990 You see one of those things with this demon possessed man. 00:28:09.260 --> 00:28:12.380 If you remember the story this guy's demon possessed, Jesus calls out the demons. 00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:17.440 The demons go into pigs, and the pigs just destroy themselves. 00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:18.340 They jump off a cliff. 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:19.140 Right? 00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:20.280 And it's really profound. 00:28:20.280 --> 00:28:25.360 You think, man, this demon is tormenting this guy, or these demons are tormenting this guy. 00:28:25.900 --> 00:28:32.940 But when it's removed from an image bearer of a human being, the image bearer of God, and it's placed on an animal, the animal just instantly goes mad 00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:33.880 and kills itself. 00:28:35.760 --> 00:28:41.150 But when you read the story about this individual, what's happening in his life is that he is he's harming himself. 00:28:41.780 --> 00:28:45.200 I mean, he talks about he is physically harming himself in the story. 00:28:46.040 --> 00:28:51.720 And when you read about demon possession in the Gospels, when Jesus interacts with them, one of two things is always present. 00:28:51.740 --> 00:28:52.980 Sometimes both. 00:28:53.040 --> 00:28:57.020 They're hurting themselves and their sexual perversion. 00:28:57.580 --> 00:29:04.700 Nudity, meaning the what's happening when the demon is present is they're diminishing the image 00:29:04.700 --> 00:29:05.900 of God in a person. 00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:10.350 They're literally destroying the image that God has placed on them. 00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:11.900 That's how Satan works. 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:19.820 Now, the reason I told you I want I don't want to just get flippant about saying those things is I don't want you to go around anytime you see someone harming 00:29:19.820 --> 00:29:25.360 or, some sort of sexual perversion immediately pronounced, they're demon possessed like that. 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:29.360 That's not going to go well for that's not that's not what I'm trying to tell you at all. 00:29:29.620 --> 00:29:36.820 But what I, what I am saying is the mark of the enemy is there anytime time we're devaluing the image of God in another 00:29:36.820 --> 00:29:39.590 human being, the mark of the enemy is there. 00:29:40.060 --> 00:29:41.790 That is not the truthfulness of the Lord. 00:29:42.920 --> 00:29:50.140 The truthfulness of the Lord is what possesses his presence, his power, his 00:29:50.140 --> 00:29:51.460 purpose for your life. 00:29:52.380 --> 00:29:56.400 And that is what God calls us to follow over and above our feelings. 00:29:56.440 --> 00:30:01.340 Feelings come and go, but the truthfulness of God's Word is what sets us free. 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:04.940 So when we're lost, what do we do? 00:30:04.940 --> 00:30:07.100 Number one, we we're sincere about our position. 00:30:08.280 --> 00:30:12.000 number two, we cling to God's Word. 00:30:12.740 --> 00:30:19.740 And even for us in that struggle, it's important to know what God says about us and what God says to us, that he desires 00:30:19.740 --> 00:30:23.110 to want to relate with us, to enter into our suffering. 00:30:23.300 --> 00:30:26.080 I mean, this is exactly what Jesus did for you and for me, right? 00:30:26.100 --> 00:30:29.780 He went into exile for us so that we could know him. 00:30:29.800 --> 00:30:30.200 He went. 00:30:30.320 --> 00:30:33.560 He went to the grave and was resurrected to bring us freedom. 00:30:33.560 --> 00:30:40.740 God cares about us in fact, Psalm 103, verse 11, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his 00:30:40.740 --> 00:30:43.390 steadfast love toward those who fear him. 00:30:43.600 --> 00:30:50.600 As far as the east is from the West so far does he remove our transgressions from us, as a father shows compassion to 00:30:50.600 --> 00:30:51.510 his children. 00:30:51.760 --> 00:30:51.840 So? 00:30:52.040 --> 00:30:55.190 So the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 00:30:55.840 --> 00:31:03.290 So then, because of that, it gives us the opportunity then to take number three, which is take a step of faith, no matter how small. 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:07.730 Take a step of faith, no matter how small. 00:31:08.600 --> 00:31:15.780 And when you start to see the goodness of who God is, his grace in your life, no matter if you're the one to blame or not, 00:31:16.740 --> 00:31:19.910 it gives you the opportunity to start to move in that. 