Good morning, everyone. Thank you for the warm welcome. It's always a privilege to open God's Word.
Special thanks to you for praying for us at Grace Mount. We need it.
And we much appreciate your partnership in the gospel in this kind of way.
So many thanks for that.
If you just keep your Bible open at Genesis 28, that's where we're going to be thinking this morning.
I'm going to pray and then we'll look at it together.
Father, your Word tells us that the person you esteem is humble and contrite and trembles at your Word.
We pray as we open up the Bible, you'll keep us from being self-deceived, carried away with ourselves or just plain lazy.
We pray.
Bring the Word of God into our lives today in a transforming kind of way.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Identity is a pressing issue today.
So there are young people who are confused about whether they're male or female.
That's our culture.
And if you switch the attention from individuals to countries,
we're living at a time when our past is described as shameful.
Because of our involvement in slavery or colonialism or empire,
you really ought to be ashamed of yourselves.
Confusion and shame are powerful emotions.
And they kind of circulate around people's lives today,
leaving them unsure of who they are
and what to put their trust in.
But what of the people of God?
What is it that should define our life?
How should we think of ourselves?
Genesis, as you will know, wasn't written for Noah or Abraham.
It wasn't written for Joseph or Isaac.
It was written by Moses for the benefit of the descendants of those people
to show them who they were,
to answer that question of identity.
So perhaps you can imagine Moses reading Genesis 28 to the people of his day.
And you'll see in verse 13 that God introduces himself as the God of Abraham and Isaac.
But of course, when he comes to Moses at the burning bush,
if you know the story, next book, chapter 3,
he doesn't simply say,
I'm the God of Abraham and Isaac.
He adds,
I'm the God of Jacob.
Now, I'm not the least surprised
that God would introduce himself as the God of Abraham.
He gets it wrong on occasions,
but he is a pretty impressive guy.
But the God of Jacob?
Really?
So my question is,
what does that add to our understanding of ourselves?
That our God
is the God of Jacob.
Now, the word that you would use to describe Jacob
at this point in his life,
Genesis 28,
is the word lost.
Now, I don't mean that necessarily
in a geographical sense.
He has those set out on a journey,
Beersheba there,
Haran,
somewhere up here in Mesopotamia,
480 miles
between these two places.
He's gone about 60 miles
to what will become known as Bethel.
He's isolated,
he's lonely,
he's vulnerable,
and all of it
is a consequence
of his bad choices.
He's got his brother's birthright
in his back pocket.
He's got the family blessing
that he persuaded his father,
his blind father,
to confer upon him,
but none of it will do him one bit of good
as he sets out on this journey.
He's heading for
Paddan Aram.
His mother's family home.
But nobody in Paddan Aram
is expecting him.
They don't even know he exists.
No one's looking for him.
No one's bothered.
Except God's waiting for him.
And here we discover
that God has things to say to him.
And it's plain to see
God doesn't meet him
and speak to him
because of qualities in his life.
Jacob doesn't prompt God
to relate to him in this way,
and yet he does.
The God of Jacob is,
we're being told here,
life-giving,
hope-creating,
mercy-expressing,
rescuer of lost people.
And we learn these things
by listening to the promises
that God makes to this man.
Now,
the gospel is a promise.
Jesus says,
in my Father's house
are many rooms.
If it were not so,
would I have told you
I'm going there
to prepare a place for you?
And you know the way
to the place where I'm going.
Thomas says,
Lord, we don't know
where you're going.
Never mind,
know the way.
Jesus says,
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me.
Now,
here's the thing
that you and I need to
put in as the kind of foundation.
I was reading the biography of a,
I think I described him
as a Christian adventurer,
just lots of daring do stuff.
And in his biography,
he says,
my favorite verse
is Philippians 4.13.
If you know the verse,
it says,
I can do all things,
at least in certain translations
it says this,
I can do all things
through Christ
who strengthens me.
And he is speaking specifically
about the occasion
that he was enabled
to summit on Everest.
God enabled me to summit.
Now,
when you stop
and think about that,
you realize that
it makes God out
to be the kind of
bank manager
kind of guy.
You know,
you go to him
with your plans.
I've got this business plan.
You say,
I'd like you to help me
fulfill it.
No.
The thing that people hate
is that there's only one truth,
there's only one purpose,
and there's only one agenda.
He's the God of Jacob.
But Jacob needs to get on
to his agenda.
He needs to get on
to this
roadmap
that God provides for him here
in this chapter
and shows him
the way ahead.
