WEBVTT 00:00:04.819 --> 00:00:09.560 Hey Fred, welcome to the Semi -Seminarian. What 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:13.019 we do here at this podcast is we examine the 00:00:13.019 --> 00:00:17.760 Bible as if we're grown -ups. Here on the Semi 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:20.760 -Seminarian, we assume that more than likely 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:24.559 we were either taught the Bible as children or 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:30.269 maybe we were taught as adults by people. who 00:00:30.269 --> 00:00:34.549 were taught the Bible as children. And often 00:00:34.549 --> 00:00:39.090 that's left us wanting for answers in adult world. 00:00:39.210 --> 00:00:43.210 So what we're doing is we're looking at the Bible 00:00:43.210 --> 00:00:47.369 as if we're a bunch of grownups. This week, we 00:00:47.369 --> 00:00:51.289 are looking at the famous story of Jacob and 00:00:51.289 --> 00:00:55.530 Jacob's ladder. Won't you come with us? Hope 00:00:55.530 --> 00:01:04.849 so. And go back with me in time to our story 00:01:04.849 --> 00:01:08.450 of this guy named Jacob. Tonight we're going 00:01:08.450 --> 00:01:14.129 to be looking at a story that you may know the 00:01:14.129 --> 00:01:16.049 story. You might know what the story is. This 00:01:16.049 --> 00:01:18.950 is going to be the story of Jacob's Ladder. Definitely 00:01:18.950 --> 00:01:21.750 one of those children's church VBS kind of things. 00:01:22.519 --> 00:01:25.280 At the same time, you might know the story of 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:27.620 Jacob's Ladder, but you might, if I were to say, 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:29.480 well, yeah, but what's Jacob's Ladder? What's 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:34.019 the story about? Right? Okay, that's what we're 00:01:34.019 --> 00:01:37.939 going to do. So there are series here called 00:01:37.939 --> 00:01:41.099 Jacob Enigma. We're using that word enigma because 00:01:41.099 --> 00:01:43.299 it means a puzzle. It means something that's 00:01:43.299 --> 00:01:47.700 a mystery. What's mysterious to us about Jacob 00:01:47.700 --> 00:01:55.870 is one. That he seems to love God. Oh, the Bibles. 00:01:57.049 --> 00:01:59.469 He seems to love God, yeah. He seems to love 00:01:59.469 --> 00:02:03.590 God, but he goes about trying to establish God's 00:02:03.590 --> 00:02:06.269 blessings in his life by trying to take control 00:02:06.269 --> 00:02:09.409 for himself. And then the other part of the enigma 00:02:09.409 --> 00:02:14.849 is, despite all of Jacob's being a pretty stupid 00:02:14.849 --> 00:02:19.530 guy about this, God still loves him. and God 00:02:19.530 --> 00:02:23.770 still wants to pass the blessings through him. 00:02:24.250 --> 00:02:30.610 So, not only is it enigma, a mystery, that Jacob 00:02:30.610 --> 00:02:33.069 actually wants and loves God, based on how he 00:02:33.069 --> 00:02:39.050 acts, but the other enigma is that Jacob is loved 00:02:39.050 --> 00:02:44.289 by God. And we see ourselves, every week we're 00:02:44.289 --> 00:02:48.289 going to say to ourselves, We see ourselves in 00:02:48.289 --> 00:02:51.009 Jacob. This is what I want you to see. You are 00:02:51.009 --> 00:02:54.669 Jacob for the good and the bad. You are Jacob. 00:02:55.409 --> 00:02:59.689 So tonight's story, our Bibles are Genesis 28. 00:03:00.590 --> 00:03:03.770 We're looking at the story of Jacob again. Again, 00:03:03.830 --> 00:03:06.490 this is a story that if you've been for Christian 00:03:06.490 --> 00:03:08.370 for several years, you probably have heard this 00:03:08.370 --> 00:03:11.710 story. So Genesis chapter 28, beginning to read 00:03:11.710 --> 00:03:15.939 at verse 10. Jacob left Beersheba and set out 00:03:15.939 --> 00:03:18.219 for Haran. So here's our little map down here. 00:03:18.860 --> 00:03:22.620 Beersheba's down here at the bottom, right? And 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:26.080 right here, Bethel, is where he's going to go 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:28.680 to. He's going actually all the way up here to 00:03:28.680 --> 00:03:31.340 Haran. That's going to be the story of next week. 00:03:31.659 --> 00:03:34.620 But right now, on this journey, he's right here 00:03:34.620 --> 00:03:38.020 at the second dot down here at the bottom. When 00:03:38.020 --> 00:03:39.639 he reached a certain place, he stopped for the 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:42.030 night because the sun had set. Taking one of 00:03:42.030 --> 00:03:44.330 the stones there, he put it under his head and 00:03:44.330 --> 00:03:47.150 lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he 00:03:47.150 --> 00:03:49.770 saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its 00:03:49.770 --> 00:03:51.830 top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God 00:03:51.830 --> 00:03:55.050 were ascending and descending on it. There above 00:03:55.050 --> 00:03:58.530 it stood the Lord. And he said, I am the Lord, 00:03:58.629 --> 00:04:01.289 the God of your father Abraham, and the God of 00:04:01.289 --> 00:04:04.669 Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the 00:04:04.669 --> 00:04:07.139 land on which you are lying. The descendants 00:04:07.139 --> 00:04:08.840 will be like the dust of the earth, and you will 00:04:08.840 --> 00:04:10.979 spread to the west and to the east, to the north 00:04:10.979 --> 00:04:14.599 and to the south. And all peoples on earth will 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:18.439 be blessed through you and your offspring. I 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:22.120 am with you and will watch over you wherever 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:25.319 you go, and I will bring you back to this land. 00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:29.060 I will not leave you, God says, until I have 00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:33.290 done what I have promised you. When Jacob awoke 00:04:33.290 --> 00:04:35.410 from his sleep, he thought, surely the Lord is 00:04:35.410 --> 00:04:39.470 in this place. And he says, I was not aware of 00:04:39.470 --> 00:04:43.329 it. He was afraid and said, how awesome is this 00:04:43.329 --> 00:04:46.430 place? This is none other than the house of God. 00:04:46.509 --> 00:04:50.829 This is the gate of heaven. Early the next morning, 00:04:50.850 --> 00:04:52.930 Jacob took the stone he placed under his head 00:04:52.930 --> 00:04:55.709 and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top 00:04:55.709 --> 00:04:58.689 of it. He called the place Bethel, though the 00:04:58.689 --> 00:05:01.899 city used to be called Luz. That Jacob made a 00:05:01.899 --> 00:05:04.139 vow saying, if God will be with me and watch 00:05:04.139 --> 00:05:06.439 over me on this journey I'm taking and will give 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:09.100 me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I 00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:12.060 will return safely to my father's house, then 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:15.160 the Lord will be my God. And this stone that 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:17.439 I have set as a pillar will be of God's house. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:21.060 And all that you give me, God says, or Jacob 00:05:21.060 --> 00:05:25.139 says, I will give you a tenth. Okay. Title of 00:05:25.139 --> 00:05:27.560 tonight's message, again, is Jacob's crazy dream. 