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:22.800 I once heard a pastor say it like this. 00:31:22.860 --> 00:31:26.030 Some days you just feel like you're charging hell with a squirt gun. 00:31:26.820 --> 00:31:31.870 Meaning, sometimes just taking a little step feels like a great leap. 00:31:31.960 --> 00:31:37.240 And honestly, if that's where you're at, then that's pleasing to the Lord. 00:31:38.120 --> 00:31:41.970 Take a step of faith, no matter how small. 00:31:42.320 --> 00:31:50.540 And each day that you take that step, one day when you look back, you'll realize you've traveled miles and following after faithfulness faithfully 00:31:50.540 --> 00:31:51.660 in the Lord. 00:31:51.740 --> 00:31:57.740 It's like when a when a child learns to walk for the first time, you don't just sort of toss them out and they just take off running, right. 00:31:57.800 --> 00:32:02.650 They learn to pull themselves up, they learn to crawl, and they learn to just wobble with their big old heads. 00:32:02.820 --> 00:32:04.950 And eventually they get to the place where they run. 00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:07.450 And it's the same thing in our relationship with the Lord. 00:32:07.860 --> 00:32:12.310 For Jacob, he's just really personally starting to know who God is and for him. 00:32:12.600 --> 00:32:16.940 He starts to take those steps and you see how that unfolds in the story. 00:32:16.940 --> 00:32:24.020 And it goes on in verse 16 it says, Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, surely the Lord is in this 00:32:24.020 --> 00:32:24.420 place. 00:32:25.040 --> 00:32:26.250 And I did not know it. 00:32:26.560 --> 00:32:29.880 And he was afraid, and said, how awesome is this place? 00:32:30.180 --> 00:32:34.580 This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 00:32:35.380 --> 00:32:37.820 I want you to see what's happening now in Jacob's life. 00:32:37.960 --> 00:32:41.100 First, he was focused on everything that he wanted selfishly, right? 00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:43.780 And as he tried to live for his own glory, he found his own demise. 00:32:44.560 --> 00:32:45.840 But he's still very self-focused. 00:32:46.140 --> 00:32:47.720 He's on that rock thinking, woe is me. 00:32:47.720 --> 00:32:48.940 It's still all about him. 00:32:49.600 --> 00:32:52.820 But then all of a sudden, God opens his eyes to something greater than himself. 00:32:53.380 --> 00:33:00.640 God opens his eyes to the to the greatness of who he is now for the first time, rather than thinking selfishly, Jacob is thinking selflessly, and he describes it 00:33:00.640 --> 00:33:01.980 in verse 17. 00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:03.040 He says, I was afraid. 00:33:03.040 --> 00:33:05.250 You see this fear of the Lord, this awesomeness. 00:33:05.580 --> 00:33:09.000 He sees the greatness of God in the midst of his, of his promises. 00:33:09.280 --> 00:33:15.500 What I mean is the transcendence of this glorious God, and yet the imminent intimacy that God wants to bring into his life. 00:33:15.560 --> 00:33:17.300 And it is overwhelming for him. 00:33:17.400 --> 00:33:22.450 It finally gets him to think beyond who he is and look to how great God is. 00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:27.860 I mean, this becomes the solution to his problems, this reverence for the Lord. 00:33:27.860 --> 00:33:35.040 And then verse 18, it goes on, it says, so early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set 00:33:35.040 --> 00:33:37.600 it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:39.050 And he called the name of the place Bethel. 00:33:40.060 --> 00:33:42.750 But the name of the city was Luz at the first. 00:33:43.180 --> 00:33:47.080 So he finally learned that the area that he was living in before it was unremarkable. 00:33:47.080 --> 00:33:47.910 No one really cared. 00:33:48.100 --> 00:33:55.180 But this place still is so unremarkable that when he goes to change the name of the town, there's not like a talk to the to the local mayor first. 00:33:55.220 --> 00:33:57.080 No one cares like no one lives here. 00:33:57.140 --> 00:33:58.480 So you can call it whatever you want, right? 00:33:58.480 --> 00:33:58.620 So. 00:33:58.860 --> 00:34:01.180 So it goes from Luz to Bethel. 00:34:01.760 --> 00:34:08.199 But he's acknowledging this desire to want to connect to God because he's seeing the goodness of who the Lord is. 00:34:08.219 --> 00:34:15.520 And so for the first time, Jacob's really he's entering into worship of this God, just showing the display of God's 00:34:15.520 --> 00:34:19.260 worth and his connection to the worth of who God is. 00:34:19.820 --> 00:34:21.179 And so he worships here. 00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:26.400 He calls this place Bethel, which is the house of God, the place where God dwells. 