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Good morning, I'm Terry Kochi. I'm a member of Oikosin the Oaks and Women Reading Women.
A reading from the book of Genesis as printed in your liturgy.
Genesis 28, 1 through 5 and 10 through 22.
So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him.
Then he commanded him,
Do not marry a Canaanite woman.
Go at once to Paddan Aram to the house of your mother's father Bethuel.
Take a wife for yourself there from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples.
May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham,
so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.
Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way,
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set.
Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth with its top reaching to heaven,
and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
There above it stood the Lord, and he said,
I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.
I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth,
and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.
All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go,
and I will bring you back to this land.
I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought,
Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.
He was afraid and said,
How awesome is this place?
This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head
and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it.
He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying,
If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking
and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household,
then the Lord will be my God, and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house.
And of all that you give me, I will give you a tenth.
The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God.
All right.
The pressure's on to preach not a long sermon, so here we go.
I think of all the characters in the Bible,
most modern people can relate pretty well to Jacob
because he has so many problems.
He's got some significant relational failures, spiritual struggles, character flaws.
He's really kind of made a mess of his life.
And if you were here last week, you'll remember that basically he conspired with his mother.
He deceived his old and blind father.
He stole the blessing from his brother who's now angry enough with him to want to murder him.
And basically we saw that Jacob is a scoundrel.
You know, he's a liar.
He's a cheater.
He's a blasphemer.
And he basically says his final goodbye to his parents.
He's never going to see them again.
And he's about 20 years old, right?
He's this troubled 20-year-old setting off in search of his place in life,
running away from his past sins, hoping he can have a fresh start.
And that's where this story picks up.
In Genesis 28 today, it says in verse 11 that
when he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set.
And taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
And that's strange because the custom of the ancient Near East is that you would find safe lodging in the home of a neighbor.
And this tells us that Jacob is so alienated, he's so alone, that he's forced to sleep under the stars.
The comfort of his parents' home has been replaced by these stones.
It's not just one stone that's like a pillow.
I think it's many stones that he's basically kind of gathered around his head like a little fortress to keep him safe.
And the security of the sun is replaced by the dangers of nighttime.
So what we sense is that he's exposed, right?
He's vulnerable.
And I'm imagining quite depressed as he thinks about the comfort and the security that he's left behind.
Certainly, if I were him, I would be quite frightened as I think about the long and perilous and uncertain journey
that lies ahead of me in the wilderness with no money and no friends.
And what in the world is he probably thinking at this moment?
He's thinking to himself, are the promises that my dad gave me really mine?
You know, this blessing that I stole from my brother, am I going to be blessed like Abraham was blessed and Isaac was blessed?
And if I'm truly to be the heir and the inheritor of the promised land and a promised people,
then why am I a single guy running away from the promised land?
He's in the dark.
He's all alone.
He's on the run.
Full of fear.
No confidence whatsoever.
And maybe you can relate to that today.
So Jacob, like many of us, we know what it's like to just have to force ourself to sleep at night when we can't sleep.
And so he forces himself to sleep with absolutely no expectation of what is going to happen that night.
And make sure you notice that Jacob's not seeking God.
He's not at all praying to God.
He's not asking God for mercy or for protection or for help or for guidance.
He just goes to sleep.
And what we see here is that God's grace initiates toward Jacob.
God's grace intervenes in Jacob's life.
That this God of heaven loves us too much to leave us to ourselves and in our sins.
Right?
He wants us and he wants a relationship with us so much that he goes out for us in the dark.
He searches for us until he finds us.
And the fact that God works with Jacob who's so unworthy and so undeserving with all of his conflicting desires and drives and struggles and failures,
the complete mess he's made of his life,
that's a sign of great hope that God actually works with people like me and people like you.
Of course, the Lord has to come to Jacob in a dream at night because during the day,
Jacob's defenses are up so high, God can't even break through.
But he waits until he's asleep at night and he comes and what we're going to see is that he turns this deeply flawed man into one who's highly favored.
Right?
This man who's terribly broken into someone who's wonderfully blessed.
And what I want to look at is the three kind of movements of the story.
The Lord of the stairway, the awesome presence of God, and the grateful response to grace.
If you look at verse 12, you'll see the Lord of the stairway.
And it says, he had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth with its top reaching to heaven.
And the angels of God were ascending and descending on it, and there above it stood the Lord.
Now, he sees three things in this dream.
First of all, he sees this giant stairway.