00:05:28.269 --> 00:05:30.689 Remember, as we've been studying the life of 00:05:30.689 --> 00:05:33.370 Jacob, we've seen that Jacob really epitomizes 00:05:33.370 --> 00:05:37.170 everything that's in our fleshly humanity. Remember, 00:05:37.410 --> 00:05:42.610 Jacob's name literally means to grasp, to supplant, 00:05:42.629 --> 00:05:46.509 to snatch at, trying to grab something. Jacob 00:05:46.509 --> 00:05:50.810 is the kind of guy who got places in life being 00:05:50.810 --> 00:05:58.160 an opportunist. by believing that it was his 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:02.160 work and his energy in his fleshliness rather 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:05.259 than waiting on God's timing and believing on 00:06:05.259 --> 00:06:11.600 God's promises. He did want, Jacob did want God's 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:13.860 best in his life, but he wanted to get it by 00:06:13.860 --> 00:06:17.279 his own strength. Now we've seen these last previous 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:19.519 weeks. And I'm not going to replow this ground 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:22.500 tonight. Right. But the only answer to this idea 00:06:22.500 --> 00:06:26.060 of human flesh, whether it's the bad flesh that 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:29.439 manifests itself in sin or when we break God's 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:32.500 laws. Right. Or iniquity in your life or whatever. 00:06:32.660 --> 00:06:36.120 But but also there's the good flesh. There's 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:38.800 the good flesh with good intentions, trying to 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:43.160 get God's favor by doing good works. And that's 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:46.240 a really good working definition, I think, of 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:50.720 religion. Trying to gain God's favor by doing 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:56.699 God's works. Good works, rather. But there's 00:06:56.699 --> 00:06:59.639 no answer for either the good flesh or the bad. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:04.040 The only remedy for flesh is death. Death upon 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:08.399 the cross. We cannot wrestle with it. We can't 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:11.720 overcome the bad by doing good. There is only 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:14.199 one way, and that is the way of the cross. When 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:17.600 Jesus died and realized, That you have died in 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:22.759 Him. Right? And that your fleshly sins may die 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:26.759 in Him as well. But that's not enough. We also 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:30.220 need to replace it with something. We need to 00:07:30.220 --> 00:07:32.779 replace the flesh. So we need to answer this 00:07:32.779 --> 00:07:38.259 question. Is there something that authentically 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:44.079 substitutes and supplants The counterfeit, the 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:48.120 fake energy of the flesh, the thing that gets 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:52.180 us in so much trouble, whether we get in trouble, 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:56.639 whether we get it blatantly through sin, or even 00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:59.019 religious practices that we practice and they 00:07:59.019 --> 00:08:00.759 just get us in circles and we actually don't 00:08:00.759 --> 00:08:03.560 ever go anywhere. The answer to that question 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:08.000 is yes, there is something. It's the revelation 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:13.879 of God's Spirit that is the answer. Right. I'm 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:16.399 going to present to you through the story of 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:21.379 Jacob's dream, his unconscious encounter. Right. 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:25.120 This this crazy night. I'm going to introduce 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:28.040 to you, present to you a principle, a principle 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:30.060 that I believe to be true within the kingdom 00:08:30.060 --> 00:08:35.419 of God. And that is it is not by might nor by 00:08:35.419 --> 00:08:39.100 power. Right. God's words in Zechariah, the prophet 00:08:39.100 --> 00:08:45.129 four and six. But by my spirit, God says. To 00:08:45.129 --> 00:08:47.570 put it another way, and I will explain what I'm 00:08:47.570 --> 00:08:50.769 saying. Another way to say this we find in Proverbs 00:08:50.769 --> 00:08:55.110 22, 29, and 18. Without a vision, the people 00:08:55.110 --> 00:08:59.750 perish. Another translation of this verse. Where 00:08:59.750 --> 00:09:04.210 there is no revelation, people cast off restraint. 00:09:05.419 --> 00:09:09.720 In other words, people need to. We need to be 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:13.220 hearing from God. Because the fleshly counterfeit 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:17.600 energy of our human nature is not enough. We 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:25.320 cannot get what we need from God by trying to 00:09:25.320 --> 00:09:28.419 do it by getting it by our own power, by that 00:09:28.419 --> 00:09:33.279 fleshly energy. We must have revelation from 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:37.240 God. And without that vision, people are being 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:42.980 destroyed. And what happens in that instance, 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:46.899 rather, when that happens, is this. That flesh 00:09:46.899 --> 00:09:50.500 will surface and revelation will become absent. 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:54.360 Right? Another way of saying it, when God is 00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:59.919 not speaking, your flesh begins shouting. When 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:03.480 you can't hear from God in your own ears, the 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:08.700 flesh will begin to yell at you. Right? There's 00:10:08.700 --> 00:10:12.059 a biblical illustration of this. In 1 Samuel 00:10:12.059 --> 00:10:17.299 3, verse 1, we read there, The boy Samuel ministered 00:10:17.299 --> 00:10:19.360 to the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:24.779 was rare in those days. There was no widespread 00:10:24.779 --> 00:10:28.960 revelation. This verse says. Now let me give 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:30.700 you a little bit of background of this story. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:36.740 Eli, at the time, is the high priest. But what 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:39.759 this verse is basically saying is there was no 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:43.399 voice of God in those days. God was not speaking 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:47.299 through revelation and vision the way that he 00:10:47.299 --> 00:10:51.899 used to do. Because there was no vision, Eli 00:10:51.899 --> 00:10:55.740 was personifying this. In the story, by his physical 00:10:55.740 --> 00:11:02.600 blindness, Eli, the high priest, was blind. Let's 00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:07.379 see. So the people of God, they were not seeing, 00:11:07.539 --> 00:11:11.139 symbolized through Eli. Because he's the guy 00:11:11.139 --> 00:11:13.659 trying to lead them. And he wasn't giving them 00:11:13.659 --> 00:11:15.860 leadership either because God wasn't speaking 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:20.100 to him. His own two sons, Eli's own two sons, 00:11:20.299 --> 00:11:24.379 ministered as priests. but they were abhorrent 00:11:24.379 --> 00:11:32.519 to the Lord. Okay? So these two sons are killed. 