FINDING YOURSELF IN
THE LORD
Genesis 28:10-22
LEAVING HOME, A FRESH START
V:10. " Then Jacob departed from Beersheba Haran
A. There is a time
for a man to leave the home of his mother and father.
1. It is a good
thing to seek the wisdom of our parents before we leave.
2. Parents have
traveled the road that is in front of us.
a. They know
from experience what to look for in life.
b. It is good
for a son or daughter to experience the pit falls and the joys of being
on their own.
3. Jacob took the
advice of his mother and his father.
a. He followed
the wisdom of his mother and his father before traveling to the
place of his new
start.
B. It is not good for grown siblings to live with
their parents.
1. Sibling
rivals can develop and parents may show favoritism.
2. Esau was
favored by his father (Isaac) because he was the oldest son.
3. Jacob was
favored by his mother ( Rebekah) because he was the obedient son.
4. When Isaac
was near death, he wanted to bless Esau to carry on the family
name.
a. Esau had
married outside of the Jewish family and brought displeasure to
Isaac
and Rebekah.
5. At his
mother's advice, Jacob tricked his blind father into believing he was Esau.
a. Isaac gave
the blessing that was Esau's birth right to Jacob.
b. Jacob's
deception produced hostility with his brother.
c. For this
reason, Jacob was sent away to find a Jewish wife.
V:11. " He came
to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he
took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in
that place."
A. The journey to
independence has stages.
1. There is the
stage of breaking away from the family structure.
a. This is
the stage of learning to live without the protective arm of a mother and
father.
b. This is
the stage of learning to feel comfortable with yourself.
c. This is
the stage of learning to do for yourself.
d. This the
stage of spending sometime with yourself in the day and in the night.
B. There is a time
to find a place for yourself.
1. This is the
time to make a bed to lay your head.
2. This is the
time to learn to make do with what you got.
a. Jacob
had no bed.
b. Jacob
made the ground his bed and rocks his pillow to rest his head.
c. Jacob
made the stars in the sky the roof over him.
d. Jacob
made the atmosphere around him the walls of his room.
JACOB'S DREAM
V:12. " He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on
the earth with its top reaching
to heaven; and behold,
the angels of God were ascending and descending on it."
A. When you find
peace with yourself, God can begin to give you the vision of
Himself.
1. Peaceful rest
in the Lord sometimes gives way to the dreams of the Lord.
2. Once Jacob
fell asleep, he had a dream which gave him a vision of the Lord.
B. Jacob had a vision
of the Lord at the top of a ladder that extended into heaven.
1. Jacob saw the
Lord high and himself low.
2. God sits high
and looks low.
a. God is
higher than the heavens and we are lower than dirt.
b. Seeing the
Lord high and lifted up keeps us humble in His presence.
C. God opens the door
of communication with us.
1. He can use his
angels to give us a message.
a. The word "angel"
in this text is a translation from a the Hebrew word malak
which
means messenger or ambassador.
2. God can and
does use His pastors, ministers and teachers to give us a word.
3. God uses his printed Word to give us a
message from Him.
D. The doors of
communication to God in heaven are always open to us.
1. The
prayers of man go up to God in heaven and His blessings flow down to us.
2. Jesus our Lord
and Savior is the stairway to heaven for us.
V:13. " And
behold, the Lord stood above it and said, "I am the Lord, the God of your
father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it
to you and to your descendants."
A. This time of
breaking away from our mother and father is the time to find the Lord
for ourselves.
1. We have to
learn to seek the Lord.
2. We have to
learn to hear the Lord.
3. We have to
learn to trust the Lord.
B. The time of
breaking away from our parents is the time to make the God of our
parents, the God
we trust.
1. We have to make
the Lord our God.
2. We have to search
the Word and to find God's promises for ourselves.
C. God had a word for
our parents and He has a word just for us.
1. God has been
God all the time. He is the "I Am God".
2. There is no
time when He was not the God of our fore parents.
3. The same
promises that God made to our parents are the promises He makes to
us.
D. God has a plan for
our lives and we must seek His will to discover His plan for us.
1. The promise
land was given to Jacob and his descendants.
a. God
confirmed the promise He made to Abraham and his descendants.
b. God's
promise to Abraham is an everlasting promise of blessings to all
generation.
c. We receive
the blessings of this promise through our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.
2. We must search
the Word for ourselves to discover the promises God has made to
us.
V:14. "Your descendants will also be like the
dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to
the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the
families of the earth be blessed."
A. God's promises to
us are not just for us.
1. God blesses us
so we can be the bearers of the good news of His blessings and
promises to
all our families and to those who will be our descendants.
2. It is God's
intent that we spread His Word to the ends of the earth.
a. We should
take God's Word in our hearts and proclaim it where we go.
b. We should
walk by faith leaning on His Word.
C. We have no idea
how many people we will bless by living a life for God.
1. Our life with
God starts with taking the Word of the Lord to heart and applying it
to ourselves.
2. People around
us start getting blessed, when we start living for God.
V:15. "Behold, I am with you and will keep you
wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you
until I have done what I have promised you."
A. One of the first
truths about God that we must learn is that He is always with us.
1. Another truth
we must learn about God is we can't get out of His sight.
2. Another truth
about God that we must learn is that He will protect and provide for
us.
3. God is
interested in the specific details of our lives.
B. God has places
that He wants us to go.
1. He will direct
us to places of opportunity to prepare us to inherit His promises.
2. Jacob was
directed through the promised land in preparation for the blessings of
the promise.
3. God let Jacob
see the blessing before He allowed him to possess it.
4. God gives us
dreams to work toward.
C. Whatever promises
God made to us, He will keep.
1. Notice He
says, I will not leave you until My promises to you are completed.
