Thank you.
Genesis 28.
Sorry, I'm just waiting on some water to arrive.
Amen.
So we've been looking at this family, the family of Abraham, his son Isaac and Isaac's son Jacob.
And this is where we turn to today as we think about Jacob, this ancient family that yet speaks to us today.
As God works and deals with them, it's the same God who works in us.
So let's hear God's word, Genesis 28, starting at verse 10.
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 woke 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.
This is the gate of heaven.
Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head,
set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it.
He called that place Bethel.
Through 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.
Well, let's keep our Bibles open
and let's pray.
Father God,
and by your Spirit will you be our teacher this morning.
That the words that I speak
would be words from God.
words that you use
to change each of us.
That we would stand in awe
of how great you are
and be amazed
at your wonderful grace
to people like us.
teach us.
Teach us.
Work in us, we pray.
Amen.
Well, Jacob is not in a good place.
His sinful choices and selfish decisions
have begun to catch up with him.
You see, with the help of his scheming mother,
Jacob had deceived his father
and he had robbed his brother
of his blessing.
And the effects were devastating and destructive.
You can look back to chapter 27, verse 41.
Here's how Jacob's brother responded
to Jacob's deceiving and lies.
27, verse 41.
Esau held a grudge
against his brother Jacob
because of the blessing
his father had given him.
He said to himself,
The days of mourning
for my father are near.
Then I will kill my brother Jacob.
So in fear of his life,
back to chapter 28, verse 10,
Jacob left Beersheba
and set out for Haran.
When he reached a certain place,
he stopped for the night
because the sun had set.
Now we don't know the name of this place
where he stopped for a sleep,
but I guess we could call it
Not in a Good Place.
Verse 11.
Taking one of the stones there,
he put it under his head
and lay down to sleep.
Picture him there all alone.
The only thing that he owns is a stone.
To put his head on.
Now our stories and struggles may differ,
but I think we understand that place.
You may have a friend
or someone in your family
who's in that kind of place right now.
In fact, you might be here this morning
and you find yourself in that place.
Maybe it's been your sinful decisions
or selfish choices
that leave us not in a good place.
Or perhaps it's been what others have done.
Or the circumstances we just find ourselves in
and we say this is not a good place.
How does God respond to Jacob in such a situation?
How does he respond to us today?
What kind of counsel can we offer
to our friends and family,
to one another when we are not in a good place?
What do we say?
Well, in our text this morning,
we're going to discover that
there is no place we can go.
There is no depth that we could possibly descend
where God is not there.
Four big things we want to see this morning
is God's grace,
God's promise,
God's presence,
and God's assurance.
This is how God responds
when we are not in a good place.
First, let's be surprised
by God's grace.
God's response is certainly not
how we might respond
to deceivers and robbers.
Look at verse 12.
Jacob had a dream
in which he saw a stairway
resting on the earth
with its top reaching into the heavens.
What's going on here?
Well, as he looked in his dream,
there were angels of God
and they were ascending
and they were descending
up and down the steps.
What's going on?
What's going to happen to Jacob?
Verse 13.
There above it
stood the Lord.
Or some of our translations might have
there beside him
stood the Lord.
You see,
we mightn't bother with a Jacob,
but God is desperately concerned
for Jacob.
And let's be clear,
this is not a stairway
or a ladder
for Jacob
to somehow
climb up to God.
This is a vision
in which God,
the Almighty,
descends down
to Jacob.
Remember,
Jacob has gone
to sleep.
He hasn't read
his Bible
that night.
He hasn't
done his bedtime prayers.
There's no calling out
to God
for help.
It's not Jacob
who's lying there
looking for God.
It's God
who is coming
down
to Jacob.
God takes
the initiative.
He intervenes
and he descends
in grace.
It's not
what we expect.
It takes us
by surprise
because
this isn't
what is deserved.
And what does God
do when he comes
down?
Well, he speaks
a word of grace.
Verse 13,
There
beside him
stood the Lord
and he said,
I am the Lord,
the God of your
father Abraham
and the God
of Isaac.
Jacob,
just as I
was God
to Abraham
your grandfather,
just as I
was God
to your father
Isaac,
so Jacob,
I am
your God
too.
Silence
can be a
terrible thing,
can't it?
I think we've
all known
this experience
where you've
done something
or you've
said something
that has offended
the other person,
maybe a spouse
or someone
within your
family or
someone in
your work
and you know
the response
you get,
you get the
silent treatment.
