[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Thank you, Bibles, if you would, and open with me to Genesis chapter 33.
[0:11] Genesis chapter 33. We're going to read, I'm going to tell you the story from 33 to 36. We're flying tonight. We covered 20 years, I think, a couple of days ago.
[0:24] Now we're going to cover a whole bunch more time. Now, Genesis chapter 33 through Genesis chapter 36. Not because I'm in a hurry, but because I think it goes together, and I think it's what just the amount we ought to cover.
[0:39] So remember where we were. Jacob just met with the Lord. He just got his thigh knocked out of joint. He just left limping as he left there.
[0:51] And he is a new man with a new name. He is a God-dominated man now. And he has a whole new position. And I want to talk to you in these three or four chapters here about living up to who you are in Christ.
[1:06] And that's not what it is here. But when I apply it to me, I ought to be who I was made to be. God saved you. He gave you new life. He gave you a new past, a new present, and a new future.
[1:20] And you should be able to enjoy God and have victory in your life no matter what's going on. You're going to see the man go through problems and trials tonight. But we can have victory. So let me just go through it.
[1:34] You can just follow the story if you'd like. But in Genesis 33, 1, Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked. And behold, Esau came with and with him 400 men.
[1:45] And he divided the children unto Leah and unto Rachel and unto the two maids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost. And Leah and her children after. And Rachel and Joseph, of course, the favorites, they were last.
[1:57] And he goes over before them and he finds Esau. And when he meets Esau, the guy who wrestled with God and prevailed finds Esau, his brother. And he bows down to the ground seven times.
[2:11] And Esau shows great grace and runs to him and embraces him and hugs him and kisses him. And they cried together. And Esau wants to know who he's got with him.
[2:23] He says, I mean, the children God gave me. Got 12 kids, four wives. Things have been going good. And he says in verse 8, he said, I hope to find grace in the sight of my Lord.
[2:34] Somebody over me, ruler. He was made ruler, if you recall. He was the leader of the home. He knew he was the leader of the home. But he refers to him that way. And then he says in verse 10, if I find grace in your sight, then take the presence that I'm offering you.
[2:50] Because I see your face as though I had seen the face of God. I look at you just like I've seen the face of God. And thou was pleased with me. That is utterly ridiculous from where he was.
[3:03] He's back. He's cowering. He's a pauper instead of a prince. In verse 13, he makes an excuse to Esau. He doesn't really want to go with Esau. And he's back to his conniving ways.
[3:14] And he says to Esau, you're headed to Seir. I'll be over there with you soon. But I've got to go slowly. He'll actually never go there. He'll get close and stay several miles away from him.
[3:26] And he'll stay away from his brother. Verse 34, while they're staying in this land where they're not supposed to be, his sister Dinah, the only one we know about, that he has, she goes out to see the daughters of the land.
[3:38] And a guy named Shechem took her. And he rapes her. He defiles her. Depends on how far you want to take it. The word would indicate rape. And he defiles her. He works great folly in the land.
[3:50] Something that should never be done. And in verse 11, Shechem comes with his dad. And he says, hey, I'd like you to like me. I like your daughter. And I would like you to like me. And so I was wondering if there wouldn't be a way we could work out that I could marry him.
[4:05] And in verse 13, the sons of Jacob, they deceitfully answered him. And they said, well, you know, what we can do is this. If you'd like to marry us into our family, if you'd like us to have relations, you're going to need to get circumcised.
[4:19] And if you guys get circumcised, then, you know, things will work out. Well, he goes back to, Shechem goes back to his family and says, hey, all we've got to do is get circumcised and we'll be one with them and they'll be one with us.
[4:30] And verse 23, he said, we'll get their cows. We'll get their stuff. We'll just pretend this religious thing and we'll do it. And so Levi and Simeon in verse 25, they wait until the boys are really good and sore about three days after they've had this little surgery done to them.
[4:47] And everybody's back home hurting. You know, they didn't have morphine. And they're all back home and they're all really sore. Simeon and Levi come in and they destroy the city. They take their sister back and they kill every man in the place in verse 25.
