Genesis Ch28v10-22 - Grace Comes Down

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Genesis 28.

Sorry, I'm just waiting on some water to arrive.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

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

John 14:23

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,

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.

Amen.

Lord,

we sing

we sing

not just

because