DON’T SETTLE
There is a way to set yourself up so you never have to
settle for less than
The best God has for you. Let me give you seven rules
OBEDIENCE
Genesis 28:6-7
6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and
had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed
him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman," 7 and that
Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram
DEVOTION
Genesis 28:20-22
Then Jacob made
a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this
journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that
I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God 22 and this
stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you
give me I will give you a tenth."
What we notice in this text is that Abraham was
obedient to God
It is obvious that he trained his son to be obedient.
The love of God was passed on to Isaac and Jacob
Our devotion to God affect generations of children
LET GOD LEAD
Genesis 29:5-6
5 He said to them, "Do you know Laban, Nahor's
grandson?"
"Yes, we know him," they answered.
6 Then Jacob asked them, "Is he well?"
"Yes, he is," they said, "and here
comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep."
Genesis 29:9-12
9 While he was still talking with them, Rachel came
with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel
daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went over and
rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep.
11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud.
ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT
Genesis 29:16-18
Now Laban had
two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was
Rachel. 17 Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. 18
Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in
return for your younger daughter Rachel."
NIV
SERVE WITH GLADNESS
Genesis 29:19-21
19 Laban said, "It's better that I give her to
you than to some other man. Stay here with me." 20 So Jacob served seven
years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his
love for her.
TRUST GOD IN YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES
Genesis 29:21-26
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife. My
time is completed, and I want to lie with her."
22 So Laban brought together all the people of the
place and gave a feast. 23 But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and
gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. 24 And Laban gave his servant girl
Zilpah to his daughter as her maidservant.
25 When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to
Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't
I? Why have you deceived me?"
Life has unexpected twists and turns. It is not uncommon to be lied to and
deceived.
We must remember that when we incur set backs, that
God is still with us.
DON’T SETTLE
Genesis 29:28-31
28 And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah,
and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 Laban gave his
servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant. 30 Jacob lay
with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban for
another seven years.
Life is never a bed of roses.
Serving the Lord does not exclude you from trials and
tribulations
Sometimes we reap what we have sowed in the past
Jacob tricked his father into believing he was Esau.
He gained Essau's blessing
Of the firstborn of family.
His uncle Laban tricked Jacob into believing Leah was
Racheal on the wedding night
It eventually cost him an additional 13 years to get
back to his home in Beersheba
The setbacks and disappointments in life cause you to
work harder and work smarter.
Setbacks are an open door to understand that everybody
your kin may not be
Your kind.
Setbacks teach you to rely on and trust God
When Jacob left his uncle, he had become rich in
family and possessions.
He had two wives and two maidens to deal with plus
baby momma drama
Know that God has a divine plan for your life
Your troubles are part of God’s divine plan
Jacob returned to Beersheba with his sons and a
daughter by four women after being away 20 years.
The twelve sons became the 12 tribes of Israel who
fulfilled the promise God made To Abraham
When you are devoted to God, you don’t have to settle
In Summary, a life that does not settle
for anything but the best is based on the following:
Obedience to your parents
Devotion to God
Serving God with gladness
Ask God for what you want
Trusting the Lord in all circumstances
Considering trials as strengthening
exercises from
the Lord
Romans 8:37-39
No, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am
convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the
present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jacob’s faithfulness was the start of the Nation of
Israel grew to
2 million people in slavery in Egypt.
The Israelites once freed, couldn’t see the promised
land for complaining in the desert.
They couldn’t see the freedom in the Lord. They
settled for slavery
DON’T SETTLE FOR SLAVERY IN THE WORLD,
SETTLE FOR VICTORY IN THE LORD.
When you serve the Lord, you don’t have to settle.
Don’t have to settle with sadness when Jesus gives us
Joy
Don’t have to settle for frustration when Jesus gives
us peace
Don’t have to settle for failure when Jesus is our
victory
Don’t have to settle for family problems when Jesus is
our mediator
Don’t have to settle for weakness when Jesus is our
strength
Don’t have to settle for an old house when Jesus has
prepared a mansion in heaven
Don’t have to settle for poverty, when Jesus owns all
the riches of the world
Don’t have to settle for a little when we have the
fulness of the Lord
Don’t have settle for mediocrity when we have the best
in Jesus
Don’t have to settle for lies and deception when Jesus
is the truth.
IN THE LORD, SETTLE FOR THE BEST
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