And this is different than Led Zeppelin's stairway to heaven.
Because in Hebrew, it says the stairway is resting on or it's placed to the earth.
And why does that matter?
Because it's about directional emphasis.
This is not a stairway to heaven.
Right?
It's not a stairway that's built by human beings so that they can go from earth up to heaven.
Like we saw Genesis 11, the Tower of Babel.
This is a, this is created not by humans, it's created by God.
And the purpose of the stairway is that so he can come from heaven down to earth.
Right?
The initiative is God's initiative.
The connection and the communication is due to the grace of God.
Only he can bring heaven to earth.
And what else does Jacob see in this dream?
And the second thing he sees in this dream is that angels are ascending and descending on the stairway.
And you've got to completely rid your mind of whatever image you have of angels.
Right?
From Hallmark cards and TV shows.
Angels are not chubby, naked babies with wings.
They are not soft, slim, comforting creatures that make you feel good.
In fact, every time you read in the Bible, what do the angels say to human beings?
They say, fear not.
Why?
Because they make you afraid.
These are ancient spiritual beings that dwell in the presence of the living God.
And they're these messengers of God, these warriors of God who are coming to bear the light of God
and the holiness of God and the power of God.
And what it says is these royal messengers who represent the sovereign king of heaven himself,
they're going up and down and back and forth and in and out from the throne room of God
in order to carry and to execute the decrees of the king in his world.
And so anytime angels are showing up, big stuff's happening.
Right?
God's kingdom is on the move.
And so Jacob sees a stairway.
He sees angels going up and down on that stairway.
And what else does he see?
The third thing he sees in verse 13, it says,
there above it or there above him stood the Lord, stood Yahweh himself.
Now if you're Jacob and you're a liar, you're a deceiver.
Right?
You've stolen your brother's blessing and God is right here.
Yahweh is right here standing over you.
What are you thinking?
You're thinking, uh-oh.
This can't be good.
This is not a happy dream.
This is a nightmare.
This is a vision of judgment.
What in the world is the Lord about to do to me?
Here is Yahweh in all of his majestic authority and he's standing over you.
Right?
The same Lord who in Genesis 18 verse 19 said,
Abraham, you are to direct your children and your household to keep the way of the Lord
by doing what is right and what is just.
Has Jacob done what is right and what is just?
We said that the definition of wickedness is to disadvantage your community in order to advantage
yourself.
And Jacob has been anything but righteous and anything but just.
And he deserves to be punished by God.
But is that what happens here in this story?
Yahweh is standing over Jacob not to review his shameful past, not to condemn him, not to
give him the just judgment that he absolutely deserves.
No, he says, I'm here.
Yahweh says, I'm here as a God of grace to present to you, Jacob, an alternative future of a life centered
on me.
Now, if you're a mom or a dad, you know what it's like to go in in the dark late at night
and to go into your, over to your sleeping and dreaming child and to stand over them
and to maybe put your hand on their head, maybe kiss them on the cheek, maybe rub their back
in a posture of nearness, a posture of intimacy, a posture of tenderness.
And here is the Lord standing over Jacob and he whispers three things into the ear of his
sleeping and dreaming child.
And what does he say?
He says exactly what Jacob needs to hear in verse 13.
The Lord stood above him and said, I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the
God of Isaac.
I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west
and to the east, to the north and to the south.
And all the peoples on earth we bless through you and through your offspring.
I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land.
I will not leave you until I have done what I promised.
Jacob sees three things and he hears three things.
The first thing is that remember that Jacob's penniless.
Jacob has a stolen blessing and that's about all he's got.
He's running away from the promised land.
He's got no inheritance.
His future is as dark as the night sky.
And what does he hear?
He hears this.
I am Yahweh.
The God who made promises.
The God who kept covenant.
The God who gave the blessing of life to Abraham and to Isaac.
And I'm going to bless you too.
Jacob, you don't even have a wife right now.
But I'm going to give you abundant descendants and I'm going to bring you and your children
back to this good land that's flowing with milk and honey.
And through your fruitful and multiplying descendants, my salvation, my supernatural life is going to be on you.
And through you, it's going to go out to all the peoples of the earth.
Because they're blessed to be a blessing.
If we can pull up this slide.
I think we have a slide.
Maybe, maybe not.
It's the slide I show every week in the sermon series.
Where basically, the Lord is reiterating the promises that he's made to Abraham in Genesis 12.
To give him a people.
To give him a place.
To give him this international blessing.