2. This means
that God is with us until we die.
D. God chose us for
the work of fulfilling His promises for generations to come.
1. We are the
vessels that God uses to proclaim the hope in Jesus Christ, the
promised seed.
2. We exist for
the purpose of giving God glory.
JACOB'S INSPIRATION
V:16. " Then
Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place,
and I did not know it."
A. Another truth we
should know about the Lord is where ever we are the Lord Is.
1. Even when we
did not know God, He was our God.
2. Even when we
did not know God, He was working on our behalf.
B. It is God that puts us to sleep and it is God
that awakens us.
1. Our sleep time
is the time when God refreshes us and renews our hope.
2. God can give
us clear visions of Himself and his plans in our sleep.
3. It is
important to go to bed with the Lord on your mind.
C. It is important
for us to come to the knowledge that every place belongs to the
Lord.
1. When we show up
with our minds on the Lord, He shows up with us.
2.
There is a time when we must confess that the Lord is our God.
V:17. " He was afraid and said, "How awesome is
this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of
heaven."
A. We need a healthy
fear of the Lord.
1. The Lord is
awesome.
2. Where ever we
go, the awesome God we serve is with us.
3. A healthy
fear of the Lord causes us to give Him glory and honor.
4. A healthy fear
of the Lord causes us to be obedient to His Word.
B. We are God's
house.
1. The body is
the temple of the Lord.
2. No building
can hold the Lord.
a. Every
building should be dedicated to the Lord.
b. We should
consider ourselves as being owned by the Lord.
C. The gate to
heaven is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1. We should
realize that God has put us into one body which is the body of
Christ.
2. We are the temple of the Lord which is
an awesome house for Him.
2. We should
dedicate a place in our home to the Lord.
a. We should
find a place where we go to meet the Lord in prayer.
b. God must
be first in our hearts and our thoughts.
JACOB'S DEDICATION
V:18. " So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took
the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured
oil on its top"
A. The process of
pouring oil on the stone was Jacob's way of dedicating the place to
the Lord.
1. We should start
our day dedicating ourselves to the Lord.
2. It should be
our aim to start every day with our mind on the Lord and thanking
Him for His
goodness.
B. God is our head
and there is nothing more profitable than making Him the Head of
our life.
1. God is the head when we go to bed, the
head while we sleep, and the head when
we are awake.
2. A life
dedicated to the Lord is a profitable life.
V:19. " He called the name of that place Bethel
A. The name "Bethel
1. Jacob set a
stone to mark the place as a place of worship.
2. Luz is a
Hebrew word which means "almond tree" or "growing there".
a. Luz was
set in a barren rocky region.
b. A clump of almond trees grew in the mist
of this region.
c. Weary
travelers could find shade and be nourished by eating the almonds.
d. This was
precious fruit to a hungry traveler. (Biblical
Illustrator)
B. Jacob renamed the
place to remember the day when He came to know God as his
Lord.
1. From time to
time we should reflect on the time when we made God the Lord of
our life.
a. Remembering
this as a turning point in our lives keeps us from being puffed up.
b. We should
remember the time when our growth in the Lord began.
2. When we are anchored in the Lord, our
spiritual growth will continue.
C. Jacob set the
stone and renamed the place as a memorial to the day when God gave
him favor.
1. It is only by God's favor that we come to
know Him.
2. God elected us
to the body of Christ then called us out of the world for a life with
Him.
CONFESSION OF FAITH
V:20. "Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If
God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give
me food to eat and garments to wear."
A. Jacob began his
journey of faith in the Lord with a vow expressing his gratefulness
for God's divine
favor.
1. It appears that
Jacob was making a deal with the Lord for His divine favor.
2. He starts his
vow off with "If".
a. There is no
"if" in God's promise of blessings.
b. What God
promised, He will do.
3. We should make
vows to the Lord to express our devotion and gratitude for His
goodness.
a. When we
make a vow to the Lord, we should be prepared to keep it at all cost.
b. God's
promises to us are not conditional on our goodness.
B. We should know
that when God selected us to be blessed, He had a plan to prepare
us for the blessing.
1. God's plan
includes our protection and provisions.
2. God has
determined the time when we will receive the blessings He planned for
us.
V:21. " And I
return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord will be my God."
A. Notice Jacob
says "If God does this..., then God will be my God".
1. Jacob was
already blessed by the Lord.
2. Jacob's
blessing was not contingent upon his performance.
B. God is our God whether
we recognize it or not.
1. The evidence
that God is our God is the fact that He made Himself known to us.
2. The evidence
that God is our God is our present existence.
C. Jacob was
already under the protection of the Lord.
1. He traveled
from his fathers home to a desolate place without incident.
2. Since we have
lived for many days, we have had many days of God's protection.
D. God shows
Himself to be our God by His constant grace and mercy that flows to
us.
1. We should wait
to obtain what we want to make God our God.
2. We should
make God our God before we think about what we want.
3. We should
make sure that what we want is to give God the Glory.
V:22. "This stone, which I have set up as a
pillar, will be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a
tenth to You."
A. Our gratitude to
the Lord should be expressed in words and giving back to the
Lord.
1. We should make
a vow to the Lord to return to Him a generous portion of what
He has blessed
us with.
2. Jacob gave us a
model of giving; one tenth of our earnings.
B. The Body of
Christ is always expanding.
1. The Church
should be supported by our giving.
2. A neglect of
giving is an indication of our ungratefulness.
3. A neglect of
giving is an indication of our lack of trust in the Lord.
C. God is generous
to us, therefore we should have no problem being generous to
Him.
1. All the
blessings we have, come from the Lord.
2. We should
continue to bless the hand that blesses us.
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