00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:34.900 And then in verse 20, he goes on, it says, Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and 00:34:34.900 --> 00:34:42.239 will keep me in this way, that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's 00:34:42.239 --> 00:34:43.030 house in peace. 00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:46.000 Then the Lord shall be my God. 00:34:46.120 --> 00:34:50.630 And this stone which I have set up for a pillar shall be God's house. 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:55.340 And of all that you give me, I will give a 10th to you. 00:34:56.060 --> 00:35:01.620 I want you to see in this story exactly how Jacob steps, right? 00:35:01.680 --> 00:35:05.660 He hears God's promises and he starts to move forward. 00:35:05.660 --> 00:35:08.550 But notice the caveat that he puts in this statement. 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:16.580 He says, if right, God, if this is truly who you are, I'm willing to follow 00:35:16.580 --> 00:35:19.380 this at this point, he has nothing really else to follow. 00:35:19.380 --> 00:35:20.520 He's all alone. 00:35:21.240 --> 00:35:24.000 But what he's saying is, God, I want to go on this journey. 00:35:25.020 --> 00:35:30.040 But Lord, I want to experientially discover the truth of what you're saying, right? 00:35:30.040 --> 00:35:36.700 That God, if you are this God and I'm taking these steps and it will be it will be determined, it will be displayed if that is truly who you are. 00:35:37.220 --> 00:35:38.770 But God, I'm willing to follow. 00:35:40.280 --> 00:35:47.460 Can I can I tell you for us this morning, you may find yourself in a similar place where you 00:35:47.460 --> 00:35:54.700 know where you've been just hasn't worked, and you realize that deep in your soul there's this longing for more. 00:35:55.860 --> 00:35:58.450 And so you're willing to put yourself out there. 00:35:59.300 --> 00:36:01.620 You're willing to say, Lord, what is it? 00:36:01.660 --> 00:36:03.220 What is it that you've called me to? 00:36:03.220 --> 00:36:03.620 What is it? 00:36:03.620 --> 00:36:04.540 You've created me. 00:36:04.540 --> 00:36:06.970 Before to trust in him. 00:36:07.180 --> 00:36:08.620 Can I, can I tell you? 00:36:09.300 --> 00:36:12.820 For all of us, we're always on that journey. 00:36:13.500 --> 00:36:14.720 We'll spend the rest of. 00:36:14.840 --> 00:36:17.540 Of eternity discovering the depths of who God is. 00:36:17.540 --> 00:36:23.190 He is that deep, but yet experiencing the goodness of who God is because he desires to make himself known. 00:36:24.060 --> 00:36:26.160 I mean, it's incredible, right? 00:36:26.180 --> 00:36:29.400 But I think for all of us, the most important question we can answer. 00:36:30.360 --> 00:36:31.040 Who is Jesus? 00:36:32.840 --> 00:36:34.260 Who is Jesus? 00:36:35.380 --> 00:36:42.660 When we discover the truthfulness of who he is, and we let the Word of God speak to us according to who he is, we let Jesus speak for himself rather 00:36:42.660 --> 00:36:44.780 than someone else trying to tell me. 00:36:45.120 --> 00:36:46.430 And I start to own that. 00:36:47.800 --> 00:36:53.240 And I'll walk in that, and I get to experience the freedom of who the Lord is. 00:36:54.380 --> 00:37:02.660 You know, it's interesting when you study the life of Jacob, there are two times in his, I'll say, journey with the Lord, that 00:37:02.660 --> 00:37:04.120 he finds himself alone. 00:37:04.880 --> 00:37:10.340 Two times we're going to encounter in Jacob and Jacob's story, where he's on a journey and he finds himself destitute. 00:37:10.360 --> 00:37:11.390 He really finds himself broken. 00:37:11.500 --> 00:37:13.040 He finds himself alone. 00:37:13.900 --> 00:37:21.160 But can I tell you what we discover in Jacob's life is that in those two journeys, that those are the places that God spoke 00:37:21.160 --> 00:37:28.220 to him most deeply, that his relationship with the Lord took the greatest of leaps and the darkest of moments in his 00:37:28.220 --> 00:37:28.870 life. 00:37:30.660 --> 00:37:32.340 Can I tell you it's the same for us. 00:37:33.880 --> 00:37:36.090 And there are times in our lives where we struggle. 00:37:36.140 --> 00:37:42.200 I mean, we get on our knees just crying out, and in the moment we can't see the beauty of what God's doing. 