That's the first thing Jacob hears.
The second thing is that Jacob is family-less.
Jacob is friendless.
He's totally alone.
Right?
He's never going to see his parents again.
His brother wants to murder him.
He's a total mess of a single guy looking for a wife.
And what does he hear?
The Lord says to him,
I will be with you.
You have my faithful presence.
And the Lord is saying to Jacob,
on this journey,
even when you feel alone,
you're never alone.
Because I, the Lord of heaven and earth,
am with you.
And if you have me,
if you have my presence,
you lack nothing that you really need.
And the third thing that Jacob hears,
Jacob's not only penniless,
he's not only friendless,
but he's also defenseless.
He's running for his life into uncertainty.
He's out here in this howling wilderness.
He's completely vulnerable.
So vulnerable.
He's just pulling stones around his head
to give him a sense of protection and safety.
And what does he hear?
The Lord says,
I will watch over you wherever you go.
No.
It's the same thing God said to Abraham in Genesis 15.
I am your shield.
I will be your shield.
I'm going to watch over you.
I'm going to sovereignly protect you
so that no matter what unexpected turns
your life is bound to take,
every time I'm going to actively intervene
for your welfare.
I'm going to be standing with you
in all those places of threat
and danger to defend you.
And whoever deals lightly with you,
whoever dismisses or disparages you,
whoever holds you in contempt,
whoever tries to harm you,
I'm going to be right there with you
to protect you and defend you.
I'll watch over you.
He sees three things,
the stairway, the angels,
and the Lord himself.
And he hears three things,
this promise of a people and a place,
this promise of the presence,
this promise of protection.
And none of these things Jacob hears from God
are things that he gets
through his own human manipulation
and human deception
like we were talking about last week.
These are all just surprising gifts
of the grace of God
to a person who's completely unworthy
and totally undeserving,
who's not even seeking God,
not even expecting to get anything from God.
And God comes to him
and he doesn't blast him away with condemnation.
He blesses him with unconditional love.
How does that apply to us?
Well, if you're like Jacob
and you're here today
and you've done the worst possible things,
your life is falling apart,
you're in the dark,
you've hit the bottom,
you're on the run,
you're not even calling out to God,
you don't even care about your sins,
the Lord of the stairway,
this king whose kingdom is on the move,
he stands over you like a parent
with a sleeping child.
And he's not at the top of the stairway.
He's not saying,
come up here so I can talk to you
about your shameful past.
No, he's taken the initiative.
He's come down to you unsought
and unasked for
to offer you an alternative future
of mercy and grace.
Mercy is not getting what your sins deserve.
And grace is getting the forgiveness
and the blessing that you don't deserve.
God says to Jacob,
nothing is going to stop me
from blessing you.
And so you don't need to be afraid.
You can be totally confident.
And friends,
I hope we realize
that the Lord of the stairway,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
is offering the same thing to us as well.
So that's the Lord of the stairway.
I want to talk now
about the awesome presence of God.
Because you notice in verse 16,
it says,
when Jacob awoke from his dream,
he thought,
surely the Lord is in this place
and I was not aware of it.
And he was afraid.
And he said,
how awesome is this place.
This is none other than the house of God.
This is the gate of heaven.
To this point in the book of Genesis,
there's been nowhere near
this level of amazement.
And Jacob,
it says he's overwhelmed
with a sense of both fear and awe.
There's a book written in 1917
by a guy named Rudolph Otto.
And he wrote a book called
The Idea of the Holy.
He's trying to help
modern post-Enlightenment people
come to terms with the idea of the holy.
And what he says is,
he says,
when we experience the power
of natural phenomenon,
like if you're out at a volcano
and it begins to erupt,
or if you go into the path of totality
for a total solar eclipse,
you are going to experience
what Otto calls
a numinous mystery.
mystery.
And it's a mystery
that's tremendous
and terrifying
at the same time.
And you will feel overcome
with a sense of awe.
Right?
I watched some videos this week
of the 2024 total solar eclipse.
And in those videos,
when the moon moves over the sun
and the light of the sun
is blotted out
in the middle of the day,
people begin weeping.
And they begin crying out,
saying,
oh my,
this is the most awesome,
incredible thing
I've ever seen.
And they're undone.
They can't help but cry out
because they're experiencing
something objective.
They're experiencing
something outside of themselves.
They're experiencing
something large,
something cosmic,
something powerful,
something beyond their control.
And it overwhelms them
with a sense of awe.
