WEBVTT 00:00:00.330 --> 00:00:03.609 I am Pastor Nathan, and this morning we're going 00:00:03.609 --> 00:00:06.610 to be looking at what is the beginning of Jacob's 00:00:06.610 --> 00:00:09.890 return to the promised land. And the thing that 00:00:09.890 --> 00:00:13.130 kind of frames the front bookend of this part 00:00:13.130 --> 00:00:16.530 of his story is a story that I've heard over 00:00:16.530 --> 00:00:18.570 the years from many different people. I myself 00:00:18.570 --> 00:00:20.929 have experienced, and some of you may have experienced, 00:00:21.109 --> 00:00:24.250 but the story goes this way. There's a worker 00:00:24.250 --> 00:00:26.890 who's been working faithfully at a company for 00:00:26.890 --> 00:00:30.530 years and years and years. And over those years, 00:00:30.609 --> 00:00:33.649 this worker became somebody that everybody could 00:00:33.649 --> 00:00:37.030 count on. Somebody that everybody trusted to 00:00:37.030 --> 00:00:39.850 show up early and to leave late. And they become 00:00:39.850 --> 00:00:42.829 the problem solver and the trainer of new hires. 00:00:42.929 --> 00:00:45.310 And they're just invaluable to their employer. 00:00:45.990 --> 00:00:48.390 But unfortunately, every time promotion time 00:00:48.390 --> 00:00:50.859 comes up, they get overlooked. Somebody else 00:00:50.859 --> 00:00:53.140 gets the promotion somebody else gets the raise 00:00:53.140 --> 00:00:58.659 and to make it worse the boss Knew that the company 00:00:58.659 --> 00:01:01.600 was thriving largely because of this person's 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:04.290 efforts I don't know if you've ever been in that 00:01:04.290 --> 00:01:07.769 situation, but it's sadly not uncommon. And maybe 00:01:07.769 --> 00:01:10.510 you've experienced it in your workplace. Maybe 00:01:10.510 --> 00:01:12.310 you experience this type of thing in your home 00:01:12.310 --> 00:01:15.650 life where you find yourself at times feeling 00:01:15.650 --> 00:01:20.170 unappreciated, feeling overlooked, or maybe even 00:01:20.170 --> 00:01:23.469 taken advantage of when you're doing everything 00:01:23.469 --> 00:01:25.950 that you know to do that is right and honest 00:01:25.950 --> 00:01:29.239 and appropriate. This is exactly where we find 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:31.680 Jacob here in Genesis 30. We're going to be in 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:36.019 verses 25 through 43 today. And at this point 00:01:36.019 --> 00:01:38.659 in Jacob's life, he's been working for his uncle 00:01:38.659 --> 00:01:42.540 Laban for about 14 years. And he's about to embark 00:01:42.540 --> 00:01:45.180 on another four years of labor. And he did all 00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:49.650 of this just to marry the woman he loved. Rachel, 00:01:49.750 --> 00:01:52.109 the woman he wanted to be with, and yet through 00:01:52.109 --> 00:01:55.730 all of the mess and the deception and the duplicity, 00:01:55.769 --> 00:01:58.609 everything, through all of it, God's hand was 00:01:58.609 --> 00:02:02.890 still on Jacob's life. And that is the big lesson 00:02:02.890 --> 00:02:05.390 for us today. You know, some of us have mess 00:02:05.390 --> 00:02:08.150 in our life, and you've all heard the phrase, 00:02:08.270 --> 00:02:11.770 Lord, bless this mess. Because we go through 00:02:11.770 --> 00:02:14.469 things, we go through difficulties, and as we've 00:02:14.469 --> 00:02:17.229 seen in Jacob's life already, sometimes we bring 00:02:17.229 --> 00:02:19.169 it upon ourselves through our own disobedience, 00:02:19.169 --> 00:02:21.289 through our own bad decisions. But there are 00:02:21.289 --> 00:02:23.310 times in our lives where we find ourselves in 00:02:23.310 --> 00:02:26.210 the middle of a mess, even when we feel like 00:02:26.210 --> 00:02:27.870 we're doing everything right, even when we're 00:02:27.870 --> 00:02:30.689 being obedient. And those times where we find 00:02:30.689 --> 00:02:32.889 ourselves there, whether it's a bad boss, a bad 00:02:32.889 --> 00:02:35.689 company, or even a dysfunctional family, the 00:02:35.689 --> 00:02:37.710 prayer that could come across our lips is, Lord, 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:40.879 Bless this mess. And so the text we're looking 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:43.400 at this morning really shows us something that 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:45.740 I think every believer needs to hear, probably 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:47.759 needs to hear every single day, and it's simply 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:51.979 this, that God's promises don't stop even though 00:02:51.979 --> 00:02:55.180 you find yourself in an unfair workplace. God's 00:02:55.180 --> 00:02:58.419 promises don't stop even when you find yourself 00:02:58.419 --> 00:03:01.680 laboring under a bad boss or a bad employer. 