00:37:43.120 --> 00:37:48.280 But when we start to get removed from that situation, we're able to look back from a different lens. 00:37:49.300 --> 00:37:51.120 We see God's hand all over it. 00:37:51.900 --> 00:37:59.260 But yeah, we necessarily we don't necessarily want to go through that situation again, but what we discover is the goodness of God through it. 00:37:59.980 --> 00:38:07.240 I can tell you in my own life, if I wish, I could look back and say my greatest spiritual peaks, when was when life was perfect 00:38:07.240 --> 00:38:12.710 and therefore my prayer all the time is, Lord, continue to make my life the best life ever. 00:38:12.900 --> 00:38:14.840 Like that's. 00:38:15.060 --> 00:38:22.120 But rather it was in the brokenness of where I find myself that the Lord used that to nurture my spirit before 00:38:22.120 --> 00:38:22.500 him. 00:38:23.620 --> 00:38:24.750 that God grew me. 00:38:25.500 --> 00:38:27.140 And this is what we discover in Jacob's life. 00:38:27.140 --> 00:38:29.340 So here's what's important for us then. 00:38:29.880 --> 00:38:37.080 maybe when you look at this morning and you see this story, you may say to yourself, this is great for Jacob, I'm glad to read this story, and I'm glad this happened 00:38:37.080 --> 00:38:37.800 for Jacob. 00:38:38.480 --> 00:38:41.910 But how do I really know that this is my story? 00:38:42.980 --> 00:38:50.060 How do I really know that this story was intended for me, and that this is what God desires to also relate to my life? 00:38:50.060 --> 00:38:54.580 How do I how do I know that this isn't just some kind of one off narrative that God did for Jacob, right? 00:38:54.680 --> 00:39:01.740 Well, this is why I say the rest of the Bible becomes relevant to communicate that, because in the Gospels, in John chapter one, this is the story 00:39:01.740 --> 00:39:06.220 where we read about Jesus gathering his disciples for the first time. 00:39:07.160 --> 00:39:13.340 And in John chapter one, verse 45, Jesus is already interacted with a man named Philip. 00:39:14.020 --> 00:39:21.120 And you immediately see verse 45, what Philip does, it says, Philip went and found Nathanael and said to him, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and 00:39:21.120 --> 00:39:24.850 all the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 00:39:25.560 --> 00:39:30.690 So Philip, when he meets who he thinks is the Messiah, his immediate response is he wants to tell his friends and family. 00:39:31.320 --> 00:39:37.730 And so he immediately goes out and finds Nathanael, and he begins to tell him this, what he believes is this life changing story. 00:39:37.760 --> 00:39:43.170 And then verse 46, Nathanael said to him, can anything good come out of Nazareth? 00:39:43.800 --> 00:39:45.090 And Philip just said, come see. 00:39:45.540 --> 00:39:50.800 This is like I try to relate this today and say like, it's like us asking the question, does anything great really come out of dushane? 00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:51.300 Right? 00:39:51.300 --> 00:39:54.860 Like that's a kind of a unique town, right? 00:39:54.860 --> 00:39:56.360 Like most people don't even know how to pronounce Dushane. 00:39:56.720 --> 00:39:57.920 It's plainly Duchesne, right? 00:39:57.960 --> 00:39:59.020 This is not not even. 00:39:59.020 --> 00:40:00.000 They need some help there. 00:40:00.680 --> 00:40:01.660 That's what he's saying here. 00:40:01.680 --> 00:40:02.170 He's looking out. 00:40:02.340 --> 00:40:06.850 He's looking at this little, little town, Nazareth, and he's thinking, what is God going to do with a town like that? 00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:11.580 And Philip or Nathaniel goes and he and he goes, he walks with Philip to go see. 00:40:11.780 --> 00:40:14.280 And I don't think it's necessarily because he believes what Philip is saying. 00:40:14.520 --> 00:40:21.170 I think it's more because he's built the time for that friendship to just give, give Philip a little bit of a trust to at least support his friend. 00:40:21.540 --> 00:40:28.560 And then verse 47, Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said to him, behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit. 00:40:29.860 --> 00:40:36.880 what Jesus immediately does is give this gives this pronouncement of Nathaniel, that really shocks him, something very 00:40:36.880 --> 00:40:38.700 intimate, detailed about him. 00:40:38.860 --> 00:40:43.040 And because of that, Nathaniel immediately has a question like, why in the world would you how would you do this? 00:40:43.040 --> 00:40:43.740 Why would you do that? 00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:46.930 He says in verse 48, Nathaniel said to him, how do you know me? 00:40:47.220 --> 00:40:55.670 And Jesus answered him, look at this before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. 00:40:57.480 --> 00:41:00.340 Jesus is revealing something very private and personal here. 00:41:01.520 --> 00:41:03.610 I'm just like Jacob thought he was all alone. 