And this is, I think,
part of the reason
why we spend our time
and our money
going to the mountains
and going to the oceans
and going to big forests
with giant trees.
It's why we go seeking
the sunrise,
the sunset,
because our hearts
long to be next to something
that's bigger
and more beautiful
than the self.
Right?
We love to sit
or stand next to something
and say,
you know,
I am small
and that is big.
And I am weak
but that is powerful.
And I am so flawed
but that is good
and that is beautiful.
And this happens
many, many times
throughout the Bible.
The prophet Isaiah
it says that he sees
a vision of the Lord
who's the king
and he's enthroned
on high
and he's exalted
and he hears
the angels
calling out
in the presence
of the Lord,
holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty.
The whole earth
is full of his glory.
And in that moment
the prophet
encounters this tremendous
and terrifying
numinous mystery
and he says,
woe to me
for I'm ruined
for I am unclean
and I live among
a people
who are unclean.
In the Gospels
it happens
in the New Testament
where in the Gospel
of Luke chapter 5
Peter has this encounter
with Christ.
He experiences
the power
and the authority
of Jesus
and it says
that Peter fell
at his feet
and he said to Jesus
he said,
go away from me Lord
because I'm a sinful man.
That's exactly what
is happening
to Jacob right now.
He's shaken
and he's afraid
and he's amazed
because he's aware
that he's in the presence
of the absolute
and transcendent Lord
and he says,
how awesome
is this place?
And you see
what's happening
to Jacob
is here he is
in this middle
of nowhere place
that feels to him
it's dark
and it's stony
and it's hard
but his eyes
are opened
to something
beyond
his physical circumstances
his eyes are opened
to the metaphysical
and all of a sudden
this dark place
becomes filled
with light
and this stony place
becomes a sanctuary
and this hard place
becomes awesome
and wonderful.
How does that happen?
Because
Jacob has a vision
of the presence
of the Lord
and he hears
the voice
of the living God
and he encounters
the truth
of God's
powerful promises
and when that happens
he doesn't feel
this kind of casual
flippant attitude
no he's overcome
with a sense
of reverent
fear
aware
he says
of how ignorant
he was
of how
small
and how weak
and how
unworthy
and how sinful
he is
and aware
at the same time
of how great
and how powerful
and how wise
and how holy
the Lord is
and I think
this is important
because some of us
feel like we're
in a dark place
we're in a stony
place
and we're in a hard
place
we're out
in the middle
of nowhere
and I want you
to be encouraged
that that's the place
where God likes
to work
it's the place
that God likes
to turn into Beth
El
the house of God
the gate
of heaven
it's the place
that he likes
to turn in
to an awesome
place
and it's not
so much
that Jacob's dream
takes him
out of the real
world
in some sort
of escapist
fantasy
but what happens
is that
he has this dream
and it reveals
to him
the real world
of God
the real world
of heaven
and it becomes
so much more
convincing to him
than this
little world
of fear
and guilt
and shame
and so he goes
from that world
and he begins
to live in this world
in a completely
different way
you tracking with me
this is why
on Sundays
we gather together
around the bonfire
the preached word
and sacraments
and it's why
in our midweek
community groups
we gather around
the campfire
of the shared word
and prayer
with each other
and it's why
in our daily time
with God
we gather around
the candlelight
of meditated
God's meditated word
because these
are the means
by which
God reveals
to us
the real world
of heaven
these are the means
by which
we come
face to face
with the awesome
reality
of the presence
of the living God
and this is how
God opens our eyes
it's how God
transforms
our hearts
and our lives
to be
the very house
of God
where the presence
of God
is dwelling
it's how he
transforms
this ordinary
gathering
of human beings
into the very
gate
of heaven
the awesome
presence of God
the God
who is with us
changes
absolutely
everything
when it comes
into our lives
and this is why
Jesus was
at such pains
to help people
experience it
and to understand it
if you
if you go
home later today
you can look this up
but in the gospel
of John
chapter 1
opening chapter
of the gospel
of John
we see this
encounter between
Jesus and a guy
named Nathaniel
and Philip
another guy
he comes to Nathaniel
and he says
hey Nathaniel
we found
the Messiah
his name is Jesus
and he's from
