Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Genesis

Genesis 31 11/03/02

Intro: I didn't need to come up with a clever or heart warming introduction to this mornings message, because YOU have been my introduction.  The sermon title is 'Can I Get A Witness?' And God has. You didn't think I was the 'I' in the title. God wants you to be witnesses for Him..remember Acts 1:8? Well, it begins here! Your testimonies of God working in your lives is the introduction. In fact, your testimonies are the basis and content of the sermon this morning.

    So for all intent and purpose, we could go straight to the celebration of the Lord's Supper and not miss anything this morning. But, since we are going through the Book of Genesis, I still want to make a few passing remarks about the text. Why? Because not everyone was a witness for God this morning. But, before we leave, I pray that everyone here will be able to boast in the Lord. Will be able to say to someone after the service 'Had it not been for the Lord' and then finish the statement.

     In our text this morning God is asking Jacob the question 'Can I get a witness?' And by the end of the chapter, Jacob gives a hearty AMEN! I pray you will too.

Read: Genesis 31:1-2

     Jacob was wealthy and content living with Laban and had no reason to leave to return to his homeland and deal with the unfinished business with his father and brother. But God wanted him to go home, so he gave Jacob a much needed divine push to get him moving.

  God prompted Jacob in very much the same way he prompts us to follow Him today..

God prompts us thru
    1. The inner witness of the heart. 6 yrs earlier Jacob had sensed it was time to leave. That's called a gut feeling, intuition.
        Ever felt that?

God prompts us thru
2. The circumstances of life. Jacob's circumstances had changed. He saw that he was no longer in the good graces of
    his father-in-law.  God used an adverse situation to prompt Jacob to follow His leading.
    Has God ever done that to you?

     Circumstances however, are not always the finger of God pointing the way to God's will. But they can be a  significant  indicator of God's leading.

 There is a third way God prompts us to follow His leading. It is found in vs 3.

Read: Genesis 31:3

God prompts us thru
3. The revelation of His Word. God spoke to Jacob and told him it was time to leave. God often spoke to Jacob in his times
    of crises.
 
     God will speak to you at those times as well. But you have to be listening to the Holy Spirit, reading His Word, seeking    His presence, to know how God will lead you. What you hear from God may not be what you want to hear. It may frighten you. But just as God assures Jacob that He will be with him, God will assure you  as well. So you will be able to say, 'It was a hard decision to make, a difficult time to be obedient and had it not been for the Lord, I would not have made it.'

Read: Genesis 31:4-13

     It is a great thing when a man can give testimony of how God has been working in his life...to his family. That is what Jacob did. He said to his family... 'Had it not been for the Lord' and he went on to tell them what God had done in his life.

     Men, we are woefully inadequate in this area. Speak to your family of what God is doing in your life. They need to hear it for their own walk with the Lord. And it will draw you closer as a family.

     Jacob spoke to his family for another reason, I believe. He wanted to get their opinion on what he believed God was saying to him. He wanted confirmation from those closest to him that he was going in the right direction. And that was wise.

     If you sense God moving in your life, prompting you to do something, talk to someone close to you. Seek their advice and counsel. And you too will be wise.

Read: Genesis 31:14-16

     Rachel and Leah are 100% supportive of Jacob's plan to leave. Imagine that? Had it not been for the Lord working in their lives, perhaps they would have decided to stay where they were comfortable.

Read: Genesis 31:17-21

    -Jacob had a desire to leave and return home.
    -Jacob saw the circumstances around him pointed to leaving.
    -Jacob heard a clear word from God to leave.
    -Jacob was assured of God's presence.
    -Jacob gave testimony to his family of what God had done in his life.
    -Jacob sought counsel from those closest to him.
    -Jacob packed everything to return to his homeland. Being obedient to the will of God.

     So what's the problem? He didn't do the will of God, God's way. He was not obedient to God's will, in the way that would bring glory to God. Instead of facing Laban like a man and trusting in God's promise to be with him, Jacob fled like a criminal escaping justice. This was not an act of faith but of fear and unbelief. He depended once again upon deception instead of depending upon God. Did it work? No. He gets caught and even more hostility is developed between Jacob and his father-in-law.

     There is a lesson here. The reason for many of our defeats as Christians, is not that we don't know and understand the will of God. It is that we either don't do the will of God or we don't do it God's way. Jacob's way was not glorifying to God.

Read: Genesis 31:22-24

     Laban finds out and boy is he mad. And had it not been for the Lord speaking to Laban in a dream, Laban probably would have fought Jacob for his wives, children and his stolen idols.

Read: Genesis 31:25-35

     Notice Laban's daughter learned something from her father...deceit. And had it not been for the Lord, Rachel would have gotten caught, Jacob would have lost everything. Understand God is not condoning deceit here. He is just overturning the purpose of her sin to accomplish His plan.

Read: Genesis 31:36-42  (Key passage)

     The most important thing Jacob did in this chapter was to make this speech. Why? Because he clearly gave honor and thanks to God for His work in his life...If God had not been with me or as we have been paraphrasing it..had  it not been for the Lord.

     Jacob finally answered God's unspoken question... 'Can I get a witness'. Jacob told everyone present what God had done in his life. Later, Jacob would come to realize that had it not been for the Lord his return to the Promised Land would have been very different. He would have missed the blessings of God altogether.
 
    And that's the point, the big idea here in the text and in this worship service this morning. Had it not been for the Lord in your, our life, everything in our lives would be different and we would have missed out on God's blessings.  'Count your many blessings' the hymn writer reminds us. BUT, had it not been for the Lord, there would be nothing to count.

Read: Genesis 31:43-53

     Laban realizing he doesn't have a leg to stand on so he decides to make a covenant with Jacob to protect his interests.

SIDEBAR: This covenant has been misnamed the 'Mizpah Blessing'. I used to have a two piece coin that had written on its two pieces, 'May the Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent from one another.' It was sentimental and you gave half the coin to someone you cared about when you would be separated from them. This is a classic case of taking something horribly out of context. This is not a blessing between friends, it is a warning of judgment between two people who really didn't like or trust each other. The idea is that God will keep an eye on you so that you don't betray me and if you break this covenant, I will have the right to kill you. Not to sentimental is it?

Read: Genesis 31:54-55

     Jacob ends the day by sacrificing to the Lord and inviting his family to share in the meal. He wanted the God of his fathers to be honored before his unbelieving relatives. They had seen his deception, but Jacob now wanted them to see his faith.

     It is never too late to show your faith. You have never blown your testimony so badly that you can't step out in faith and be a godly witness for your Lord.

Conclusion

 God got His witness in Jacob. Will He get one in you?  Say it with me  'Had it not been for the Lord' I want to encourage you, get with someone after the service this morning and finish that sentence. Be a witness for God, even if it is to just one person. God is saying to each of you...