There is no plan B.
You and I need to
take a moment today
to ask ourselves
the question,
is this
the agenda
that we're on?
Are we
following God's
roadmap?
Is that
the direction
in which our life
is going?
Now,
he says three things,
which is very convenient
if you're a preacher.
We're always very grateful
for three things.
So,
here's the first of them.
these are a people
who are promised
a destination.
So,
look at verse 13.
God says to Jacob,
I will give you
and your descendants
the land
on which you're lying.
So,
obviously,
if you're going to be a people,
you need to have a place.
And Jacob
and his descendants
share this in common
at this point in time.
So,
you go to Jacob.
What's going on
in your life,
Jacob?
Well,
I'm a fugitive,
actually.
I'm running away
from home.
I don't have a home.
If you go to Israel,
what are they?
They're slaves
in Egypt.
And both
of these people,
whether it's Jacob
or it's Israel,
are people
whose lives
are characterized
by hopelessness.
Now,
our world
is full of
desperate people.
We understand that.
who are
moving around
the globe
and trying to find
a better future
for themselves.
And some of them
do so by means
of very courageous
and
ways
that involve
huge amounts
of endurance.
But that's not
what's going on here.
This is not a future
that will be
achieved
by
entrepreneurism
or
courage.
This is a future
that will be
given to them
by means
of this
great promise.
Canaan
will be a land
flowing with
milk and honey
where they will
inherit houses
that they hadn't
built and cities
that they hadn't
formed,
where God will
fight their battles.
No,
Joshua did not
fight the battle
of Jericho.
God did.
And this future
is disclosed
to Jacob
in this dream.
Now,
I don't know
what you think
when you hear
the word dream
but please
don't think
to yourself
that these
are kind of
ideas that
are kind of
surfacing
out of
Jacob's
subconscious.
No.
This is
about God
interrupting
this man's
sleep
to speak
specifically
into his life.
It is
no dream.
This is not
even Martin
Luther King.
I've had a
dream.
No.
This is
outside of
himself.
This is
God
communicating
with his
man
and giving
to him
a picture
of a
great
future.
Unexpected,
glorious,
and gracious.
And through
all that
will happen,
Bethel
will be
a special
place
in Jacob's
life.
He'll
mark it
with his
stone.
He'll
pour oil
in it.
He'll
give it
a name,
the house
of God.
He will
go back
there at
a later
stage.
And it
will just
be remembered.
It will
be a marker
in his
life.
It's not,
oh,
well,
we'll move
on now.
No.
This is a
significant
moment in
Jacob's
life.
Now,
our lives
are not
full of
these kind
of special
occasions.
But my
guess is if
you're a
Christian,
there will
be
significant
occasions
when God
has
specifically
and
personally
spoken
into
your
life.
My
wife was
brought up
in a
Christian
home,
heard the
gospel on
many
occasions.
But when
she was
17,
at an
SU camp
on the
Isle of
Aaron,
somebody
explained the
gospel in
such a
way that
it became
personal and
powerful in
a way it
had never
been before.
And that
became a
marker in
her life.
I heard
Sinclair
Ferguson,
you might
know his
name,
kind of
theologian,
preacher,
say that
he could
remember where
he was
sitting as
a 14-year-old
boy in
St.
George's,
Tron,
Glasgow.
It was a
big gallery.
It was a
Sunday evening.
He was
sitting on
the left-hand
side of
the preacher
who was
preaching
John 8,
verse 12,
Jesus'
words,
I am the
light of
the world.
Whoever
follows me
will never
walk in
darkness.
And
Ferguson
said,
it was
like
Jesus
was
speaking
to me.
And
I don't
know what
age he
is now,
but he
can remember
what happened
when he
was 14.
It was
a kind
of specific
sacred
moment in
his life.
Now,
it might
happen to
you in
times of
significant
illness.
God just
steps in
and does
stuff and
you think,
Almighty
God's just
intervened in
my life.
Remember
that.
Might be
bereavement.
Might be
some other
kind of
needs.
Remembering
is massively
important.
for people
of faith.
Bethel.
Market.
Why?
What's
the
alternative?
These
words
that we're
looking at
here,
Genesis
28,
are
directed
at the
Exodus
generation.
So,
here's the
Exodus
generation.
they're
promised.
God's
saying to
them,
I'll give
you a
land of
your own.
I'll give
you a
land of
richness,
fruitfulness,
milk and
honey.
And they
get to the
borders of
the promised
land.