Nazareth
and Nathaniel says
Nazareth
can anything
good come from
Nazareth
God does not
come down
in places
like Nazareth
and Philip
says well
come and see
and when
Jesus saw
Nathaniel
he said
here truly
is an Israelite
in whom
there is no
deceit
here's an honest
man
and Nathaniel
hears Jesus
say this about him
and he says
how do you know
me
how do you know
who I am
and Jesus
says to him
Nathaniel
I saw you
while you were
still under
the fig tree
before Philip
called you
and what's
crazy is
we have no
idea what
Nathaniel was
doing under
that fig tree
right
we don't know
if he was
was he praying
was he meditating
on scripture
was he reading
Genesis 28
we have no
we have no clue
but the moment
that Jesus
meets him
and knows
who he is
and not only
who he is
but what he's
doing
for Nathaniel
it just blows
all of his
questions
all of his
doubts
all of his
skepticism
completely away
and he says
to Jesus
he says
Rabbi
you are the
son of God
you are the
king of Israel
and Jesus
says Nathaniel
you're going to
see greater
things than that
he says
very truly
I tell you
you will see
heaven open
and the angels
of God
ascending
and descending
on the
son of man
what in the
world
why is
Jesus
having a
bible study
about
Genesis 28
with Nathaniel
because
what Jesus
wants to say
is that
I'm the
Lord of the
stairway
I am God
come to you
in the flesh
speaking with
you right
now
right here
I'm the
link
between
heaven
and earth
right
you want to
know where
the house
of God
is
where the
awesome
presence
of God
is
he's right
here
looking at
you
he knows
you
you want to
know what
the access
point is
between
God the
father
and human
beings
it's me
Jesus
says
see the
gospel is
not about
us going
up the
stairway
to God
right
the gospel
is about
God the
son coming
down the
stairway
to us
and the
gospel works
in the
complete
opposite
direction
of how
all the
other major
world religions
work
because this
is a
stairway
not to
heaven
it's a
stairway
from heaven
it's a
stairway
of grace
it's not
that any
of us
have to go
climb the
steps up
to God
we don't
have to
do the
ten
commandments
of
Judaism
we don't
have to
do the
five
pillars
of
Islam
we don't
have to
do the
eightfold
path
of
Buddhism
we don't
have to
do all
the steps
and all
the
requirements
of whatever
that religion
says would
make you
acceptable
to God
no
Jesus
says the
angels
of God
are ascending
and descending
not even
to the
son of
man
but on
the
son of
man
there's
not a
series of
steps
for you
to take
Jesus
says I
am the
steps
in fact
I've
fulfilled
all the
steps
I've
fulfilled
all the
requirements
I've
lived the
life that
you were
meant to
live
the life
of love
and I
died the
death
I took
the penalty
that you
were meant
to take
I've
done
all the
steps
everything
that was
needed
I've
done
absolutely
everything
for you
I've
not
come
to
show
you
the
stairway
to
God
or the
steps
to
God
I've
come
to
be
the
stairway
and to
do
the
steps
for
you
Jesus
says if
you want
to understand
me
if you
want to
know
what it's
like for
heaven to
be opened
before you
then you
got to see
heaven and
earth
intersecting
and overlapping
over me
over my
crucified
yet
resurrected
body
if you
want to
see the
royal
majestic
power
of the
kingdom
of God
moving up
and down
it's moving
up and down
over me
you see
Jacob is
lonely
Jacob's
isolated
Jacob is
an alienated
guy
because of
all of his
pride
because of
his lies
because of
his malice
and that's
what sin
does
it separates
us from
people
it separates
us from
God
and what
Jesus is
doing is
he's saying
look I've
come to
substitute
myself in
Jacob's
place
I've come
to get up
on that
place of
cosmic
alienation
cosmic
separation
and ultimate
loneliness
on the
cross
so that
someone like
Jacob who
is not
seeking God
doesn't expect
anything from
God doesn't
even want
God can
have any
hope in
this world
and Jesus
is saying
look if you
want to
experience the
awesome presence
of God
you've got to
come to
me
if you want
to see what
it looks like
when heaven
and earth
are open
to each
other
you've got
to come
follow me
very truly
I tell you
you will see
heaven open
and the angels
of God
ascending
and descending
on the
son of
man
all right
last thing
because we
got a
congregational
meeting
the
stairway
the
Lord of
the
stairway
the
awesome
presence
of
God
and
finally
the
grateful
response
to
grace
this
story
amazes
me
because
it's
about
a
man
running
away
from
home
who
runs
into
God
and
it's
about
a
man
who's
afraid
of
his
brother
who
then
becomes
afraid
of
God
and
it's
about
this
nowhere
place
that
!