[5:01] And they get Dinah out of Shechem's house and they leave and they're mad. And they said he defiled our city. And they get back to Jacob and Jacob's like, I cannot believe you did that.
[5:14] I can't believe you did that. Look, if you would, in verse 30, he said, you have troubled me and you make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land. And he's going to say, I like six or seven times in this verse.
[5:26] I mean, my. He says, I being few in number, they are together against me. They'll slay me. I shall be destroyed. I am my house. And he's like, I cannot believe this. And they said, Dad, he treated our sister like she was a prostitute, a harlot.
[5:41] And in verse 35, God says to Jacob, get up and go to Bethel where I told you to go before. Get up and go there and make an altar. Get rid of your strange gods and change your garments.
[5:52] And they come and they make an altar to God in verse 3. And verse 4, he hides the idols and the false gods under a tree. And in verse 7, he builds an altar. And in verse 15, he calls the place Bethel.
[6:05] And then his wife, Rachel, finally has her second son. And as she's dying, she says, name this kid Ben-O-I for the days of my sorrow.
[6:17] And dad changed his name to Benjamin, the son of my right hand. And so things are going pretty bad there. And in verse 22, Reuben goes to bed with daddy's wife, his concubine.
[6:30] He goes to bed with his concubine. Verse 28, Isaac is 180 years old and he dies. And Esau and Jacob come and they bury him. And in chapter 36, you get the generations of Esau.
[6:43] And you realize in verse 7 that they couldn't. The land was not big enough to handle them and all the wealth they had. And they separated and they didn't see each other very much. And you get a whole list of the Dukes and everybody else in the family down through there.
[6:58] And so that's the story of 33 to 36. One Bible commentator actually stated, I didn't use his. He stated, I don't know who could get a text out of this passage.
[7:09] So, but we got some things. So let's look, if you would, with me in the Bible. This is not a, I will say all this before the message.
[7:19] Look, if you would, in Genesis 33, 13. And if you're a parent or if you're a discipler or if you're a Sunday school teacher or if you're a missionary, this is one of my favorite passages of Scripture.
[7:32] It is obviously a secondary application. The real application is Jacob is telling his brother, you go on and I'll be there. But he really just wants his brother to leave.
[7:44] Take his 400 soldiers and get out of Dodge. And so he'll show up later. And so his brother leaves and he never goes to where he told his brother he was going to go. It was just another one of his deceptions.
[7:54] But look at some great truths that apply to the leadership or parents. Verse 33, chapter 33, verse 13. He said unto him, Esau, my Lord, you know that the children are tender and the flocks and herds of young are with me.
[8:09] And if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Let my Lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant. You go on and I will lead on softly according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure until I come unto my Lord.
[8:25] Unto Sayir. Lie. He's never going to go there. He doesn't go there. Not one record of him going. He goes to Succoth and stops there. And that's a town of booze. He builds him a house. So not true.
[8:37] But just let me give you something I use in personal discipleship and leadership training. And I think it works with children, if you would. If you'll notice, you've got to remember who you're working with.
[8:48] Look at verse 33, chapter 33, 13 and 14. He's with children. He's with babies. He's with weak. And he's with new. And this is what he says.
[9:00] And I wish you'd mark that and think about it if you are in any kind of leadership position. You should not overdrive them. If you do, they will die. Don't overdrive them.
[9:12] Remember where they are in life. And I'll just tell you that as a parent, there were times when my kids were a little boy. I expected way too much, way too soon.
[9:23] I figured my kids ought to be as close to perfect as you could get. And I think I pushed way too hard. I can tell you that as a discipler and a leader trainer, which I've spent the last 35 years of my life doing big time, I could say to you that I have often pushed people too hard.
[9:41] Look at the verse. It's not what the truth that the passage is about, but the principles there. That is, don't overdrive.
[9:51] Don't push too hard. Look at another one. It's in the verse. Lead on softly. Lead on softly. You know where they need to go, but they do not.
[10:03] You know where they need to go, but they do not. I can remember one time in Peru, I was dealing with Carlos, and he had started here, and he was here, and he said to me, he said, you know, you've been changing ever since you got here.