They won't
talk to you.
They cut off
communication,
they don't
answer your
text,
they might
even block
you,
they disown
you,
you know
that silent
treatment.
Well,
that's how we
might deal
with each other
but God
doesn't give
the silent
treatment.
He moves
towards us,
he always
does.
You see,
there is no
place we
can be in,
there's no
depth that
we can
descend,
where God
doesn't come
and speak
a word of
grace.
I am
your God
too.
You see,
our society,
our culture
works on the
basis that
if you want
to get on
in life
or if you
find yourself
in a difficult
situation,
you've got
to pull
yourself together
and lift
yourself up
because no
one else is
going to do
it for you.
You've got
to get on
and make
your life
better.
Instead,
the message
today is
to stop
and wonder
at the grace
of God
who sees
us where
we are,
who takes
the initiative,
who intervenes,
who descends
into our
darkest place,
who enters
into our
not in a
good place
and speaks
a word of
grace.
I am
your God
too.
So first,
let us be
surprised
by the
grace of
God.
second,
let us
be
encouraged
by God's
promise.
You see,
God's
word of
grace is
filled
with great
promise.
Here God
reminds Jacob
of what
he is going
to do.
In fact,
this shouldn't
be new to
us.
These are
the same
promises
that God
gave to
Abraham
and to
Isaac.
let's
see what
they are.
Verse
13,
there was
the promise
of land.
God
said,
I will
give you
and your
descendants
the land
on which
you are
lying.
Beginning
of verse
14 is
the promise
of a
great nation.
Your
descendants
will be
like the
dust of
the earth.
You're
going to
spread out
north,
south,
east,
and west.
You're
going to
be a
huge
nation.
And the
rest of
verse
14 is
the promise
of being
a blessing
to all
nations.
All
peoples
on earth
will be
blessed
through you.
This is
what I'm
going to
do for
you,
Jacob.
Well,
all that
sounds grand
and great,
doesn't it?
But what
about the
now?
You see,
Jacob's
present
experience,
lying down
with his
head on a
stone,
is a
long way
off God's
great
promises.
Instead
of having
a land,
all he's
got is
a stone.
Instead
of being
a great
nation,
all he
is,
is himself.
He hasn't
even got a
wife or
children.
Instead
of being
a blessing,
well,
he's been
a curse
to his
own family
and he's
running
for his
life.
God's
great
promises,
yes,
they're
great,
they're
brilliant,
but what
about me
today?
God's
promises
are
important
to us.
They
mightn't
be fully
and
immediately
fulfilled,
but they
will be
in God's
time.
You see,
what Jacob
had to
understand
and what
we need
to learn
and to
grasp
is that
there is
a now
and a
not yet
to God's
promises.
There's a
now and a
not yet
to God's
promises.
Look what
God says
to Jacob
in these
verses.
They're
all
future,
aren't
they?
He says,
I will
give you
a land.
I will
make you
into a
great
nation.
I will
make you
a blessing
to the
nations.
In other
words,
not all
of God's
promises
are here
and now.
Most
are yet
to come.
Now,
from our
perspective
today,
if we are
Christians,
we have
many promises
to come.
not least
the promise
of the
new heavens
and the
new earth,
the new
creation,
the ultimate
land,
where God's
people from
all nations
will be
gathered and
will enjoy
God's blessing
forever and
forever,
the eternal
home where
there is no
more suffering,
no more
death,
and no more
tears.
others.
These are
God's
grand,
big promises
to people
like us,
to his
children.
One day
he's telling
us that we
will be
raised with
brand new
bodies.
One day
we are going
to enter
into our
glorious
inheritance
that can
never perish,
spoil or
fade.
Great
promises
for us.
But what
about now?
What about
today?
What about
the place
I am in
right now?
Well,
listen to
what God
says.
Verse 15.
I am
with you.
I will
watch over
you wherever
you go.
I will
bring you
back to
this land.
I will
not leave
you until
I have
done what
I have
promised
you.
No
longer is
it future
and I
will,
but,
verse 15,
I
am.
I
am
with
you
when
you are
not
in a
good
place.
And I'm
not about
to leave
you there
either.
I will
not leave
you until
I have
done
what I
have
promised
you.
You see,
there are
many promises
yet to
come.
But as we
wait in
the now
and look
forward to
the not
yet,
please hear
God's
encouraging
promise.
God's
promise,
I am
with you.
I am
not going
to leave
you.
