Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Genesis

Genesis 28:10-22 10/27/02

Intro: A young boy once approached his father to ask, "Dad, why does the wind blow?", to which the father responded, "I don't know, son." "Dad, where do the clouds come from?" "I'm not sure, son." "Dad, what makes a rainbow?" "No idea, son." "Dad, do you mind me asking you all these questions.?" "Not at all, son. How else are you going to learn?

     Education. We tell our children going to school is one of the most important things they will ever do in life. It will prepare them for their future.

        No matter what the class,
        No matter how boring or irrelevant it may seem,
        No matter how fair or unfair the teacher is,

     Getting an education will help prepare them to be a successful man or woman in life. Am I right? Do you agree? I wonder if we are as concerned with our spiritual lives, our spiritual future? How do we prepare for that?  What kind of education do we need as Believers to be successful in the Christian life? Where do we go to school to learn how to be honest, selfless, loving, discerning, submissive and all the other traits characteristic of one who is a mature Christian?

     The answer is, from the day we received Jesus Christ as our Savior, God enrolled us in His school of 'Higher' education.  The Christian life, our journey of faith is that school.

     Some of the classes are fun, and interesting. Some may seem boring and many are even painful..they hurt, really hurt. But God wants us to learn from them as well. And just like public school, you can't go on to the next level in God's school of 'Higher' education until you have learned the current material.

     Some in God's school learn more quickly than others because they realize there is little point in resisting what God is teaching. The more quickly this is learned the sooner they get on with new classes. But the longer people take to come to grips with the gracious but firm guiding hand of God in the affairs of life the longer it takes them to mature spiritually.

     And remember, God's school never closes, there are no vacations and you only graduate when God calls you home to glory.

     In our text this morning we will find that during the next 20 yrs of Jacob's life he would experience many painful tests in God's school of 'Higher' education. But in the end, he would become God's man to accomplish God's will. After all, what  is the purpose of God's 'Higher' education? To equip His children to grow into spiritually mature men and women, so that they can do His will..until He comes.

Read: Genesis 29:1-14    'Guidance 101'

     So, in his first exam in God's school of 'Higher' education, what did Jacob learn?

     -He learned to be bold when he spoke to the shepherds whom he didn't know.
     -He learned to exercise his natural abilities by moving the very heavy stone himself. Back home he would have had Esau  or one of the servants do it.
     -He learned to be honest when he told Laban 'all these things' (vs 13). Which most commentators believe related to his past experiences with his family and why he had to leave.

     But even greater, Jacob learned that God would guide him. In other words, he learned a very simple lesson: God is in control.  When the text mentions he wept, I believe they were tears of joy. Joy, because he saw that God had done what He had promised. That God had watched over him by providentially directing him right to Rachel and his mothers family.

     Coincidence? I don't think so, and neither did Jacob. Our lives are not controlled by fate, chance or luck whether good or bad..well the one exception might be bowling. Don and I roll the ball right into the pocket, a solid hit, it even feels right, and the 10 pin stays up. Don, am I right?
 
    God promises to accompany the Believer on his/her journey of faith. And learn this lesson, as Jacob learned it...God is in control of the events and circumstances in your life, all circumstances. Whether we are greeted with good circumstances like Jacob did here or bad circumstances like Joseph does later in Genesis, we can be sure that God is present and active in them, to bring about His purpose. And to help us grow to maturity in Christ.

Read: Genesis 29:15-30    'Deception 101'

     What did Jacob learn here? You reap what you sow. God had forgiven him of his sin, but accepting and working through the consequences of his sin was his next class in God's school of 'Higher' education.

     Jacob the deceiver is himself deceived and in a much similar fashion as his own deception of his father and brother. Laban was not going to let his 'unattractive' firstborn daughter be a burden on him for her whole life. He was going to trick Jacob into thinking Leah was Rachel.

     Catch the irony. Jacob had lied to his father about being the first born. Laban had lied to his new son about the identity of his new wife...who was Laban's firstborn. I think Jacob learned just how Esau felt.