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:35.320 The Ark of the Covenant, in which the physical 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:38.460 manifestation of God exists on this earth, was 00:11:38.460 --> 00:11:42.200 stolen by the Philistines. Right? His two sons 00:11:42.200 --> 00:11:44.700 are killed. When he hears the news about that, 00:11:44.759 --> 00:11:47.500 he throws him back so hard that he breaks his 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:50.759 own neck. And his daughter -in -law, one of his 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:52.860 son's wives, she's giving birth. And when she 00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:55.340 hears of her husband's death, her water's broke. 00:11:55.379 --> 00:11:58.360 She begins to give birth. And she dies in childbirth. 00:11:58.419 --> 00:12:02.080 But before she dies, she names that son Ichabod. 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:07.299 Which means the glory has departed from Israel. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:14.220 The picture here? Things are going really badly 00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:19.080 for the people of God. Why? Because there was 00:12:19.080 --> 00:12:22.740 no open vision. God had stopped speaking to the 00:12:22.740 --> 00:12:27.320 people. We as Christians today, those of us seeking 00:12:27.320 --> 00:12:30.779 spiritual victory, we need to understand the 00:12:30.779 --> 00:12:34.039 importance of hearing God's voice. When revelation 00:12:34.039 --> 00:12:39.320 ceases, spiritual life ceases. And that's why 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:42.820 I think so many people are in the spiritual predicament 00:12:42.820 --> 00:12:45.200 that they're in today. Because they're certainly 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:49.539 just not listening and hearing from God. Jacob 00:12:49.539 --> 00:12:52.500 had come to this juncture in his life where God 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:56.620 just flat needed to break in, to interrupt his 00:12:56.620 --> 00:13:00.360 fleshly cycle. God had to do something with Jacob 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:05.820 crazy. Now please note, God doesn't force Jacob 00:13:05.820 --> 00:13:08.379 to do anything. I don't think God forces anyone 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:12.370 to do anything. But what God did... was give 00:13:12.370 --> 00:13:16.629 him a revelation of his own truth, of God's truth. 00:13:17.470 --> 00:13:21.350 And then he left Jacob to have Jacob work it 00:13:21.350 --> 00:13:25.190 out and obey. The point I want to make tonight 00:13:25.190 --> 00:13:30.809 is this man, Jacob, was so full of fleshly scheming 00:13:30.809 --> 00:13:35.830 that God had to render him unconscious before 00:13:35.830 --> 00:13:38.090 he could speak to him. Isn't that incredible? 00:13:38.710 --> 00:13:43.899 He had to put... Jacob under an anesthetic so 00:13:43.899 --> 00:13:47.879 that he could gain his attention. There are people 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:51.700 in this world today, right? And the Lord needs 00:13:51.700 --> 00:13:54.600 their attention. I want to ask you just, you 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:59.100 know, in your rhetorically, how maybe has the 00:13:59.100 --> 00:14:01.480 Lord ever allowed debilitation to take place 00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:05.139 in your life in order to get your attention so 00:14:05.139 --> 00:14:07.480 that maybe you might get stopped riding your 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:12.080 tracks of fleshly. striving and conniving to 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:16.279 confront you. Maybe you just become too busy 00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:20.320 with life or religion. You just become frantic 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:24.480 over things, with things and with stuff, good 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:29.519 and bad. You've just become worn out from trying 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:34.019 to do all you can for God. You're doing the good 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:36.200 and you're doing the bad and you have become 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:43.759 frantic. It's still not enough. Now, we read 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:45.659 in the Acts of the Apostles, which is the story 00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:48.159 of the early church, in the 13th chapter of the 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:51.340 Acts, verse 2, we read there that the early apostles 00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:56.639 ministered of the Lord and fasted. And the Holy 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:00.620 Spirit spoke to them, told them what to do. And 00:15:00.620 --> 00:15:04.720 that's what we need to do. Waiting upon God. 00:15:05.870 --> 00:15:10.669 and listening for his voice. Now, admittedly, 00:15:10.669 --> 00:15:14.429 we have seen what a, in an earthly sense, what 00:15:14.429 --> 00:15:17.769 a great man Jacob was. He had ingenuity, he had 00:15:17.769 --> 00:15:20.149 strength, he had cunning, he had intelligence, 00:15:20.190 --> 00:15:26.049 but what he really needed was revelation. That's 00:15:26.049 --> 00:15:31.700 what we all need. God needs to speak to us. Something 00:15:31.700 --> 00:15:34.399 that can't be learned at a college or a university 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:36.980 or a seminary. Right. This is something that 00:15:36.980 --> 00:15:39.220 has to be imparted to us in our hearts. In other 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:44.039 words, it's a gift of grace, not of works. God 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:48.360 gives it to us freely. We can't earn it. Right. 00:15:48.419 --> 00:15:50.980 That's how God chooses to work. And yet here 00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:53.799 we see Jacob. Right. Without going again, without 00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:56.710 going over old ground that we've covered. Jacob 00:15:56.710 --> 00:15:59.409 leaves home under this cloud of threat, the threat 00:15:59.409 --> 00:16:02.950 of death, right, from his brother Esau. We remember, 00:16:03.049 --> 00:16:05.429 we kind of looked at the individual characters 00:16:05.429 --> 00:16:07.529 of his family. We decided last week that they 00:16:07.529 --> 00:16:11.389 were utterly dysfunctional. His world had become 00:16:11.389 --> 00:16:15.830 a battlefield. And all because of his fleshliness 00:16:15.830 --> 00:16:19.750 and the fleshliness of his family. And now he's 00:16:19.750 --> 00:16:23.070 on this lonely journey. It's a long, it's about 00:16:23.070 --> 00:16:26.960 500 miles. From here to there. Probably took 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:29.899 him traveling by foot about two months to make 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:36.220 this journey. He has begun on a long journey. 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:40.659 A lonely journey. He lies down probably totally 00:16:40.659 --> 00:16:46.580 exhausted. Exhausted running in the flesh. From 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:50.940 his flesh. And all of a sudden, as he expires, 00:16:51.019 --> 00:16:55.179 God steps in as only God can. Perhaps there's 00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:57.019 someone here tonight. I believe that there is. 00:16:57.059 --> 00:17:00.840 Maybe this describes you. What we need only God 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:03.659 could give, we cannot create it for ourselves. 