One year
after they've
left Egypt,
they stand
on the
brink of
promise,
of realizing
the promise
that God
has made
to them.
They're
right on
the border,
and guess
what?
They wheel
round,
elect a
leader,
and go
back in
the direction
of Egypt.
What is
going on
there?
this is
what the
New
Testament
says.
Listen to
this
carefully.
See to
it,
brothers and
sisters,
that none
of you has
a sinful,
unbelieving
heart that
turns away
from the
living God.
But encourage
one another
daily as long
as it's
called today,
so that none
of you may
be,
this is the
bit,
hardened
by sin's
deceitfulness.
Sin has
a voice.
It speaks.
Israel's
idolatry,
grumbling,
ingratitude,
spoke into
their heads
as they
stand on
the brink
of Canaan,
and they
look and
they see
big cities
and powerful
armies,
and they
say to
themselves,
God's not
going to
give us,
God's not
going to
give people
like us,
that world
over there.
He's just
brought us
out here
to kill
us.
That's
what the
Bible calls
the deceitfulness
of sin.
Okay.
And of
course,
they have
forgotten.
They've
forgotten that
God has
rescued them
from Egypt.
They've
forgotten that
God has
fought for
them against
the Amalekites.
All that
has been
sidelined.
And the
voice that
speaks powerfully
into their
lives is
their sin.
We all
have sin.
We all
get it
wrong.
It will
speak into
our lives.
We need
the promise
of God
to be
louder in
our lives
than the
deceitfulness
of sin.
Genesis 28
says that
he is the
God of
Jacob.
He delights
to show
mercy.
He brings
hope to
the hopeless.
He keeps
these great
promises.
Okay,
here's the
second thing
that defines
their identity
and sets
the direction
for their
lives.
So,
look at
verse 14.
your
offspring
will be
like the
dust of
the earth
and you
will spread
abroad to
the west
and the
east and
to the
north and
the south.
So,
there are
people who
are not
just promised
a destination,
they're
promised
expansion.
They're
going to
get big.
Now,
if you go
back to
Jacob and
you kind
of peer
into his
family life,
family life
for Jacob
was a
tough place.
Whether it's
Beersheba,
his home,
Esau,
Jacob,
not a
great place.
Or whether
it's
Paddan Aram
and the
tension
between his
wives
over
children
or his
sons as
they grow
up who
turn into
this kind
of,
oh,
this kind
of savage
gang
who buy
their,
who buy
their
ruthlessness,
put the
whole family
at risk.
Or,
or,
or Jacob's
eldest son,
Reuben,
who turns
out to be a
massive
disappointment.
Now,
what's,
what's Jacob's
response to
that?
What does
Jacob do
as a
consequence
of the,
the,
the trials
of his
family?
Answer,
he invests
in Joseph.
He puts
all his
affection
onto one
of his
sons.
And when
that son
will go,
he'll choose
another son
called
Benjamin,
and he'll
put all
his
affections
onto
Benjamin.
What would
you describe
that as?
Subtraction.
His world
just gets
smaller and
smaller,
and he
kind of
writes off
the rest
of his
values.
He's not
interested in
them.
His,
his,
his horizon
is
one son.
Subtraction.
Now,
the fulfillment
of these
words is
not kind
of the
nation of
Israel.
The fulfillment
of these
words is
the household
of God
or the
church
family.
I'm sure
that you,
I'm sure
you know
this.
We
certainly
know
this up
at
Grace
Mount.
There's
no shortage
of people
who've had
bad experiences
of family
life.
They've
got up in
the morning
not knowing
what kind
of mood
their
carers or
parents or
whoever happens
to be around
in the house
will be in.
Who,
who don't
know,
who don't
know whether
they're,
they're going
to meet
with indifference
or shouting
and fear.
Now,
the place
where they
ought to
encounter
something
better is
in the
church
family.
You come
out of that
world,
you come
into the
church,
you start
to experience
something
that's
better.
It's
where,
it's where
families learn
to share
their lives
with those
who've been
in that
place.
Where,
where,
where those
of us who
are able,
and not
everybody's
able,
make space
for people
to come
and live
with us.
Maybe
because
things have
broken up
with their
partners,
maybe because
their new
christians
and their
home's just
so violent,
maybe because
they're,
got an
injunction
on them
by the
courts and
they're not
allowed to
go back
home.
Room,
room.
Where our,
where our
table is a
place where
we welcome
not just
our pals,
yeah,
I guess,
there's room
for pals.