[10:17] And I said, I actually haven't been. You have been. Because you're where you were. That's where you were. This is where you are. But I've always been over there, and I'm just slowly helping you grow.
[10:28] So lead on softly. Look at what it says. So that they will be able to endure. Verse 14. The children will be able to endure. They will grow and move on at the correct speed.
[10:39] That's not the real purpose of the passage. It's a great truth. So just let me real quickly say something to parents. You can overdrive your kids. Some dads. Man, it's like we're on a ramrod trying to force them when they're not ready.
[10:56] Some guys underdrive. People like me, we overdrive people. We push too hard, too fast. We want to get there. I don't know which kind of guy you are. So take it.
[11:06] Some of you probably ought to do some overdriving because you're underdriving. And if you overdrive a little bit, you get up to regular speed. But there's a good lesson for you. If you would now, go with me to chapter 31 and verse 13.
[11:19] And we'll look at number one, his disobedience. Jacob's disobedience. I want to talk to you about living up to who you are in Christ. Living up to who you are in Christ.
[11:30] And you know what happens is he disobeys. In chapter 31 and verse 13, the Bible says, I am the God of Bethel where thou anointest a pillar and where thou vowest about. Now arise and get you from this land and return to the land of thy kindred.
[11:45] I'm the God of Bethel. Get back there. I'm the God of Bethel. Get back there. Chapter 33, verse 1. He has seen 400 men coming his way. And he is terrified.
[11:56] He is terrified. And he doesn't remember who he is. He's not going to live up to his position. And you and I, man, we have victory. Porn ought never win a battle over us.
[12:08] And sin ought not win a battle in lying and greed and cheating and all that. We have victory in Christ. We have to remember that. And sometimes we're like, I just don't have victory over this sin.
[12:18] But it's not true. We do have victory. So he lifts up his eyes and he sees and he forgets that he makes big mistakes. Look at some of the things he does as he disobeys. Look, if you would, at 33.2.
[12:30] And in 33.2, he divides his family up in groups. And he says, I'm going to put the ones I dislike the most or I like the least. I'm going to put you out in front. And I'm going to put us out in bands.
[12:41] And I'm going to come way back here in the back. And I'm going to bring Rachel. He has just split his family. He has just split his family. And he's probably doing what he saw his mom and dad doing.
[12:54] And you repeat the same sins of your mom and dad if you're not careful. And he's going to cause, there's going to be tons of trouble in his life. Before we're through tonight, his son's going to go to bed with his wife.
[13:04] Which is a way of getting back at his dad. Which is a way of taking over. Which is what Absalom did. He's taught them the wrong thing. How careful are you to meet each of the needs of your children even though they're different?
[13:16] How careful are you to express love and feel love for your children? Now I grew up in a time, my dad grew up in a time when we ought not ever say we love people. I can remember my dad telling me one time.
[13:27] We were riding down the road and he said, I love you son. I just want to tell you I love you. I know I never told you that much. But I love you. And he had a tear in his eye and he said, I'm not supposed to tell you I love you. And that was kind of the way it was.
[13:39] Those guys back then, they didn't really think they ought to be so emotional. But sometimes I'm afraid we aren't expressive. And we're not telling our kids that we love them. And he has disobeyed God.
[13:50] He was supposed to go to Bethel. He doesn't go to Bethel. In chapter 33 and verse 3, he doesn't understand or act on the promises. This guy just a few verses before wrestled with an angel. This guy just a few verses before got a new name.
[14:02] This guy now sees Esau and he bows down to him. And he begs him. And he treats him like he's somebody. And Esau shows more grace. Esau is the one that comes running up and hugs him and kisses him.
[14:13] And says, hey buddy, good to see you. And Jacob is cowardly. He doesn't say, hey man, my name's not Jacob anymore. Let me confess to you, I really did you wrong. I did you wrong.
[14:24] I cheated you. I did wrong. I shouldn't have done that. I should have trusted God. I should have waited on God. But God's been good to me. And God's restored things to me. Because God's good to us. My brother. And instead of doing that, he walks up to his brother.