     But even though Jacob confronted Laban about the deception, he had consummated the marriage and he honored that commitment. Jacob was learning integrity and keeping  his promises. Do you think Jacob saw what God was doing? I do.

     Over and over again in the Bible we learn the principal that you reap what you sow.

         -You can't stuff yourself with fatty foods and sugar w/o eventually gaining weight.
        -You can't spend money recklessly w/o eventually going into debt.
        -You can't ignore your studies and skip classes w/o eventually flunking.
         -And a person, Believer or not, can't engage in wrong/sinful behavior w/o suffering the consequences.
 But as we will also see, God orders the circumstances  in people's lives to set things right, even the consequences of our sin.

     Jacob also learned patience and self control. He waited..and worked hard for 7 years to marry Rachel. He waited 7 yrs. for Rachel. Custom was there was no dating or physical contact prior to the marriage. If that isn't 'True Love Waits' I don't know what is. And every single person can learn from Jacob's patience and self control when it comes to marriage.

     Finally, Jacob learned to be forgiving and understanding. Nowhere in the text are we told he ever criticized Leah for her part in the deception. He didn't throw her past sins up in her face when they were having an argument. Husbands and wives...learn from this.

Read: Genesis 29:31-30:24  'Marriage 101'

     Jacob learned to fulfill his responsibilities to his wife Leah, even though there was no passion in their relationship. Husbands and wives who may be going through a time of cooled off passion, think about that for a while.

     Jacob learned to honor and respect his wives wishes. This can be seen when he didn't object to being 'sold' for a few mandrakes (a fruit that was believed to have fertility qualities).

     He also learned to correct his wife for her sinful thinking when he told Rachel he was not responsible for her barrenness. God was. He was basically telling her to take it up with God.

     That is what Jacob learned, what can we glean from this Biblical event?

     Marriage today is unfashionable because it is hard work, harder than earning a professional degree or keeping a 9-5 job. Harder than any other relationship you will have.  Jacob and his wives had a bizarre, complicated and difficult marriage, but by God's grace they survived it. And so will you, if you trust God and stay in school. Let God work through your marriage to develop character and bring you both to spiritual maturity. Then I promise whatever problems you may experience you will be able to handle..together.

Read: Genesis 30:25-43    'Blessing 101'

     Jacob learns a comforting lesson here. When He is obedient to God, when he trusts God, God blesses him abundantly. Remember 'you reap what you sow'. Sow the seeds of faithfulness and reap the fruit of God's blessing.

     He also learned that he was responsible to provide for his now large family. Jacob may have been a mama's boy at home, but now he had to work hard, very hard to provide for the physical and financial needs of his family.

      I imagine there wasn't a night that went by where he was not exhausted from working in the fields. Men, learn from Jacob, provide for your families and God will bless you.

SIDEBAR: Know that there was no magic in the branches and rods put in the water. Jacob did as he was told by God, and he knew it was God who was prospering him...not Laban and not the sticks.

     From this we can learn that it is not our great abilities in our chosen profession, our brilliant mind as we play the market or our fabulous luck if we win the Lotto that makes us successful. When we have material success in life, when we have an abundance of things, when our bank account actually has a positive balance..it is all a gift from God, according to His grace and purpose. When we learn that we will be better stewards of what God has given to us. And we will grow in spiritual maturity.

Conclusion
 
    The Christian life is an ongoing process of continuing education in God's school. It will not always be easy. There's so much to learn and unlearn, so much to do and become. And what compounds the difficulty is that not everyone wants to learn and they make it harder for those who do.

     Everyday you are tested, everyday there are examinations to be completed. Every decision  you make is part of the test sheet. How are your doing? What's you GPA? (Godly Priority Aptitude)

     God's school of 'Higher' education has another name. It's called 'sanctification.' Sanctification is the believers journey to become like the God who saved him.

        It is the process of restoring the image of God that has been tarnished by sin.
        It is yielding to God in every part of our lives.
        It is making his priorities our priorities.
        It is dying to self and living for Jesus Christ.

     Jacob had a great story to tell when he got to heaven of his school days. And that story was about how God changed him, grew him into a mature man of faith.