But those
who have
needs,
maybe because
their marriages
are struggling,
do you want
to come
around,
talk,
have some
food,
see if we
can be
of help
to each
other.
That's the
picture,
isn't it?
Now,
for sure,
there's a
cost involved
in that
prospect.
It's a
place of
inconvenience
and intrusion.
Listen to
what Jesus
said.
No one
who has
left
brothers
or sisters,
fathers
or mothers
or children
for me
and the
gospel
will fail
to receive
a hundred
times as
much
in this
present age
and in the
age to
come,
eternal
life.
if you
go to
the end
of Romans,
Paul's
speaking to
the house
churches in
Rome,
14 and
15,
he's
speaking into
the lives
of some
with strong
views about
what you can
eat and what
you can't
eat or what
special days
should be
kept,
and those
are a
completely
different
view,
Jews and
Gentiles that
make up
these churches.
And he's
saying to
them,
yeah,
there are
right answers
to these
things.
I'm pretty
clear in my
mind you
can.
All food
is clean.
But he
says being
loving is
more important
than being
right in
these secondary
matters.
Accept one
another as
Christ has
accepted you.
And then you
go to chapter
16, you
know the one
of all the
list of
names at
the end
of it?
What's that
there for?
But it just
lets you see
the kind of
rich network
of friends
and relationships
that this
man has.
There are
people on
the list
who have
risked their
lives for
him,
people who
have been
in prison
with him,
people who
have worked
hard alongside
him.
There's a
woman mentioned
who he
describes as
having been
a mother to
me.
I'm not
quite sure
what would
be involved
in that,
but presumably
she looked
after him
in some
way.
just a
richness.
It's a
great picture.
But it
comes with a
cost,
obviously.
But it is
a picture of
multiplication.
There's no
lack of
subtraction
around today.
You watch
churches,
you're just
getting smaller.
Now, it's a
complicated question.
I'm sure it's
not just one
reason,
but one
aspect to
it is for
sure where
we make
our biological
families more
important than
the church
family.
Let me say
one more
thing and
then we're
pretty much
finished.
Okay.
So there's a
third element
in this
description of
our identity.
We have a
place,
there's a
future,
we have a
people that's
expanding,
and we have
a purpose.
And the
purpose is
stated as
this mission.
So end of
verse 14,
and all
people on
earth will
be blessed
through you
and your
offspring.
In other
words,
what are we
here for?
What do we
exist for?
For others
is the
answer.
for the
good of
others.
Now what
this statement
does is two
things.
Number one,
it makes
clear that
the promised
land cannot
be the
ultimate
destination.
Right?
I mean,
the whole
world is not
going to move
to that little
bit of land
at the far
end of the
Mediterranean
and end
up there.
No,
it's not.
Okay.
That's not
the future.
Jacob provides
the clue in
his reference
to the
house of
God and
the ladder
resting on
the earth
and rising
to heaven.
It's pointing
to the place
where heaven
and earth
are reunited
as they were
back in that
perfect world
in the
garden of
Eden.
Heaven and
earth in
perfect harmony.
the
construction
of the
temple,
which is
still 500
years away
at least
from these
events.
We'll have
within it,
visually,
as you just
enter the
temple,
it's got
these reminders.
It's got
palm trees
and flowers.
It's got
a lamp
stand
with flower-like
cups and
buds and
blossoms.
It's got
this curtain
with fierce
angels on
it,
with big
swords,
that are
all reminders
of that
garden that
they once
enjoyed
fellowship with
God in.
And in the
middle of it
all,
there's a
little glimpse
of hope
that one
man once a
year gets
to go
through the
curtain and
do what
Adam did
back in the
beginning and
as it were,
walk with
God.
Eden was a
sanctuary.
It's a
place where
God and
people lived
in perfect
harmony,
where they
enjoyed,
they just
enjoyed each
other.
They delighted
in each
other.
God and
his creatures,
people in
their God.
God.
That's this
new creation
that God is
in the
business of.
Now the
New Testament
when you get
to it,
shifts the
emphasis from
this temple
to a
person.
So Jesus
clears the
traders out of
the temple.
They say to
him,
what right
have you got
to do
that?
And he
says,
destroy this
temple and
I will
rebuild it
again in
three days.
The temple
that he
spoke of
was his
own body.
Here's
the place
of life
that brings
about this
future.
And the
question that
people were
asking was,
can Jesus
deliver on
this future?
Can he
bring in
this perfect
world,
this new
creation?
Can he do
that?
Can he
create a
people who
are fit
to live
in this
world?