00:17:03.700 --> 00:17:08.359 The lesson of Jacob. We need God to reveal Himself 00:17:08.359 --> 00:17:12.640 like He revealed Himself in Jacob. But we also 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:16.720 need to see that this story tonight, this crazy 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:21.700 dream was God's appointment. Now I'm not saying, 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:23.700 and please don't misunderstand, I'm not trying. 00:17:24.299 --> 00:17:27.160 To say that we can't seek and find the Lord any 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:30.440 darn time, in any darn place we want, if we truly 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:34.559 want to. I'm not saying that. But there are moments, 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:39.019 there are times, there are places, where God 00:17:39.019 --> 00:17:44.160 invades, whether it's by our choice or not. Right? 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:49.700 Where God arrests us and captivates our attention. 00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:53.680 We see it in verse 11. If you look at chapter 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:56.579 28, verse 11, Jacob came to a certain place and 00:17:56.579 --> 00:17:59.380 stayed there all night. There is a certain time 00:17:59.380 --> 00:18:02.740 and a certain place. And it was the right time 00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:06.519 and it was the right place for Jacob. This was 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:10.539 God's timing. This was God's appointment. I want 00:18:10.539 --> 00:18:15.380 to ask you, friends, what time is it? I don't 00:18:15.380 --> 00:18:17.640 mean looking at your watch, right? When is this 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:20.259 guy going to shut up, right? I mean, in your 00:18:20.259 --> 00:18:24.779 lives. What time is it? Remember friends, it's 00:18:24.779 --> 00:18:28.779 always the right time to stop and seek the Lord. 00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:31.740 For whatever reasons you've come here tonight, 00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:34.599 your own family, maybe your church, right? You 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:37.799 have your own personal dreams. Maybe you've been 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:41.039 given visions by God, little ones and metaphorically 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:43.660 speaking. Now, of course, right? This here. that 00:18:43.660 --> 00:18:46.200 we're describing is a literal dream that Jacob 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:48.940 had. And we know from the Bible that dreams are 00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:51.900 significant in the way that God uses them to 00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:56.200 speak to people and continues to speak to people. 00:18:56.279 --> 00:18:58.660 And as well, it reminds us that in the ancient 00:18:58.660 --> 00:19:02.559 world, dreams were often understood to be communication 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:07.420 with God. But here's my question to us. Are we 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:12.240 watching for? Are we waiting on? Are we looking 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:16.380 to God to perform His world in our lives? In 00:19:16.380 --> 00:19:19.619 our own calling? In the environment that He's 00:19:19.619 --> 00:19:25.980 put us in? Or have we given up? Right? God did 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:29.640 give you a dream. Maybe God did impart a vision 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:32.400 to you, but through disappointment, through distractions, 00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:37.539 we've become diverted. Listen to Habakkuk, the 00:19:37.539 --> 00:19:41.630 vision, the prophecy of Habakkuk 2 and 3. God 00:19:41.630 --> 00:19:44.710 is going to bring it alive again. For there is 00:19:44.710 --> 00:19:46.589 still a vision for the appointed time. It speaks 00:19:46.589 --> 00:19:49.509 of the end and it does not lie. If it seems to 00:19:49.509 --> 00:19:53.930 tarry, wait for it. It will surely come. It will 00:19:53.930 --> 00:19:58.369 not delay. So I suppose what I'm trying to say 00:19:58.369 --> 00:20:02.630 here is some of us know there's time. And then 00:20:02.630 --> 00:20:06.049 there's also these moments of opportunity in 00:20:06.049 --> 00:20:09.069 our lives. Things that we refer to, that I'll 00:20:09.069 --> 00:20:13.250 refer to tonight as... God moments. Moments of 00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:18.009 opportunity. Not a moment in time like 716. But 00:20:18.009 --> 00:20:22.809 a moment where you just know. Right? But if you 00:20:22.809 --> 00:20:26.329 know that, I wonder, are we recognizing it when 00:20:26.329 --> 00:20:29.849 we see it? Are we stepping into it? Are we seizing 00:20:29.849 --> 00:20:33.369 it? Ephesians chapter 5 says we need to redeem 00:20:33.369 --> 00:20:37.089 that time. When we recognize those times of God 00:20:37.089 --> 00:20:40.049 breaking in our lives. We need to seize upon 00:20:40.049 --> 00:20:43.470 those opportunities because the days are evil 00:20:43.470 --> 00:20:46.650 and the time is running like sand through our 00:20:46.650 --> 00:20:50.049 fingers. This opportunity, this window is not 00:20:50.049 --> 00:20:53.470 going to stay open forever. Maybe you're saying, 00:20:53.529 --> 00:20:55.349 Tim, I don't know what you are talking about. 00:20:55.390 --> 00:20:57.910 I don't have a vision from God. I certainly don't 00:20:57.910 --> 00:20:59.849 see an open door in front of me. I don't see 00:20:59.849 --> 00:21:02.869 a gateway to heaven and certainly not something 00:21:02.869 --> 00:21:06.089 I would consider a God moment. I don't understand 00:21:06.089 --> 00:21:10.700 what you're talking about. Well, one of the big 00:21:10.700 --> 00:21:14.420 lessons we get from Jacob's life story is that, 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:19.660 remember, what he already possessed, he couldn't 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:24.700 see. Remember? He already had the blessings from 00:21:24.700 --> 00:21:27.640 God. But he couldn't see it for himself that 00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:30.980 he already had them. He thought he didn't have 00:21:30.980 --> 00:21:35.200 them. Right? He thought he had to strive to try 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:40.150 to achieve, to scheme. then he had the promise 00:21:40.150 --> 00:21:43.849 we can go back and look in 25 and 23 god gave 00:21:43.849 --> 00:21:46.670 a promise to his mother that the elder would 00:21:46.670 --> 00:21:49.430 serve the younger that esau wouldn't get this 00:21:49.430 --> 00:21:53.950 blessing yet he had to scheme to try to get it 00:21:53.950 --> 00:21:58.190 he had to buy it he thought his birthright in 00:21:58.190 --> 00:22:01.250 order that he might get god's blessing yet god's 00:22:01.250 --> 00:22:05.529 favor continued upon him if we read verse 12 00:22:05.529 --> 00:22:08.809 through 16 we see that god was blessing him in 00:22:08.809 --> 00:22:12.109 the dream here, Genesis 28. God says, I'm with 00:22:12.109 --> 00:22:14.650 you. I'm going to do all these things for you. 00:22:15.650 --> 00:22:21.509 So what has changed in Jacob's environment? Moving 00:22:21.509 --> 00:22:23.710 from thinking that he hadn't got these things 00:22:23.710 --> 00:22:26.930 to realizing that he had. I don't think anything 00:22:26.930 --> 00:22:29.970 changed in Jacob's environment, to be honest. 