I will
bring you
into a
new
place,
a place
where you
will one
day
experience
the blessings
of God
forever
and forever.
forever.
And I
will stay
with you
until you
get there.
Isn't
that the
message
of Psalm
23 that
we all
know so
well?
Listen,
listen to
these words.
Even
though I
walked
through the
darkest
valley,
that was
his not
in a good
place.
even
though I
walked
through the
deepest,
darkest
valley,
I will
fear no
evil.
Why?
For you
are with
me.
Your rod
and your
staff,
they comfort
me.
Surely
your
goodness
and love
will follow
me.
How
long?
All
the days
of my
life.
and I
will
dwell in
the house
of the
Lord
forever.
Jacob,
I am
with you.
I will
not leave
you.
You see,
sometimes
what we
need to
hear is
that word
of grace,
God's
promise of
encouragement.
Today,
I am
enough for
you.
today,
I am
sufficient.
So,
we are
encouraged
by the
promises of
God.
Third,
surprised,
encouraged,
let us be
astonished
by God's
presence.
promise.
You see,
the reality
of what's
going on
for Jacob
begins to
hit home.
Verse 16,
when Jacob
woke from
his sleep,
he thought,
surely the
Lord is in
this place
and I was
not aware
of it.
You see,
Jacob not
only has
God's
great
promises,
Jacob also
has the
promiser.
God
himself
is present.
The God
who made
him,
the God
of the
universe,
is in
this
place.
Jacob
is in
the presence
of greatness
and glory.
Verse 17,
he was
afraid and
said,
how awesome
is this
place.
This is
none other
than the
house of
God.
This
is the
gate of
heaven.
God
has come
down and
has made
his home
with Jacob
in that
moment,
in that
place.
This is
heaven on
earth.
But for
Jacob,
God's
presence was
only ever
going to be
a temporary
experience.
Jesus.
So to
remember
what had
happened,
well,
what did
he do?
Verse 18,
he took
that stone
that he
used as
a pillow
and he
set it
up as
a pillar,
as a
memorial,
and he
put oil
on it,
and then
verse 19,
he called
that place
Bethel,
which means,
if you look
at the bottom
of your
Bible,
the little
note there,
it means
the house
of God.
God had
come down
to him.
This was
an experience
he would
never forget
and he
wanted to
remember it.
You see,
this is the
kind of God
that we
have.
God doesn't
hide himself
from messy,
broken people
like us.
He moves
into the
mess.
He reaches
down to
sinners like
us.
God
himself
comes
to us.
In fact,
what God
did for
Jacob,
God has
done for
us in
a full
and
complete
way.
Turn
with me,
please,
to John's
Gospel.
John's
Gospel,
chapter
one.
verse one.
Here the
apostle John
captures
for us
what God
has done.
We're going
to pick it
up in
verse
one.
John
chapter one,
verse one.
In the
beginning,
beginning.
This is
before time
began.
In the
beginning was
the Word,
and the
Word was
with God,
and the
Word was
God.
And what
did the
Word do?
Well,
look down
at verse
14.
The
Word
became
flesh,
became like
one of us,
and made
his dwelling
among us.
we have
seen
his glory,
the glory
of the
one and
only Son
who came
from the
Father,
full of
grace and
truth.
God
moved
into the
world
through the
person of
Jesus.
He moved
into our
place.
He set
up home
in the
neighbourhood,
as it
were.
He did
this so
that we
might know
and experience
God
intimately
and
personally.
You see,
Jesus tells
us why
he came
into the
world.
Go to
the end
of chapter
1,
verse 51.
Here
Jesus is
speaking with
one of the
first followers
and look
to what he
says,
listen to
what he
says.
He's
speaking
about his
death to
come.
Chapter
1,
verse 51,
he added,
very
truly,
I tell
you,
you will
see
heaven
open
and the
angels of
God
ascending
and
descending
on,
what are
they going,
on the
Son of
Man,
on Jesus.
You see,
there's no
steps or
stairs here
because
Jesus
is the
stairway
to God.
through
through his
death on
the cross,
Jesus will
open up
the way
into
God's
presence.
Jesus
comes to
take our
sin and
judgment
so that
people like
us can
know God
intimately
and personally.
In fact,
it is God
who makes
his home
with us.
Listen to
what Jesus
says to
those who
follow him.
it comes
later in
John 14
verse 23.
Jesus says,
my father
will love
them.
He's talking
to followers
of Jesus.
My father
will love
them and
we will
come to
them and
make our
home with
them.
