What God Wants Us to Remember

Genesis 28:1-22

September 11, 2005We Remember

Times of Uncertainty

• We need a word of encouragement!

– We need to know that God is with us– We need to know that things will

work out• Good news!

– We can have this need met – God reminds us through His Word– What He wants us to remember in

uncertain times

Jacob’s Departure

• Forced to leave home

Jacob’s Departure

• Forced to leave home– Fleeing for his life– Facing a very uncertain future – Jacob didn’t deserve anything from God,

but God in his mercy came to Jacob anyways

• Fear, loneliness, and destitution– But there is hope of deliverance -

Jacob’s experience demonstrates this for us

Esau’s Response

• Feeling insecure and rejected by his father

– Seeking the approval of his father – Esau had always been the favorite son of

Isaac– When Esau found out that Isaac had sent

Jacob away, he realized that his own Canaanite wives did not please his father

– Attempted to secure his father’s approval by marrying one of Ishmael’s daughters

“A Certain Place”

Jacob’s Certain Place

God Meets Jacob’s Needs vv. 10-15

• In a Lonely Place– “a certain place” - Place is important

• Experiencing the blessing of God meant being in the place where God wanted him

• There are surely certain places where it would be difficult, even impossible, for a person to hear from God

– Jacob was all alone - a deep sense of loneliness

• Avoiding people• Facing the unknown

– Homeless, destitute and all alone – Right where he needed to be to hear

from God

Jacob’s Dream

An Incredible Dream

• The great ladder or stairway stretching all the way from earth up into heaven

– Huge - wide enough for streams of angels to pass one another, ascending and descending on it

• What did the stairway symbolize?– The great separation between heaven

and earth • So vast that no man could ever reach heaven

apart from the supernatural work of God and His angels

– Jacob was helpless in trying to reach God on his own

– God had to provide the way if man was ever to reach heaven

The Vision of Angels

• A stream of angels, ascending and descending upon the stairway

– “angel” = messenger

– Angels come to earth to carry out the commands of God and then return to heaven to report on their work

– Hebrews 1:14 • “They are all ministering spirits, sent forth to

minister for them that are the heirs of salvation”

Angels - What is their work on earth?

• Angels protect and deliver believers through trials– “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to

keep thee in all thy ways” (Psalm 91:11)• Angels guide and lead believers in their ministry

– “And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him” (Matthew 2:13)

• Angels encourage believers– “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little

ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10)

• Angels escort believers into heaven– “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was

carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried” (Luke 16:22)

An Incredible Fact in the Dream

• There is a great stairway stretching between earth and heaven

– A way has been provided by God for people to reach heaven

• Jesus Christ Himself referred to Jacob’s dream!

– Jesus claimed that He Himself was the ladder, the very way God had provided for man to reach heaven

– John 1:51• . . . “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter

you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man”

With a Powerful Message

• The Purpose of His Blessing Genesis 28:13-1413. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said:

“I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.

14. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

• So that we may be a blessing to others

The Promises of His Message – v. 15

• I am with you - The promise of His presence

– “Behold, I am with thee” (Genesis 28:15)– Exodus 33:14 - “And he said, My presence

shall go with you, and I will give you rest”– Psalm 23:4, “I will fear no evil for you are

with me.”– Matthew 18:20 - “For where two or three

are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them”

– Matthew 28:20 - “Surely I am with you always”

– In uncertain times remember God’s presence.

The Promises of His Message – v. 15

• I am with you• I will keep you

– The promise of God’s protective, keeping power – the greatest protection imaginable!

– “I will keep you in all places where you go” (Genesis 28:15).

– Psalm 121:4 - “Behold, he that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep”

– 2 Timothy 1:12 - “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day”

– 1 Peter 1:5 - “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time”

– Jude 24 - “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy”

The Promises of His Message – v. 15

• I am with you• I will keep you • I will bring you back

– The promise of God’s guidance and leadership

– “I will bring you again into this land” (Genesis 28:15)

– Romans 8:14 - “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”

– John 16:13 - “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

The Promises of His Message – v. 15

• I am with you• I will keep you • I will bring you back • I will not leave you

– The promise of God’s fulfilling His promises and purposes in our lives

– “I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken to you of” (Genesis 28:15)

– Romans 4:21 - “And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform”

– Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”

– Hebrews 13:5 - “God will never leave us nor forsake us”

Jacob’s Response to God vv. 16-22

• He Understood God Better and Was Afraid– Jacob had a new insight into God and into himself – Jacob was afraid and awed by the power of

Almighty God!– Russian President Vladimir Putin - to the

Washington Post of Katrina’s damage • "I look at this and cannot believe my eyes. It tells us

however strong and powerful we think we are, we are nothing in the eyes of nature and of God Almighty."

– Proverbs 1:7 - “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”

– Proverbs 9:10 - “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”

He Made Sure He Would Not Forget

• Bethel = “house of God”

• Bethel would always be a special place to him

– a place where he could meet God in worship and prayer

– a place where he could ask and seek and knock until God heard and answered his prayer

• Jacob dedicated the place – Built an altar by stacking stones one upon another

– Anointed the altar with oil

– The place to God as a very special place of worship

He Committed Himself to God vv. 20-22

• His vow– The first vow recorded in the Bible

• Out of a heart of thankfulness to God• Voluntarily vowing to follow God as never

before• Because of the great promise God had just

made to him

– Jacob’s vow involved three commitments:• that the LORD, the God of redemption and

salvation, would always be his God• that he would always worship God in Bethel

when there• that he would be faithful in tithing to God

– When God meets us and gives us very special experiences of His presence, we should always rededicate our lives to Him

Principles to Remember

• God sometimes shows up at unexpected times and unexpected places

• God is present and active even when we are unaware of him

• God has prepared a way to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ

• In uncertain times remember God’s promises

– I am with you– I will keep you– I will bring you back– I will not leave you