00:22:30.029 --> 00:22:33.789 What I think changed was Jacob's perception and 00:22:33.789 --> 00:22:38.730 Jacob's perspective. He could only see with the 00:22:38.730 --> 00:22:43.789 vision from God and that's how it starts. He 00:22:43.789 --> 00:22:48.109 could only see from revelation. God had to show 00:22:48.109 --> 00:22:53.130 him this. And God has to show us the truth. He 00:22:53.130 --> 00:22:56.930 needs to show us sometimes what we already had. 00:22:57.650 --> 00:23:02.759 Sometimes we need all his help. We need His help 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:06.140 to open our eyes, to unplug our ears, to soften 00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:11.079 our hearts. Right? And that's how this ordinary 00:23:11.079 --> 00:23:16.160 wilderness here, second dot down here, this ordinary 00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:21.099 barren wilderness where Jacob puts his head down 00:23:21.099 --> 00:23:25.700 on a stone, right? As he puts his head down to 00:23:25.700 --> 00:23:30.440 sleep, that night ends up becoming a house of 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:37.460 God. How? When God imparts a vision. Let's watch 00:23:37.460 --> 00:23:40.460 his actions. Look at verse 18. Look at what he 00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:43.480 does after the dream. Jacob, after the dream, 00:23:43.640 --> 00:23:46.299 rose early in the morning and took the stone 00:23:46.299 --> 00:23:48.059 that he put at his head and he set it up as a 00:23:48.059 --> 00:23:51.539 pillar and poured oil on top of it. Now, back 00:23:51.539 --> 00:23:54.299 at verse 11 at the beginning of the story, he 00:23:54.299 --> 00:23:56.980 says, he came to a certain place and stayed there 00:23:56.980 --> 00:23:59.769 all night because the sun had set. He took one 00:23:59.769 --> 00:24:01.490 of the stones out of that place and put it in 00:24:01.490 --> 00:24:03.750 his head and he laid down in that place to sleep. 00:24:03.809 --> 00:24:07.670 He made a pillow out of a stone. Strange thing. 00:24:08.710 --> 00:24:10.789 But do you think that when he lifted that stone 00:24:10.789 --> 00:24:12.690 to lie down for the night that he thought that 00:24:12.690 --> 00:24:17.410 that stone had any significance? Do you think 00:24:17.410 --> 00:24:19.890 that the situation that you might be in your 00:24:19.890 --> 00:24:21.950 life right now in this moment of time, maybe 00:24:21.950 --> 00:24:24.769 you don't see it as a God moment. Maybe you don't 00:24:24.769 --> 00:24:28.170 see an opportunity. In your life for God to step 00:24:28.170 --> 00:24:32.809 in. And you don't even feel like there's anything 00:24:32.809 --> 00:24:36.730 significant about you. What do you think about 00:24:36.730 --> 00:24:40.549 where you're at right now? What do you think 00:24:40.549 --> 00:24:45.009 about what you're doing right now? Did Jacob 00:24:45.009 --> 00:24:47.609 think that there was anything unique about this 00:24:47.609 --> 00:24:50.250 stone? Of course he didn't. If you could imagine, 00:24:50.390 --> 00:24:53.269 I certainly would. If that was all he had to 00:24:53.269 --> 00:24:57.049 use for a pillow, he probably hated it. I would, 00:24:57.230 --> 00:25:00.289 right? That would not have been a very comfortable 00:25:00.289 --> 00:25:04.450 pillow. It was something insignificant. It was 00:25:04.450 --> 00:25:09.089 even something that was painful to him. Most 00:25:09.089 --> 00:25:12.349 assuredly, it was not what he wanted or what 00:25:12.349 --> 00:25:15.809 he expected his blessings to look at. But by 00:25:15.809 --> 00:25:20.269 God's intervention at God's appointed time, that 00:25:20.269 --> 00:25:24.369 stone was transformed into what? A marker, a 00:25:24.369 --> 00:25:27.519 monument. A memorial to the blessing of God. 00:25:27.940 --> 00:25:32.579 And an encounter with God in his life. Now, I 00:25:32.579 --> 00:25:34.400 just have to tell you guys, this is amazing to 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:39.519 me. Because Jacob couldn't see any of this. Probably, 00:25:39.700 --> 00:25:41.579 and I'm just going to say this tonight, we might 00:25:41.579 --> 00:25:44.880 be in the same situation where we cannot see. 00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:49.980 Are we seeing God in our circumstances? God in 00:25:49.980 --> 00:25:53.759 our environment? God in our situation? Right? 00:25:54.250 --> 00:25:57.029 But if God tonight imparts a vision upon you, 00:25:57.130 --> 00:26:00.269 you're going to see something never seen before. 00:26:00.650 --> 00:26:04.329 Because ordinary things, things that we think 00:26:04.329 --> 00:26:07.329 of come out of wastefulness and barrenness, right? 00:26:07.450 --> 00:26:10.589 Things that we think have no value when they 00:26:10.589 --> 00:26:14.069 become ordained by God, when they are given an 00:26:14.069 --> 00:26:17.630 imparted vision from God, they become anointed 00:26:17.630 --> 00:26:22.170 carriers of God's blessing. Right? God in our 00:26:22.170 --> 00:26:25.440 environment. God in our situation. That's why 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:29.359 this stone was a pillow and became a pillar that 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:32.680 was set upright, anointed with oil, and it became 00:26:32.680 --> 00:26:35.759 a monument to God's dealings in Jacob's life. 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:42.220 In the space of one evening, one dream, all of 00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:46.000 that changed. Why? Because God had given him 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:50.900 a vision. Now, big question for us. What is dreaming? 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:55.859 Now, I don't mean daydreaming. I don't mean like 00:26:55.859 --> 00:26:58.720 the kind of dream you might have after too much 00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:03.200 Detroit style pizza from Pizza Hut. Right. I'm 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:07.079 talking about dreaming of God. Getting dreams 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:12.019 from God. What is this vision that we're talking 00:27:12.019 --> 00:27:15.539 about? Well, I'm trying to make this as simple 00:27:15.539 --> 00:27:17.480 as possible. It's the only way I really understand 00:27:17.480 --> 00:27:21.970 it. But basically, God dreaming. In this way, 00:27:22.109 --> 00:27:25.869 casting these visions is allowing God to dream 00:27:25.869 --> 00:27:31.069 through you. God is dreaming through you. Remember, 00:27:31.549 --> 00:27:34.190 as a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit dwelling 00:27:34.190 --> 00:27:38.849 within you. And so vision is God's eyes looking 00:27:38.849 --> 00:27:43.549 through you so that you're able to see as God 00:27:43.549 --> 00:27:47.369 sees. God wants to dream through you. God wants 00:27:47.369 --> 00:27:50.250 to bring His plans, His purposes, His blessings. 00:27:50.859 --> 00:27:54.039 To you. That is God's dream. That his kingdom 00:27:54.039 --> 00:27:58.059 should come. That his will should be done. But 00:27:58.059 --> 00:28:00.079 here's the question. Are we dreaming his dream? 00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:05.099 Are we seeing his vision? Or are we dreaming 00:28:05.099 --> 00:28:09.940 our own? What was God's dream and vision for 00:28:09.940 --> 00:28:13.680 Jacob? Okay. Let's look at it. Verse 13. First 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:16.359 of all, a land. Here we go. What's the dream 00:28:16.359 --> 00:28:19.920 about? First, a blessing of the land. Right. 