Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Genesis

Genesis 28:10-22 10/20/02

Intro: I believe I read somewhere that Willie Mays, one of baseballs greatest all time players started his major league career with only one hit in his first 26 at bats. Not very impressive. It seemed Wille Mays' future in baseball was uncertain. However, a turning point in his career came after he had another horrible outing and was found crying in the dugout by his manager Leo Durocher.  Durocher put his arm around Willie Mays and said 'What's the matter, son?' Mays said that he couldn't hit up here and that he belonged in the minor leagues. Durocher said 'As long as I'm manager of the Giants, you'll be my center fielder'. Well, the story has a happy ending. It wasn't long before Say Hey Willie began hitting the ball and was on his way to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

     What made the difference for Willie Mays? He had someone who encouraged him. He had someone who said 'I will be with you, no matter what, trust me, this will work out.'
 
    If you have not already, you will come to a time in your life when you will feel discouraged. You will be at your wits end, depressed and afraid because your future seems uncertain. Life may be falling apart around you and you don't know what to do. You may need the kind of encouragement Willie Mays received from his coach.

     In our text today we will see how a person, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, with a sinful past and an uncertain future can empty their hands of all their past in order to grasp
     the free gift of forgiveness,
     the free gift of peace,
     the free gift of a certain future...
when they take in their hands the free gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

     This is a wonderful text. For in it the lost and the found find grace, peace and joy in the Lord.

Read: Genesis 28:10-12    The Vision

     Jacob is alone. There is no indication from the text that he took even one servant with him. He is undoubtedly filled with many fears.

     The vengeance of his brother Esau was behind him so he couldn't go home.
     Everything that was ahead was uncertain. And it was a very dark night.

     Jacob felt very much alone. But he wasn't alone, God was with him even though up to this point Jacob didn't know it. In Jacob's vision, God showed him that He desired to maintain communication with His children, even in the most desolate and lonely of places and times.  To Jacob, the angels on the ladder were the assurance that God cared for him.

     Perhaps you feel alone this morning. Perhaps you feel your about to loose it. You may be beaten up with an illness, you may be having trouble with friends, you may feel abandoned by your wife or husband, or maybe you have lost your job and are deeply discouraged.

    Hold on! Hear God speak though His Word this morning.... to you...God is here, even though you may not sense His presence. And through God's Word this morning, you may just find the gate to the heavenlies, the doorway to the very presence of God.
 
Read: Genesis 28:13-15   The Voice

     Although the promises made here by God have been mentioned before, this was the first time Jacob heard the promises of God, from God Himself. In a very special way, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac was now introducing Himself as the God of Jacob.

     God promised to be with Jacob. To Jacob it was as if God was saying 'I know you are afraid of Esau. Don't be. I will protect you. I will even protect you, from yourself.  I will not give up on you, no matter what.. No matter what. I am committed to you.'

     The One True God, promises to be with Jacob, wherever he goes. This must have been very comforting to Jacob since he really didn't know where he was going in life. This was not the last time God would appear to Jacob but it was the first time and it was significant. For it was here that Jacob knew that God cared for him...personally and intimately.

     This was a defining moment in Jacobs life and it can be for you as well. Believer, God loves you. When you came to Him by accepting Christ as your Savior, He said to you...

     'I know you are afraid, I will protect you. I will even protect you from yourself. I will not give up on you. I am committed to you until you are with me in heaven. Trust Me and cling to my promises. We will get through this...together!
For I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob..and I am the God of  (names)

     Jacob sees a vision from God and hears God's voice. In Gen 28:16-22 Jacob responds to God with a vow. The sleeper has awaken!

Read: Genesis 28:16-22 The Vow

     In his defeat and failure, in his loneliness and desperation, suddenly Jacobs eyes were opened to see the presence of God.
 Jacob woke up and his worshipful response was to fear God, and to build a memorial with a stone consecrated with oil. He renamed the place of his encounter with God 'Bethel' which means 'House of God'.

     He then made a vow in which he expressed for the first time his own faith in God..and, he promised to give back to God a tenth of what God blesses him with. Wherever he goes from now on, wherever he ends up, no matter what the circumstances, his faith in God and still more, God's faithfulness to him makes that place, wherever he is, the meeting point between heaven and earth.  Jacob lived  knowing that he always stood at the foot of that ladder leading to heaven and by faith he could stick one foot out in front of the other knowing that God walks with him.

     How different our lives would be if we understood that God is always with us.
         How differently we would conduct our business if we truly knew God was sitting at our desk with us?
         How differently would we speak to our spouse, children or parents if we truly believed God was standing
            in the room with us?
         How differently would we act on a date if we knew that God was on that date with us?

     Jacob's life is no longer the catastrophe he thought is was when he went to sleep. It is now full of possibilities. And in this moment, this Bethel moment his life journey has forever changed.

Conclusion
     And this moment, right now, can be a 'Bethel' moment for you. You may be as lonely or as sinful as Jacob. You may be on the run from God. You may have heard about Jesus, even been somewhat accepting of the whole Christian thing, but in your heart of hearts, you know it's not YOUR thing.

     Spiritually you are asleep. You have no real personal contact with Jesus, even if you go to church. You never really step into the presence of Almighty God and known His peace. As you sit here this morning, God may be trying to wake you up from your sleep and lead you to something far greater than you can ever imagine.

     It is a wonderful thing that God said that He was going to be with Jacob, rather than challenge Jacob to walk with God.
Because Jacob would have failed. His own ladder to heaven would have been to short. But God's ladder came down from heaven to Jacob..right where this deceiver, this sinner was.

     No matter who you are,
     No matter what you have done,
     No matter how badly you may have acted in the past or ashamed you may be of it,

     God is able to begin where you are and take your where He wants you to be. Nothing is too hard for God. God's ladder is always long enough to reach to you. How do I know the ladder is long enough? Because the Bible tells us the ladder in this text in Genesis is Jesus Christ.

Read: John 1:44-51

     The context is Jesus calling Nathanael to be his disciple. When told about Jesus by Phillip, Nathanael was not enthusiastic.. 'Can anything good come from Nazareth?'. Just like you  may be thinking what is so special about becoming a Christian. But when introduced to Jesus, Nathanael saw something in him he had never seen before...holiness. And he declared that Jesus was the Son of God. He believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the One who would forgive sins and give eternal life. Then Jesus tells him that he will 'see heaven open up and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.' Being a good Jew, he would have realized Jesus was talking about this passage in Genesis..Jabob's ladder.

    Jesus was saying that He is the ladder that spans the distance between heaven and earth.
    Jesus was saying that He is the only way one gets from earth to heaven.
    Jesus Christ is our only access to the presence of God, to the assurance of God's forgiveness, peace and joy.

 In Jn 14:6 Jesus says 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'

     Jesus came to take away our sin and the penalty of our sin...eternal death. How, by offering himself freely on the cross of Calvary. He died so that we, you can live.

     If you have never asked Jesus to be your savior, then you have never known the wonder of God's presence in your life. And you have been going through life..spiritually asleep.

     This might be your Bethel moment. Take the fist step on the ladder to heaven by asking Jesus into your life.