[14:36] And bows down and says, let me see if I can't trick you some more. And he says to him, hey, I'm going to go. And I'm going to let my kids come along. And you go ahead and go. But he just keeps making excuses.
[14:46] In 33, 16, Esau returned on that day on his way into Seher. And Jacob turned to Succoth and built him a house. He went there. He said, I'm not going to go see my brother.
[14:57] I'm going to go build me a house. He picked a place to live instead of going back to Bethel. He does build an altar in chapter 33 and verse 20. But disobedience, worship or sacrifice without obedience stinks to God.
[15:14] That's taught all through your Bible. You know, God is not as interested when you're singing songs to him or even giving offerings to him as he is with you obeying him. It's not about me worshiping.
[15:26] And his disobedience is going to bring horrible consequences. Let me show you some consequences. Chapter 31 and verse 13. He was told by the God of Bethel to get back to where he belonged.
[15:36] He doesn't do that. Chapter 34, verse 1. Dina, no parental supervision, I guess. They're living in the wrong place or around the wrong people.
[15:48] A laid back dad that's not as involved in the life of his children as he should be. And Dina walks out and gets raped. Here's an interesting thing about chapter 34.
[15:59] God's not mentioned in the whole chapter. God's not mentioned in the whole chapter. Chapter 34, verse 2. And Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the country, saw her.
[16:11] He took her. And he laid with her. And he defiled her. He took her. He captured her. He seized her. He held her against her will. Chapter 34, verse 26. He took Dina out of Shechem's house.
[16:21] When they go and they beat up the town and they defeat everybody and they destroy them after they've been circumcised, he gets Dina out of Shechem's house and brings her. He defiled her. He made her dirty.
[16:33] She could have been a participant. But the verbs seem to indicate she wasn't. Sexual abuse often leaves people feeling dirty and defiled. And that's the word the Bible uses right here.
[16:46] That word defiled means to torment, humiliate, oppress, subjugate, attack. And the Bible says in chapter 34, verse 7, that they had wrought folly in Israel, lying with Jacob's daughter, which they ought not to do.
[17:04] And very quickly, you know, there ought to be a major difference in the way we view sex and the relationship between a man and a woman.
[17:14] And I'd just like to say just a couple of things I think are very obvious in the passage. You ought to expect lost people to act like lost people. That's who they are.
[17:26] And you act like your daddy, who you're from. And so it shouldn't be anything shocking to us that they live with different standards. And you ought not ask them to live with biblical standards or God's standards.
[17:38] They're not us. We're not trying to get them to do right, but we ought to do right. Everyone's going to live more like their father than they would ever like to admit. And if they're of the devil, what would you expect?
[17:48] This will lead two of his sons to commit horrible, horrendous murder. In chapter 34 and verse 13, the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his dad deceitfully.
[18:03] In chapter 34 and verse 25, when they were sore from the circumcision, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and they came on the city boldly and killed all the men.
[18:16] Interesting thought here. I'd like you to see just a beautiful picture of grace. Dad never forgot. When he's dying in chapter 49 and verse 5, Jacob will say, Simeon and Levi are brethren.
[18:29] Instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret. Under their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united. For in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall.
[18:44] Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. They slew a man, they were instruments of cruelty, and they lived in their self-will.
[18:56] I want to show you something beautiful. You know, you mess up and I mess up. Have you ever noticed that? Have you ever looked back at your life and realized, man, I didn't want to be like that. That's not who I am. I ought to live up to who God made me.
[19:07] God has special plans for me. I'm a child of God now. I have a new past, a new present, and a new future through Jesus Christ. And that ought not be who I am. And though Dad didn't forget, God did forget in his good, wonderful mercy.
[19:21] And it won't be long until Levi, who committed a horrible crime, and his dad's angry, but obviously, and God's not pleased, but Levi and his descendants will be scattered throughout Israel, but they will be great spiritual leaders in the nation of Israel.
[19:39] Dad made a mistake. There were consequences. Dad made a mistake. There were consequences. Before I give you point three here, let me just say this. You know, we believe in grace. We know God loves us when we don't deserve it.