00:41:04.720 --> 00:41:07.690 It now connects the story of Jacob to the story of Nathaniel. 00:41:08.740 --> 00:41:13.070 And you know, the Bible doesn't tell us the exact reason Nathaniel went off by himself. 00:41:13.560 --> 00:41:20.610 But I just knowing human nature, the tendency in our lives when we feel led to go somewhere isolated by ourselves, 00:41:21.180 --> 00:41:24.550 it's typically because there's not a lot of great things happening at the moment. 00:41:25.360 --> 00:41:28.310 And there's been some bad news, something difficult that we're going through. 00:41:28.400 --> 00:41:30.300 Our minds are just trying to wrap around it. 00:41:30.300 --> 00:41:33.320 We need to meditate, pray, get away. 00:41:33.480 --> 00:41:40.500 And whatever's happening in Theo's life has led him to that place where he is on his own, and he feels like 00:41:40.500 --> 00:41:41.800 he's sleeping on a rock. 00:41:43.280 --> 00:41:44.340 And what does God say to him? 00:41:46.020 --> 00:41:46.960 I was right there. 00:41:48.780 --> 00:41:52.580 I was right there to the point where when? 00:41:52.700 --> 00:41:59.040 When Jesus says this, Nathaniel goes on in verse 49, Nathaniel said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel. 00:41:59.140 --> 00:42:02.450 And look how Jesus responds, guys, because this becomes important for all of us. 00:42:02.600 --> 00:42:07.600 Verse 50, Jesus answered, because I said to you, I saw you under a fig tree. 00:42:07.600 --> 00:42:11.320 Do you believe you will see greater things than these? 00:42:11.800 --> 00:42:15.040 And he said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, which means, like, listen to this. 00:42:15.060 --> 00:42:16.270 This is what Jesus truly, truly means. 00:42:16.560 --> 00:42:18.100 You need to really pay attention to this. 00:42:18.180 --> 00:42:24.200 I say to you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. 00:42:25.540 --> 00:42:26.450 What is Jesus describing? 00:42:28.460 --> 00:42:30.480 Jacob's ladder? 00:42:30.860 --> 00:42:36.040 Well, Jesus is saying, is Nathaniel the same God that was there with Jacob? 00:42:37.540 --> 00:42:39.700 Is the same God who is there with you right now. 00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:40.700 But here's what's interesting. 00:42:40.700 --> 00:42:42.020 There's a little bit of change to the story. 00:42:43.360 --> 00:42:50.440 In the time with Jacob, the angels descended and ascended upon Jacob, but now, in the time of Jesus, the 00:42:50.440 --> 00:42:52.990 angels are ascending and descending on Jesus. 00:42:54.460 --> 00:43:01.700 And there's a reason for that, because when we read the story in Genesis 28, what we saw is the promise that God gave Jacob that I promised 00:43:01.700 --> 00:43:05.400 through Abraham that would come a seed, and through that seed I would bless all people groups. 00:43:06.460 --> 00:43:07.960 And that promise was given to Isaac. 00:43:08.180 --> 00:43:11.860 And now Jacob, I'm going to bring that promise to you, and that promise is going to be passed on to Judah. 00:43:12.160 --> 00:43:15.120 And through that, the lineage of Judah, it's going to go to David through King David. 00:43:15.180 --> 00:43:16.700 Ultimately, the Messiah will come. 00:43:17.580 --> 00:43:24.150 And now all of a sudden, what we're seeing in the story with Nathaniel is the fulfillment of that story is that the Messiah has finally come. 00:43:24.940 --> 00:43:31.740 And the reason for the presence of the Messiah coming is not just for Jacob and Nathaniel, but for all of us. 00:43:32.700 --> 00:43:39.760 And so what God is ultimately doing is tying his grand redemptive story in all of Scripture, so that we can see the same way that God worked in the Old 00:43:39.760 --> 00:43:42.080 Testament is the same way God works in the New Testament. 00:43:42.160 --> 00:43:44.640 Ultimately, the way that God desires to work in your life right now. 00:43:47.680 --> 00:43:52.210 But the God who is willing to meet Jacob in the middle of nowhere. 00:43:53.560 --> 00:43:59.740 Broken and sleeping on a rock, is the same God who desires to meet with his people today. 00:44:01.380 --> 00:44:02.980 God is near the broken hearted. 00:44:04.520 --> 00:44:11.700 God's desire for you is that his truth would fill your life, that you would take a step in the goodness of who he is, no matter how 00:44:11.700 --> 00:44:12.860 big it is. 00:44:12.860 --> 00:44:16.860 We're not here to impress God, but to be impressed by the Lord. 00:44:17.220 --> 00:44:19.880 And with that, God transforms us. 00:44:20.960 --> 00:44:25.440 It's when our eyes get on the greatness of who he is that leads us into the beauty of worship. 00:44:26.260 --> 00:44:28.300 Trusting in the one who supplies.