00:28:20.140 --> 00:28:22.619 And the Lord stood beside him or above him, your 00:28:22.619 --> 00:28:26.619 Bible might say. It said, I am the Lord, the 00:28:26.619 --> 00:28:28.440 God of Abraham, your father and the God of Isaac, 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:30.440 the land of which you lie. I will give you and 00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:32.440 to your offspring. Now, this, of course, is a 00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:34.900 promise that is specific to what would become 00:28:34.900 --> 00:28:37.160 the nation of Israel. But the blessing of inheritance 00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:40.720 of the nations that is promised here is in Abraham 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:44.160 and it's to the whole world. And we as Christian 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:47.450 believers believe that is fulfilled. through 00:28:47.450 --> 00:28:49.630 the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's 00:28:49.630 --> 00:28:53.069 being fulfilled now as multitudes continue to 00:28:53.069 --> 00:28:56.529 come into the kingdom of Christ. The blessing 00:28:56.529 --> 00:28:58.970 is the blessing of the land, but it's also the 00:28:58.970 --> 00:29:01.789 blessing of offspring. Verse 14, And your offspring 00:29:01.789 --> 00:29:04.390 shall be like the dust of the earth, and you 00:29:04.390 --> 00:29:07.309 shall spread abroad to the west and the east, 00:29:07.329 --> 00:29:09.390 to the north and to the south, and all the families 00:29:09.390 --> 00:29:11.750 of the earth shall be blessed in you and your 00:29:11.750 --> 00:29:15.549 offspring. Now this is the Jewish people. But 00:29:15.549 --> 00:29:18.609 again, all the families of the earth shall be 00:29:18.609 --> 00:29:22.509 blessed through the promise given by God to Abraham. 00:29:23.569 --> 00:29:25.990 Now listen, when God conceives of something, 00:29:26.170 --> 00:29:29.890 like the Holy Spirit in a vision, in a dream, 00:29:30.450 --> 00:29:33.529 there always seems like this incubation period, 00:29:33.650 --> 00:29:36.170 like the natural seed in the womb. There's a 00:29:36.170 --> 00:29:39.529 period of gestation, but the object, but the 00:29:39.529 --> 00:29:44.500 objective of conception, of impregnation. of 00:29:44.500 --> 00:29:48.960 incubation and gestation, right? These types 00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:51.299 of things that happen when God plants these seeds 00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:55.059 of blessings. It's the same thing as travail 00:29:55.059 --> 00:29:59.359 and birth in the human experience. And friends, 00:29:59.420 --> 00:30:01.539 that's the whole point of this entire thing. 00:30:02.660 --> 00:30:07.640 If you ever wondered and maybe been hanging out 00:30:07.640 --> 00:30:09.259 with your friends drinking too many ice waters 00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:12.380 or something. smoking some grape leaves or something 00:30:12.380 --> 00:30:13.940 back out behind your grandma's house, and you 00:30:13.940 --> 00:30:18.799 go, why am I here, man? Let me tell you why you're 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:22.859 here. You are here to participate in creation 00:30:22.859 --> 00:30:26.799 with the Creator. That is the ultimate desire. 00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:30.740 The reason why there is a creation is that the 00:30:30.740 --> 00:30:34.759 Creator desired that we participate in creation 00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:39.910 with the Creator. And that requires our involvement 00:30:39.910 --> 00:30:45.910 in this gestation period of God's blessing, this 00:30:45.910 --> 00:30:48.690 incubation period. But remember, friends, God's 00:30:48.690 --> 00:30:54.569 intentions is always to bear fruit. God's own 00:30:54.569 --> 00:30:57.769 purpose has never changed. In the Garden of Eden, 00:30:57.869 --> 00:31:00.769 He says to Adam and Eve, be fruitful and multiply. 00:31:01.670 --> 00:31:05.230 When He destroys the earth because of sin, and 00:31:05.230 --> 00:31:08.930 puts Noah in the ark whenever the ark comes open, 00:31:09.130 --> 00:31:12.470 right? He starts to reproduce and populate the 00:31:12.470 --> 00:31:16.490 earth. God said, be fruitful and multiply. God 00:31:16.490 --> 00:31:19.609 told Abraham, and this is the repetition of the 00:31:19.609 --> 00:31:22.250 Abrahamic blessing, right? That God was going 00:31:22.250 --> 00:31:24.789 to multiply his seed as the sands of the shore, 00:31:25.069 --> 00:31:28.230 as the stars of the sky. Whenever the Lord makes 00:31:28.230 --> 00:31:31.680 these promises of fruitfulness, listen. Whenever 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:34.019 God makes these promises of fruitfulness, if 00:31:34.019 --> 00:31:36.619 you have any real familiarity with the Hebrew 00:31:36.619 --> 00:31:39.180 scriptures at all, particularly this book that 00:31:39.180 --> 00:31:41.759 we're in, Genesis, right? You'll see that whenever 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:44.900 God makes these types of promises, I'm going 00:31:44.900 --> 00:31:48.359 to multiply you. Satan comes in and he always 00:31:48.359 --> 00:31:52.259 tries to thwart that blessing by creating barrenness. 00:31:53.079 --> 00:31:55.339 Have you ever noticed that? How many times God 00:31:55.339 --> 00:31:59.890 brings his promise, right? Anointed deliverer 00:31:59.890 --> 00:32:04.890 out of a barren and fertile womb. Again and again 00:32:04.890 --> 00:32:07.529 and again, the Lord has to work this same miracle 00:32:07.529 --> 00:32:11.309 in Sarah's womb, Rebecca's womb, Hannah's womb. 00:32:11.829 --> 00:32:15.009 So there was land, there was offspring, but thirdly, 00:32:15.009 --> 00:32:18.650 there was protection and promises to be fulfilled. 00:32:18.890 --> 00:32:25.349 Verse 15, the point here of God visiting young 00:32:25.349 --> 00:32:30.430 Jacob. Know that I am with you. That's the blessing. 00:32:30.730 --> 00:32:33.990 Not the land, not the offspring. Know that I 00:32:33.990 --> 00:32:37.410 am with you. And I will keep you wherever you 00:32:37.410 --> 00:32:39.369 go and bring you back to this land. I will not 00:32:39.369 --> 00:32:42.349 leave you until I've done what I promised for 00:32:42.349 --> 00:32:47.089 you. God will protect God's work. This baby that 00:32:47.089 --> 00:32:49.690 he's become instrumental in the birth of, the 00:32:49.690 --> 00:32:52.329 nation of Israel, all of the people of the world. 00:32:52.390 --> 00:32:56.480 He's going to fulfill his promises. He will fulfill 00:32:56.480 --> 00:33:00.440 His promises in you. Please do not be like Jacob 00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:03.420 and try with the arm of the flesh to make those 00:33:03.420 --> 00:33:09.900 things happen. Wait on God in faith. Like I just 00:33:09.900 --> 00:33:13.160 said though, but ultimately God's dream was for 00:33:13.160 --> 00:33:17.940 His presence. Verse 15, know that I am with you. 00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:21.799 Look, through all of biblical history, right? 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:25.769 God's heartbeat. God's desire, God's passion 00:33:25.769 --> 00:33:30.690 has always been to dwell in the midst of His 00:33:30.690 --> 00:33:34.490 people. Right? If you don't know that, know that. 00:33:35.630 --> 00:33:38.950 The whole point is so that God could dwell in 00:33:38.950 --> 00:33:43.230 the midst of His people. Right from the Garden 00:33:43.230 --> 00:33:45.269 of Eden when He walked with Adam and Eve in the 00:33:45.269 --> 00:33:47.670 cool of the day. Right to the tabernacle where 00:33:47.670 --> 00:33:50.730 He dwelt with Israel in a pillar of cloud by 00:33:50.730 --> 00:33:55.809 day. by night, right where he was in the Holy 00:33:55.809 --> 00:33:57.869 of Holies, where he dwelt over the Ark of the 00:33:57.869 --> 00:34:01.009 Covenant, in that cloud that they call the Shekinah. 