God
takes up
residence in
our life
eternally so
whatever place
we are in,
he is with
us in that
place.
God
himself is
there.
You see,
if we are
trusting in
Jesus,
we are
continually
in the
presence of
greatness and
glory and
grace.
We can't
get away
from it.
No matter
how dark
or how deep
the place
we are in,
God is
present.
His
greatness and
glory and
grace is
among us.
Now,
doesn't
God's
presence
astonish you?
Don't
you,
like
Jacob,
want to
cry out
in worship,
how awesome
is this
place?
You see,
sometimes we
need to
stop.
We need
to sit.
Or better
still, we
need to get
on our
knees,
whether that's
in the
quietness of
our own
homes,
and just
bow down
in thankfulness
and praise
to say,
God is
with me.
God is
with me.
So,
third,
let us be
astonished
by the
presence of
God in
us and
with us.
fourth,
we're
changed by
God's
assurance.
You see,
when we,
let's go
back to
Genesis 28,
you see,
when we
encounter
God's
grace for
ourselves,
when we
experience
God's
presence,
it doesn't
leave us
where we
are.
He takes
us out
of that
place and
He changes
us in
that place.
God comes
close to
Jacob,
doesn't
He?
Not to
condemn
him,
but ultimately
to change
him.
Look at
verse 20.
Jacob makes
a vow,
he has a
promise of
commitment,
but notice
that this
is all
motivated,
his promise
and his
vow is
motivated by
the assurances
that God
gives to
Jacob.
It's
almost a
summary of
everything that
God has
already done.
Verse 20,
Jacob makes
a vow saying,
if God or
since 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,
because of
what God
has done,
because of
this assurance,
then the
Lord will
be my
God.
This isn't
an attempt
to earn
God's
favour.
Jacob has
already received
God's favour.
This is
Jacob's response
to the grace
and promise
and presence
of God.
God,
because you
are God
to me,
then you
will be
my God.
What else
could Jacob
say?
What else
can we
say to
a God
who has
intervened
in our
life?
That's the
impact that
grace has
on us.
When it
grabs a
hold of
us,
it moves
us to
humbly
say,
you will
be my
God.
you are
mine.
Now,
these aren't
just empty
promises and
words from
Jacob.
Jacob's
commitment is
demonstrated
in his
life.
Look at
the end
of verse
22.
He says,
all that
you give
me,
I will
give you
a tenth.
So,
all that
he receives
from God,
he will
give back.
Now,
I don't
think we
need to
take from
this that
we must
give a
tenth of
everything that
we have.
As we
read through
scripture,
it becomes
very clear
that God
teaches
generosity,
which could
be more
than,
it could
be less
than a
tenth.
What it
means is
that we
give out
of the
blessings
God has
given us.
The point
is,
grace
changed a
deceiver
into a
giver.
God's
assurances
to
Jacob
led to
Jacob's
commitment.
You see,
when we
take time
to open
up our
Bibles,
when we
take time
to rehearse
God's
assurances
to us,
as we
reflect on
God's
generosity
and his
kindness
to us,
we repent
of our
selfish
choices,
and we
turn and
trust in
the one
who makes
us
selfless
and
sacrificial,
we are
changed
into
generous
givers
of our
time
and
resources
and our
gifts
to those
around us
because God
has been
good to
us.
God's
assurances
change us.
So what
does God
do with
a Jacob
who is
in a
dark,
deep
place?
what does
God do
when we
are in
not a
good
place?
Well,
he intervenes
by his
grace.
He speaks
to us
his promise.
He amazes
us with
his presence
and he
gives us
his assurance.
He
changes
people like
us so
that we
might go
to others
who are
not in
a good
place
today
or this
week.
Someone in
your family,
someone in
your neighbourhood,
someone you
work with,
they're not
in a good
place
and we
go
and remind
them
of a
great
and glorious
God.
Let's
pray.
Father God,
we are
amazed,
we're
surprised,
we're
astonished
that you
would come
close to
us,
that you
would enter
into the
darkness
and you
would rescue
us and
save us
and promise
to be with
us throughout
our journey
of life,
whatever may
come,
reassuring
us that
you will
provide
for us
in our
journey
until we
see you
face to
face.
You will
not let
us down.
Your
grace is
enough.
Your
presence is
sufficient.
Your
promises are
good.
How
awesome,
how
awesome
are you.
Thank you,
God.
Amen.
Lord,
we sing
not just
because