[19:52] But there are two extremes in this whole story. Some of you would like to say, well, we believe in grace, and so you can live any way you want. And the truth is, if you're saved, you're saved.
[20:02] But you ought never, ever imagine that that means I'm a born-again Christian, and it doesn't matter what I do. There aren't consequences. Jesus bore all my consequences.
[20:12] He did. He bore all my consequences. He bore all my consequences. He bore all my consequences. But there are definitely temporary consequences that we pay. Our family pays.
[20:24] And people hurt. Jacob, if you'd have just gone to Bethel. Jacob, if you'd have just gotten back where you were supposed to have gone. Jacob, if you'd have done what you were supposed to do. Jacob, if you didn't have those idols in your house.
[20:36] Jacob, if you'd have watched over your daughter a tad more. Jacob, number three, is still living like a trickster or a deceiver. That's not who he is. He's a new creature.
[20:47] He's got a new name. He's prince with God. He's a God-mastered man. And yet he's still doing the same thing. He can't really jump on his boys for lying to Shechem and killing all the guys, can he?
[21:02] I mean, it's just like their daddy. If they'd have said, well, dad, we learned it from you. We know exactly how to do stuff. We watched you do it. He really can't blame his daughter for wanting to get out and see what was going on.
[21:13] I mean, Jacob's not exactly being obedient. And when it all goes down, in chapter 34, verse 30, Jacob's concern isn't for his daughter.
[21:24] His concern isn't for his sons. His concern is, you've troubled me. You made me look bad. He uses the word I, me, or my six times in a row in one verse.
[21:38] He's a dad. He should have been concerned about his family and what to do. He should have been proactive and not reactive. But he's still worried about number one.
[21:51] And could I just stop and say, here's a sin in my own life as a husband, as a dad, and as a pastor often. And that is, I'm so concerned about how I look.
[22:03] And so the way my sons behaved when I was kids, or my kids, my four kids, or the way my family did things, or the ministry I lead, or anything else, I am worried about what do people think of me.
[22:16] That's wrong. That's what he's saying here. It's really about what people think about Jesus. Amen? It's not what they think about me. But man, Austin Gardner's had a big problem.
[22:26] I'm just like old Jacob. You trouble me because you make me look bad. Sit down and behave, son. Don't you know what people think about me when you don't behave? I would never say those words. I knew not to say that.
[22:37] You're not supposed to say that. You're not supposed to think it. So I didn't say it. I just thought it. Say, man. I'm the only one in the room that's ever had that problem. You made me look bad. You are the leader, dad.
[22:50] You're to be out in front. You're to be seeing what needs to be done and take care of your family. It's much more than about money and houses and security. He should have reacted and shown his sons what would have happened.
[23:02] He should have called them in and said, boys, this is what happened with your sister. Sit down. I'm going to explain to you. We're going to work together as a family. We're going to deal with this that happened to your sister. He should have called the family together. He should have sought a solution.
[23:14] He'll be angry with the boys the rest of their lives. And they're wondering, you might be mad at us, but were you going to do anything about it? So how do you know that?
[23:24] Chapter 34, verse 31, he says, and they said, should he deal with our sister as a harlot? Should that have been allowed to happen? Now here comes the beautiful thing. You can go back.
[23:36] We can go back. When you, hey, you got saved and you weren't, you are a brand new person the day you get saved. But it doesn't mean you always live that way. You might fail as a husband or as a dad.
[23:47] You might fail in your Christian life. You might not be living up to who you are, but God never leaves old Jacob. No matter how stupid the boy is, God keeps working in his life like he does in mine. God keeps moving and bringing him forward and raising him up.
[24:01] And in chapter 35, God said, Jacob, get up and get to Bethel and make you an altar unto God. The same God that appeared to you when you fled from the face of your brother.
[24:14] God deals with Jacob again. Wonderful and amazing how he never leaves. Jacob knew that getting back to where he should be meant he had to make some changes in his lifestyle.
[24:25] Chapter 35, verse 2, he said, put away the strange gods. He hears God tell him that. He turns out to his family, immediately he knows this is where we're messing up. God is showing mercy again.