00:34:01.890 --> 00:34:05.730 Why do I say it wrong every time? The Shekinah, 00:34:05.730 --> 00:34:09.590 sorry. Which means, it means dwelling of God. 00:34:09.789 --> 00:34:13.570 I even prepare myself, don't say Shekinah. Every 00:34:13.570 --> 00:34:16.829 time, right out it comes, Shekinah. That word 00:34:16.829 --> 00:34:20.300 is Shekinah. Right on to the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:34:20.500 --> 00:34:24.920 the Word, capital W, Word of God. John chapter 00:34:24.920 --> 00:34:29.960 1, 14, who tabernacled, who dwelt among us. Jesus 00:34:29.960 --> 00:34:32.980 was the absolute epitome because he was God manifest 00:34:32.980 --> 00:34:37.480 in the flesh. God had come to dwell in the midst 00:34:37.480 --> 00:34:41.579 of his people. God is always looking for a dwelling 00:34:41.579 --> 00:34:45.800 place. He's always looking for a Bethel. He's 00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:47.699 always looking for a piece of land, a group of 00:34:47.699 --> 00:34:51.980 people where he can rest. Do you want that? I 00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:57.800 sure do. You see, fair enough. Revelation caused 00:34:57.800 --> 00:35:02.659 Jacob to see what was real. Revelation caused 00:35:02.659 --> 00:35:06.239 to see him for him to see what was already there. 00:35:07.059 --> 00:35:09.739 And so what does he say? Our old buddy Jacob. 00:35:10.699 --> 00:35:15.349 Verse 16. Surely the Lord is in this place. I 00:35:15.349 --> 00:35:18.650 did not know it. Do you see this? Do you see 00:35:18.650 --> 00:35:22.010 the journey he's on? He comes down to this as 00:35:22.010 --> 00:35:24.809 far as he's concerned. It's this God forsaken 00:35:24.809 --> 00:35:30.409 wilderness. This barrenness. And he lies down 00:35:30.409 --> 00:35:35.469 immediately exhausted from his striving to get 00:35:35.469 --> 00:35:38.309 the blessing of God. And that's what so many 00:35:38.309 --> 00:35:40.969 of our friends and neighbors, perhaps even you 00:35:40.969 --> 00:35:43.840 yourself, if you were honest. might be doing, 00:35:43.880 --> 00:35:45.940 striving and striving and striving and striving 00:35:45.940 --> 00:35:48.460 to get the blessing of God. God reveals himself 00:35:48.460 --> 00:35:51.139 to him with a head on a pillow and he wakes up 00:35:51.139 --> 00:35:53.539 and he thinks, God is here and I didn't even 00:35:53.539 --> 00:35:57.780 realize it. Some people just don't see it. Some 00:35:57.780 --> 00:36:00.860 Christians just don't see what's already there. 00:36:00.940 --> 00:36:05.400 Why? Because of the flesh, right? Because there's 00:36:05.400 --> 00:36:07.860 something getting in the way of the revelation 00:36:07.860 --> 00:36:11.940 of God. What does God want? Right. Here's what 00:36:11.940 --> 00:36:15.119 God wants. He wants a house. He wants a gateway 00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:19.400 from heaven to earth. Verse 12, the dream. Behold, 00:36:19.420 --> 00:36:21.139 the ladder was set upon the earth. Now, it's 00:36:21.139 --> 00:36:23.960 interesting that the ladder was put upon the 00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:26.320 earth. It doesn't say that the ladder was sent 00:36:26.320 --> 00:36:30.219 down from heaven to earth. Right. Meaning to 00:36:30.219 --> 00:36:33.380 say it was already there. So the ladder set on 00:36:33.380 --> 00:36:38.260 earth. Right. Now, it was a stairway from heaven, 00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:41.159 from earth to heaven, rather. They're angelic 00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:44.159 ministrations passing between dimensions. Jacob 00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:47.019 found himself literally underneath an open heaven. 00:36:47.360 --> 00:36:50.780 Now, Jesus, we that are Christians believe that 00:36:50.780 --> 00:36:54.539 Jesus is our open heaven. In fact, in John chapter 00:36:54.539 --> 00:36:57.460 one, Jesus came to a Jew named Nathaniel, and 00:36:57.460 --> 00:37:00.199 he actually quotes from this Bible study story. 00:37:00.760 --> 00:37:03.519 He says, most assuredly, I say to you hereafter, 00:37:03.579 --> 00:37:06.599 you'll see heaven open up. The angels of God 00:37:06.599 --> 00:37:08.829 ascending and descending. upon the Son of Man. 00:37:08.909 --> 00:37:11.110 He said to Nathanael, you'll see even greater 00:37:11.110 --> 00:37:14.050 things than these. Jesus, Christian brothers 00:37:14.050 --> 00:37:18.090 and sisters, is our ladder to heaven. Where is 00:37:18.090 --> 00:37:22.849 the house of God today? 1 Corinthians 3 and 16, 00:37:22.969 --> 00:37:25.570 Paul says this, do you know, he's talking to 00:37:25.570 --> 00:37:32.050 you, me. Do you know that you are the home, the 00:37:32.050 --> 00:37:37.440 house of the Holy Spirit? Right? The church and 00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:41.940 each individual Christian in the church is the 00:37:41.940 --> 00:37:47.139 home, the tabernacle of God. Right? That's what 00:37:47.139 --> 00:37:51.820 being a Christian is. Not going to church. Right? 00:37:51.900 --> 00:37:54.480 Christians doing good things and going to church 00:37:54.480 --> 00:37:57.940 on Sunday. Come to church. Don't be a goof. Right? 00:37:58.820 --> 00:38:02.619 But that's not what it's about. It's about Christians 00:38:02.619 --> 00:38:07.000 being the church. You are the temple of God in 00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:11.119 which God dwells. God's Holy Spirit is living 00:38:11.119 --> 00:38:14.480 in you. And that means that if you are a true 00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:18.619 born -again Christian, you too are living under 00:38:18.619 --> 00:38:22.400 an open heaven. And we are to be stewards of 00:38:22.400 --> 00:38:25.239 our heavenly realm. We as Christians are to be 00:38:25.239 --> 00:38:28.460 gateways to God's glory. What does that mean? 00:38:28.599 --> 00:38:31.780 It means that when people see us, when people 00:38:31.780 --> 00:38:36.289 meet us, they meet heaven. They are meant to 00:38:36.289 --> 00:38:40.750 meet God in his presence whenever he meets us. 00:38:41.010 --> 00:38:43.230 And I believe that that's what the church is 00:38:43.230 --> 00:38:46.530 supposed to be. People are meant to come in and 00:38:46.530 --> 00:38:53.010 sense being heavenly. You are a gateway to heaven. 00:38:53.090 --> 00:38:55.250 You are an opening to heaven if you're a child 00:38:55.250 --> 00:38:58.750 of God. God wants gateways to heaven. We need 00:38:58.750 --> 00:39:01.750 to realize this. And listen. I believe that God 00:39:01.750 --> 00:39:04.489 is making this place. I believe God is making 00:39:04.489 --> 00:39:07.230 this place a gateway to heaven. I believe that. 00:39:07.349 --> 00:39:09.389 I believe this, and especially tonight. This 00:39:09.389 --> 00:39:13.070 is God's moment for someone. Someone once said, 00:39:13.110 --> 00:39:15.750 I don't have a credit for it, but someone once 00:39:15.750 --> 00:39:19.590 said, getting us to heaven is not nearly as great 00:39:19.590 --> 00:39:24.409 a challenge as getting heaven into us. Right? 00:39:24.489 --> 00:39:26.789 For that to happen, it means that we must be 00:39:26.789 --> 00:39:30.440 a people saturated with God. But so many people 00:39:30.440 --> 00:39:33.239 today in our world, what are they saturated by? 00:39:33.320 --> 00:39:36.820 They're saturated by things like addiction, materialism, 00:39:36.900 --> 00:39:40.119 sensuality, right? We're saturated by political 00:39:40.119 --> 00:39:43.139 correctness. We're saturated by these religious 00:39:43.139 --> 00:39:46.619 adherence to these crazy right rules that make 00:39:46.619 --> 00:39:50.139 Christianity this beautiful, vibrant relationship 00:39:50.139 --> 00:39:53.179 with Christ, something that's dead and stagnant. 00:39:53.539 --> 00:39:56.559 That leaves so many people in our culture today. 00:39:56.679 --> 00:40:00.019 Maybe you know someone. Maybe you know some peoples, 00:40:00.139 --> 00:40:05.579 right? This death, this barrenness has left people 00:40:05.579 --> 00:40:08.960 feeling like Jesus is meaningless in their lives. 00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:13.000 We're saturated in this world by death and despair 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:16.039 and depression. We need to be saturated. We need 00:40:16.039 --> 00:40:19.139 to be a people saturated by God. I mean, can 00:40:19.139 --> 00:40:22.179 you have vision? Can you truly receive an impartation 00:40:22.179 --> 00:40:25.039 of a vision tonight? What would it be like for 00:40:25.039 --> 00:40:28.909 God to be everywhere? Do you believe it's possible? 