Can he
make his
church a
blessing to
the world
so that it
will be a
place that
is populated
by others?
Now,
the reason
they crucify
him is
because they
say,
no,
you can't
do that.
You're not
able to do
that.
But of
course,
it is that
very place,
that very
event,
the cross
of Jesus
Christ,
that causes
life to
flow to
the world.
We are
called the
body of
Christ
Christ.
Because we're
those who
are meant
to put on
display the
life of the
cross as
well as to
proclaim the
cross.
Life flows
from the
cross.
So,
here are some
of the ways
that that
happens.
The cross
brings about
atonement.
words that
have
m-e-n-t
at the
end mean
to make.
So,
contentment,
to make
content.
Resentment,
to make
resentful.
Atonement,
quite obviously,
at one
meant,
is to make
at one.
So,
the cross
creates that
oneness between
God and
man,
but also
a oneness
among
people.
The church
is a
community
that puts
that oneness
on display.
But it's
also a
community
where people
get hurt
and relationships
break down.
Now,
what's your
natural reaction
when things
don't work
out too
well?
Answer,
we want
to take
a step
back.
And
the obvious
place,
that you
head for,
is your
own family.
My
natural reaction
is to
withdraw,
it's to
make sure
that it
never
happens
again.
The cross
calls us
to bear
with one
another
and forgive
one another
as Christ
has forgiven
us.
Put it
on display,
let people
see.
That's
what we're
about.
The cross
is a
source of
justification.
Justification
is about
God
declaring
us
righteous,
righteous.
In other
words,
it's
nothing to
do with
the core
of public
opinion.
It's not
about looking
good in
people's
eyes,
it's about
standing
right before
God.
And what
that should
do for
us is it
freezes up
from having
to pretend
that
hide our
sin,
play the
hypocrite,
pretend
we're
sorted.
it.
I don't
know if
you've
noticed
this as
you read
the
Psalms.
It's
one of
the
remarkable
things about
the
Psalms,
isn't it?
Particularly
the Psalms
of David.
David
doesn't
just
confess
his sin.
David
writes
songs about
his sin
for people
to sing.
Can you
imagine
that?
All right,
I'll write
a song.
That'll be
about my
sin.
That's what
he does.
We have
people in
our church
who come
from pretty
broken
backgrounds.
Sometimes
they'll fall
and it's
very easy
for them
as they
look around
to think,
oh, you
guys are
all sorted.
And I
need to
own up
to what
I guess
you might
call my
more
respectable
sins.
I need
to let
people
say that
my marriage
is sometimes
very clunky
like gear
wheels.
reacting to
one another.
Sometimes
my fuse
is sadly
too short.
Sometimes
my prayer
life is
distracted
and disordered.
I need
to own
up to
that.
Because
I've been
justified.
I'm
right because
of the
cross in
God's eyes.
And that's
what matters.
The cross
obviously is
an outpouring
of God's
love.
This is
love,
not that
we love
God,
but that
he loved
us and
sent his
son as
a propitiation
for our
sins.
There are
people that
you and I
will never
meet,
people who
we have
little in
common with,
people who
contribute
nothing to
our lives,
but just
because of
where they
live,
because of
the culture
they're part
of,
they will
never hear
the gospel
unless
somebody
takes
steps to
make that
happen,
to give
money,
to pray,
to give
time to
invest in
those
situations.
It's part
of the
loving,
the engaging,
the interest
in other
people.
Now,
Jacob will
never see
the fulfillment
of these
promises.
And yet,
when he
dies,
he will
give instructions
to his
family and
say,
don't
bury me
in Egypt,
take me
back to
Canaan,
and bury
me in
the cave
where Abraham
and his
family are
buried.
Now,
that is
not
sentimentality.
That is
Jacob saying,
not even
death is
going to
stop me
entering
into that
future that
God's
promised.
Christ,
this is
our
identity.
This is
who we
are.
And it's
because that
destiny is
secure that
we can live
this kind
of life
that is
a life of
cost and
sacrifice
and
involvement
in other
people.
I'm going
to pray
and then
Ali's going
to take
over again.
Heavenly
Father,
we thank
you for
your
kindness
to us.
We're
so glad
to know
that you're
the God
of Jacob.
So
grateful
for
being
a
merciful,
gracious,
generous
Heavenly
Father.
Pray,
Lord,
that your
character
would be
reflected in
ours.
For
Jesus'
sake,
Amen.
for
a
blessing,
even
faire
aside.
We're
so glad
that you're
doing
yourself.