[24:35] Hey, my daughter's been raped. My sons are murderers. My family's kind of a wreck. I'm looking bad in the community. I'm afraid somebody's going to hurt me. God put the fear of God on them. That's why they didn't touch him.
[24:46] He said, let's get out of here. He said, get rid of your strange gods. He could have said that a long time ago, couldn't he? Put away the strange gods that are among you. Be clean. Change your garments.
[24:57] That's kind of a Bible, Colossians 3 thing. Put off the old, put on the new. You know, they'd take baths like you do. These guys, he said, get rid of that stuff.
[25:07] And I'll go there and I'll make an altar to God. Chapter 35, verse 9. Fantastic verse. Look what he said. God appeared to Jacob again.
[25:18] Wow. Mess up. Wander about. Have a breaking time. Really wrestle with God.
[25:29] God does something special and names him Israel. He still messes up. Doesn't go where he's supposed to go. Lies to his brother. His sons commit murder. His daughter gets raped. His life is a mess.
[25:40] Will God walk away? No, God appeared again to him. And you know what God said to him? He said, don't you know who you are? Look at it. It's a beautiful. Chapter 35, verse 10.
[25:52] It's like a rerun. He says, thy name is Jacob. Thy name shall not be called anymore Jacob. Jacob! We had a meeting about this. And I know your name is Jacob.
[26:03] And you've been acting like Jacob. But that's not who you are. Your name is Israel. And he called his name Israel. And God returns him to the ministry. In 35, 11, and 12, God said, I am the God Almighty.
[26:17] Be fruitful and multiply. And God's going to use you to be a blessing. And Jacob knows. Boy, God. By the way, he's going to mess up again. You do know that, right? See, the Bible's so beautiful.
[26:28] Because it would be so easy for you and I to think. For you and me to think. You get right with God and you'll never mess up. But that's, by the way, the Bible's just true. And in chapter 35, verse 13 and 14, he pours out oil and water.
[26:43] And he calls the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. He pours himself out again. He's been holding on to everything. It's been about Jacob. And again, that symbol we saw before, he pours it out.
[26:57] But when you get right and you serve God, you don't get out of problems. The Bible shows you that right there. Chapter 35 and verse 18. He just got right again.
[27:09] And Rachel, his wife, is fixing to die. Big lesson for all of us. You're not getting out of trouble. There's always going to be issues.
[27:21] There's always going to be things happening. His favorite wife dies. Chapter 35, verse 22. Reuben goes in and sleeps with one of his concubines, which is a name for a second-class wife.
[27:32] I don't really have time to tell you this, but do you remember the story about David when Absalom kicks David out of town? You know what Absalom did to let everybody know he was in charge?
[27:43] He put tents up on the roof, put a tent on the roof, and he slept with David's wives so everybody could stay. So he could say, I'm the man. Now I took Daddy's place. I took Daddy's wife. Oh, Reuben.
[27:53] And his firstborn does something so wicked. Being godly people doesn't mean your kids won't mess up either.
[28:09] It doesn't mean that things aren't going to happen that hurt you. Jacob, for all of his conniving and scheming, lives a pretty hard life.
[28:21] Turmoil in the house. Wives that don't like each other. Kids that don't like each other. You know they're going to get rid of Joseph soon in the story. That's the family he lives in.
[28:33] He doesn't get along with his brother. In chapter 35, verse 28 and 29, his dad's 180, and he and Esau get back together and they bury their dad. But they never got along.
[28:44] Chapter 36, 6 and 7, they never got along. Problems come in our life. We're not free from problems, but we get to have victory with them. Let me just give you some things I think you can take home from these four chapters.
[28:57] We don't do anything in chapter 36, really. If you look at it, you're going to find out it's just a list of all of Esau's family. And that's how, by the way, that's where the Muslims are going to trace everything back to Ishmael.
[29:08] Excuse me, that's wrong. I said that wrong. Ishmael is where they're going back to. There's a listing of Esau's family and the Edomites. But let's take this home. Here's some questions I'd like to bring to you.