somehow
becomes
nothing
less
than
the
place
of
God
and
how
does
Jacob
respond
to that
well
in
verse
21
for the
first
time
in
Jacob's
life
he
says
the
Lord
is
my
God
right
God
he
says
the
Lord
is
my
God
he
has
a
personal
relationship
that's
real
and
dynamic
and
intimate
with
God
and
he
shows
that
not
just
in
what
he
believes
and
what
he
values
he
shows
that
in
how
he
lives
and
how
does
Jacob
then
live
well
it
says
in
verse
18
early
the
next
morning
Jacob
took
the
stone
he
placed
under
his
head
and
set
it
up
as
a
pillar
and
poured
oil
on
top
of
it
and
he
called
that
place
Bethel
though
the
city
used
to
be
called
Luz
then
Jacob
made
a vow
saying
if
God
or I
think
it's
better
since
God
will
be
with
me
and
will
watch
over
me
on
this
journey
faith
for
Jacob
is
so
much
more
than
inner
spiritual
feelings
faith
is
expressed
in
tangible
embodied
liturgical
acts
it
says
he's
pouring
oil
to
venerate
this
nowhere
place
as
a
holy
place
he's
doing
his
morning
prayers
he's
talking
seriously
with
God
he's
making
the
Lord
my
God
pledging
exclusive
allegiance
to God
promising
to God
that he's
going to
worship
him
in the
future
no
matter
what
and
here's
this
guy
who's
totally
empty
handed
and
he
begins
offering
sacrifices
to
God
and
promising
to
give
something
to
God
in
verse
22
he
says
of
all
that
you
give
me
I
will
give
you
10%
because
I
want
to
say
thank
you
for
your
presence
and
your
protection
and
your
provision
and
your
preservation
now
the
good
news
for
us
is
that
after
Jesus
sent
the
Holy
Spirit
his
apostles
dropped
this
principle
of
tithing
and
we
all
say
yes
but
the
bad
news
is
that
the
apostles
adopted
a
higher
spiritual
principle
that
goes
like
this
whoever
sows
sparingly
will
reap
sparingly
and
whoever
sows
generously
will
reap
generously
and
what
they
mean
by
that
the
apostles
mean
we
don't
want
to
lest
you
not
give
all
that
God
wants
you
to
give
the
way
that
we
know
God's
grace
is
operative
in
Jacob's
life
is
because
he's
responding
to that
grace
with
gratitude
and
he's
putting
his
faith
to
work
through
his
praying
and
through
his
giving
and
also
through
the
way
he's
talking
about
himself
in
his
own
story
he
begins
to
re-narrate
his
life
with
a new
plot
line
in
verse
20
he's
talking
about
his
journey
and
he
says
God
will
be
with
me
he'll
watch
over
me
on
this
journey
he'll
bring
me
back
in
safety
or
he'll
bring
me
back
that
word
is
shalom
to
my
father's
house
in
shalom
after
he
experienced
the
presence
of
God
and
the
supreme
display
of
God's
grace
in
his
life
Jacob
no
longer
sees
himself
as
an
exile
or
a
fugitive
who's
running
away
from
something
no
now
he
sees
himself
as
a
pilgrim
who's
on
a
journey
with
God
who's
running
towards
something
and
that's
what
happens
when
God
comes
into
your
life
the
way
you
narrate
your
life
is
completely
transformed
you
say
I'm
no
longer
a
solitary
guy
I'm
no
longer
a
solitary
gal
who's
just
wandering
by
myself
on
this
random
secular
!
touring
expedition
to see
as much
as I
can
see
before
I
die
no
you
say
I'm
a
person
who's
on
a
sacred
pilgrimage
with
God
and
I'm
making
my
way
to
the
city
of
God
I'm
making
my
way
to
the
shalom
of
God
and
therefore
from
now
on
I
consecrate
myself
I
commit
myself
to
my
trustworthy
God
who I
know
is
leading
me
on
this
holy
journey
to
test
me
and
to
refine
my
character
to
remold
me
and
transform
my
personality
because
ultimately
I
know
that
I'm
going
to
arrive
in
safety
I'm
going
to
arrive
in
shalom
at
that
place
where
God
has
destined
me
to
be
that's
what
a
grateful
response
to
grace
looks
like
so
let's
think
about
that
as
we
come
to
this
table
in
the
name
of
the
Father
Son
and
Holy
Spirit
Amen