00:40:29.869 --> 00:40:32.789 Right? It's all to do with the Spirit of God 00:40:32.789 --> 00:40:36.590 imparting vision. And then, what do you do with 00:40:36.590 --> 00:40:40.909 it? Let's see what Jacob's response to the impartation 00:40:40.909 --> 00:40:44.730 of a vision is. Good old Jacob. Verse 20, quickly, 00:40:44.869 --> 00:40:48.110 and I'm closing. Do you know what? Here's what 00:40:48.110 --> 00:40:52.710 Jacob does, like always. Right? He starts dealing 00:40:52.710 --> 00:40:56.050 with God. He starts trying to make arrangements 00:40:56.050 --> 00:41:01.650 with God. He's saying, verse 20, if God will 00:41:01.650 --> 00:41:06.429 be with me. God said to him, I will be with you. 00:41:07.269 --> 00:41:10.829 Right? He didn't say, Jacob, I might be with 00:41:10.829 --> 00:41:14.889 you. He said, Jacob, I will be with you. Jacob 00:41:14.889 --> 00:41:18.849 says, well, if you will be with me. And instead 00:41:18.849 --> 00:41:21.250 of humbly submitting to the promises God was 00:41:21.250 --> 00:41:23.730 giving him, he instead tries to set the terms 00:41:23.730 --> 00:41:26.619 of the covenant. And that's what so many people 00:41:26.619 --> 00:41:30.260 do with God. They try to make deals with God. 00:41:30.440 --> 00:41:33.619 They try to bargain with God. Well, if God gives 00:41:33.619 --> 00:41:37.860 me this, then maybe I'll serve Him. Right? That's 00:41:37.860 --> 00:41:41.900 dealing with God on your own terms. You compare 00:41:41.900 --> 00:41:45.019 and contrast God's promises. You read God's promises. 00:41:45.139 --> 00:41:46.800 And again, we don't have time to go into it, 00:41:46.800 --> 00:41:49.260 to look at it this evening. But God does say 00:41:49.260 --> 00:41:52.420 in these covenantal promises, I will do this. 00:41:52.519 --> 00:41:55.679 I will do that. I will do this for you. They 00:41:55.679 --> 00:41:59.400 are God -centered. They are God's promises, right? 00:41:59.500 --> 00:42:04.699 And they are focused on God. Jacob's conditions 00:42:04.699 --> 00:42:08.539 were man -centered, right? If you do this for 00:42:08.539 --> 00:42:12.179 me, if you'll do that for me. And yet, being 00:42:12.179 --> 00:42:17.019 the enigma, God was gracious to him. Should be 00:42:17.019 --> 00:42:20.139 wonderful for us. God doesn't call, like maybe 00:42:20.139 --> 00:42:23.480 you or I might have done if we were in his shoes. 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:26.019 Right. God just called the whole thing off and 00:42:26.019 --> 00:42:28.380 say, look, I've had enough. I can't hang with 00:42:28.380 --> 00:42:31.139 this Jacob dude anymore. He doesn't even get 00:42:31.139 --> 00:42:36.059 it whenever I pull him into a dream. Right. I 00:42:36.059 --> 00:42:39.239 have just given Jacob a supernatural experience, 00:42:39.539 --> 00:42:42.900 an unconscious encounter. And he's down here 00:42:42.900 --> 00:42:45.980 trying to haggle with me. Right. But God hung 00:42:45.980 --> 00:42:48.960 in there just like he's hanging in there with 00:42:48.960 --> 00:42:51.840 you and he's hanging in there with me. The sad 00:42:51.840 --> 00:42:54.460 thing about the story tonight is up to this point, 00:42:54.519 --> 00:42:58.820 Jacob remains unchanged. He'd been given a vision 00:42:58.820 --> 00:43:02.159 by God. You remain the same. It's unbelievable 00:43:02.159 --> 00:43:04.820 in a sense, but whenever you understand the propensity 00:43:04.820 --> 00:43:07.460 of the flesh to get in God's way, you realize 00:43:07.460 --> 00:43:11.039 that it's not incredible at all. Now, from what 00:43:11.039 --> 00:43:13.800 I spoke about, I want to ask you, will we remain 00:43:13.800 --> 00:43:18.159 unchanged? Please. Please don't leave the meeting 00:43:18.159 --> 00:43:20.179 tonight. Please don't say, wasn't that a nice 00:43:20.179 --> 00:43:23.780 bubble study? Wasn't that wonderful? You know, 00:43:23.800 --> 00:43:26.820 I never thought of that before. I want you to 00:43:26.820 --> 00:43:29.639 go away changed, transformed in such a way that 00:43:29.639 --> 00:43:32.099 your environment and everybody that comes into 00:43:32.099 --> 00:43:34.960 the vicinity of you will be changed as well. 00:43:35.900 --> 00:43:38.320 I want our church to be changed. I want our community 00:43:38.320 --> 00:43:40.119 to be changed. I want our country to be changed. 00:43:40.380 --> 00:43:46.409 Is that too big? Well, how big is your God? Because 00:43:46.409 --> 00:43:49.809 God lives in all believers. The glory of His 00:43:49.809 --> 00:43:53.510 presence comes to rest only in a few. Let me 00:43:53.510 --> 00:43:57.170 repeat that again. God lives in every believer. 00:43:58.269 --> 00:44:02.590 But the glory of His presence, the peace that 00:44:02.590 --> 00:44:05.349 comes with His presence, comes to rest in only 00:44:05.349 --> 00:44:08.750 a few. Will you be one of the few that will be 00:44:08.750 --> 00:44:11.349 a gateway to bring His presence to this place? 00:44:11.949 --> 00:44:16.320 I hope so. Can we pray? Now, Lord, we're asking 00:44:16.320 --> 00:44:18.159 you for just a little bit of heaven on earth. 00:44:18.800 --> 00:44:20.500 That's what we need. That's what people need 00:44:20.500 --> 00:44:22.980 to see. They need to see that God lives and God 00:44:22.980 --> 00:44:25.460 is real. Lord, these are your people and they 00:44:25.460 --> 00:44:28.099 need a touch from you to know that you're there. 00:44:28.760 --> 00:44:30.639 Pray that you'll touch them just now. I pray 00:44:30.639 --> 00:44:33.380 that this meeting, people will have dreams, will 00:44:33.380 --> 00:44:35.300 have visions. I pray that the gifts of the Spirit 00:44:35.300 --> 00:44:39.639 can be imparted and released in our lives. The 00:44:39.639 --> 00:44:41.360 new characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit 00:44:41.360 --> 00:44:45.219 will explode within us. Wherever we go tomorrow, 00:44:45.480 --> 00:44:47.760 we'll carry that fragrance of the presence of 00:44:47.760 --> 00:44:51.420 Jesus on us. Others will be able to see and hear 00:44:51.420 --> 00:44:56.739 that we have been with Jesus. Lord, pour something 00:44:56.739 --> 00:44:59.340 out upon us tonight that is beyond anything we've 00:44:59.340 --> 00:45:03.199 ever experienced before. Do whatever you want 00:45:03.199 --> 00:45:05.619 to do. I don't know what it sounds like. I don't 00:45:05.619 --> 00:45:08.139 know what it looks like. As long as it's from 00:45:08.139 --> 00:45:10.079 you, that's all that matters. Oh God, would you 00:45:10.079 --> 00:45:13.789 come and would you do it? Lord, we pray. We thank 00:45:13.789 --> 00:45:15.369 you for your presence here tonight. We thank 00:45:15.369 --> 00:45:17.389 you for your voice, and we pray that it will 00:45:17.389 --> 00:45:19.969 not fall on the ground because of our neglect 00:45:19.969 --> 00:45:23.409 of it. These things we pray in your all -present 00:45:23.409 --> 00:45:33.929 name. Amen. Okay, cool. Thanks, buddies. Well, 00:45:34.070 --> 00:45:36.849 friend, that's it for this week. I'm curious 00:45:36.849 --> 00:45:40.630 what you have to think. Can you see Jacob? And 00:45:40.630 --> 00:45:43.409 yourself, can you look at your own life and see 00:45:43.409 --> 00:45:47.829 the enigma that exists between you and God that 00:45:47.829 --> 00:45:52.110 you recognize how much God loves you and yet 00:45:52.110 --> 00:45:58.289 you work hard and find yourself further from 00:45:58.289 --> 00:46:03.489 God. It's an enigma. It's a mystery. We love 00:46:03.489 --> 00:46:06.050 God and yet we seem to find ourselves working 00:46:06.050 --> 00:46:11.559 our way from God. Even despite our worst efforts, 00:46:11.820 --> 00:46:16.820 we find God coming to find us. Well, friend, 00:46:16.860 --> 00:46:19.039 I hope you enjoyed this episode. And I hope that 00:46:19.039 --> 00:46:22.159 you will end Wednesday with the next installment 00:46:22.159 --> 00:46:26.480 of the story of Jacob. Thanks, buddy. Have a 00:46:26.480 --> 00:46:26.880 great week.