[29:18] Are you expecting too much from your children or those that you're discipling? Can I just say real quickly about people that disciple? You know, if you're not careful, you push too hard.
[29:29] And church people, man, we've run so many people off. They come in a door. We look at them. If they don't dress the way we want them to dress, if they don't look the way we want them to look, if they're not doing what we want to do, we push them too quickly.
[29:40] We tell them things to do. We focus on the wrong stuff and we mess people up. I thought that's a good lesson. At the speed, they're able to endure. Lead on softly.
[29:53] I hope you take that home. Are you expecting enough, Dad? How about this one? Are you living in obedience? It's not do you come to church. It's not about learning more. It's about putting it into practice.
[30:04] It's not about knowing. It's about doing. The whole Bible is not about how much you know, but how much you do. Do you live up to who you are? You are a new person. You have a new name.
[30:16] Do you live that out? Are you allowing sin to defeat you? Listen to this. Biblically, none of us have any excuse to let sin defeat us. Not discouragement.
[30:27] Not disappointment. Not lust. Not greed. Not pride. Not anger. We are victorious people. We're new people in Christ. And if sin's whipping you, you can get it.
[30:38] You have victory. You are new in Christ. Do you understand that there are no eternal consequences of sin, but there are temporary ones, and your decisions do affect your family?
[30:50] Every time I marry somebody, I tell them, boy, the day you say those last words, the day you say, I do, it's over. You can't think for yourself anymore. You've got to think for two.
[31:02] You can't make a decision based on you. Everything I do affects Betty. Everything I do affects my children. But when you get that first child born in your home, that first baby is born, your life is forever changed.
[31:14] Because now not only does your wife, who is an adult, could make decisions, but God put a precious life in your family. And you might say, I'm strong enough to not do these things, and I'm strong enough to play with sin.
[31:25] But you understand, somebody's watching you. Jacob and his sons are both doing stuff they watched Isaac do, and Rebecca do. Sin just keeps moving in the family.
[31:38] It's a wild story here. Esau showed much more grace towards Jacob. You have received grace. Do you show it? Do you express the grace you've received to others?
[31:49] Esau runs and hugs his brother, kisses him, and Jacob's bowing and too concerned about himself. Do you take care to do the right thing with your spouse, your children, your sexual identity?
[32:02] Or do you still practice the old ways of deceiving and tricking? Are you the victim, the center of the story, the important actor on the stage?
[32:12] Or have you learned to think of the responsibility you carry? If I were just preaching a message on the road tonight, I think I'd have just loved to preach this. Jacob's whole life is going around him, and it's all around number one.
[32:26] I, me, my. I, me, my. He's the actor on the stage. It's all about him. Everything that goes wrong, the poor guy's the victim. Will you come back and live out who you are and who you are meant to be?
[32:41] Are you living a life of victory? In Christ, we have victory. I'd just like to say to you, nobody taught me this for years, and I used to beat myself up for every time I failed.
[32:54] Let me tell you this. God loves you. You mess up, He keeps on loving you. But what ends up happening is when I mess up, I think God doesn't love me, so I do more junk. I do more stupid stuff.
[33:05] But at the same time, other people, they understand grace and they don't live up to it. We're new creatures. We're not Jacob anymore. We're Israel. We are princes with God.
[33:16] We're God-dominated people. Our lives aren't about ourselves. Our lives are about God. And you must be careful to live out who you are. You are a new creature.
[33:27] And a new creature lives a new life, sings a new song, has a new walk. He's a new creature. Are you living up to who you are? In Christ Jesus.
[33:38] Father, I love you. And I thank you for what you're doing. And I pray you'd bless our church and bring honor to your name. And I pray that you'd glorify yourself in my life. And God, forgive me so much for being the center of the story, liking to think about myself.
[33:52] And God, forgive me for pushing my children too hard or not being as kind as I ought to be as a spiritual leader. God, do a work in our church. Lord, help some dads see the thing. Help some disciples see it.
[34:05] God, help us see how often we like to be the victim. And how often we don't trust you with it. And I'll give you praise. For all you do, I thank you and I magnify you. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfredo, Georgia.
[34:17] For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.