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:05.479 God's blessings aren't limited by difficult people. 00:03:07.050 --> 00:03:09.389 And then God can take the worst situations and 00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:12.210 weave his faithfulness through all of it. Because 00:03:12.210 --> 00:03:14.930 God is in the business of turning trials into 00:03:14.930 --> 00:03:18.550 triumphs. And so Jacob's story reminds us that 00:03:18.550 --> 00:03:21.909 God can and does bless his people right in the 00:03:21.909 --> 00:03:25.210 middle of the mess. And that is a beautiful hope 00:03:25.210 --> 00:03:27.610 that we have. And really, the question or the 00:03:27.610 --> 00:03:29.669 thought for us today as we go through this is, 00:03:29.770 --> 00:03:33.210 if God can turn Jacob's workplace trials into 00:03:33.210 --> 00:03:38.150 a blessing, he could redeem yours as well. So, 00:03:38.210 --> 00:03:39.810 but before we get into the Word today, we're 00:03:39.810 --> 00:03:41.770 going to spend some time worshiping God because 00:03:41.770 --> 00:03:45.770 He is worth it. He is almighty. He is glorious. 00:03:46.449 --> 00:03:50.189 He is the Savior of our soul. He is the one who 00:03:50.189 --> 00:03:52.889 loves us the way no one ever can because God 00:03:52.889 --> 00:03:55.550 has a love for us that is beyond our understanding. 00:03:56.530 --> 00:03:58.930 But to be able to experience it, to be able to 00:03:58.930 --> 00:04:01.330 live under that banner of love is just such an 00:04:01.330 --> 00:04:03.330 amazing thing. And of course, we want to praise 00:04:03.330 --> 00:04:06.740 Him for that. Amen? Let's pray. Father, We love 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:09.400 you so much. God, we are so grateful that you 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:12.860 sent your son to this earth to die for us, to 00:04:12.860 --> 00:04:15.800 live this perfect life without sin and yet to 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:19.319 suffer the death that we all deserve to die. 00:04:20.579 --> 00:04:23.600 And yet, God, it is a process that we have faith 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:26.100 in because, Lord, you promised that if we believe 00:04:26.100 --> 00:04:27.819 in you, if we trust in you, Lord, that we are 00:04:27.819 --> 00:04:31.459 saved. It doesn't mean that we've cleaned our 00:04:31.459 --> 00:04:33.439 act up. It doesn't mean that we're great and 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:35.699 good people, Lord. It simply means that you love 00:04:35.699 --> 00:04:38.300 us and you save us because we believe in you 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:40.759 and what you did. And God, that is just amazing. 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:45.160 And so, Lord, so much of our life is a mess, 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:48.980 God, because we live with our born -again soul 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:53.439 right up against our fallen nature. And Lord, 00:04:53.540 --> 00:04:55.620 as the Apostle Paul said, these two things war 00:04:55.620 --> 00:04:58.910 against each other. And so often the result of 00:04:58.910 --> 00:05:02.310 that is just mess. But Lord, we know you bless 00:05:02.310 --> 00:05:03.990 in the middle of that. And I pray, God, today 00:05:03.990 --> 00:05:06.230 that you would even encourage us, Lord, those 00:05:06.230 --> 00:05:08.410 that may be in this room this morning are in 00:05:08.410 --> 00:05:11.110 the middle of a difficult situation, a place 00:05:11.110 --> 00:05:13.370 where they're maybe feeling underappreciated 00:05:13.370 --> 00:05:15.149 and taken advantage of, Lord, that they would 00:05:15.149 --> 00:05:18.670 be encouraged today, Lord, that you work even 00:05:18.670 --> 00:05:21.589 in the middle of the mess and that your blessings 00:05:21.589 --> 00:05:24.430 can come right there where they're at. Lord. 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:27.100 We ask that you would be blessed today as we 00:05:27.100 --> 00:05:30.620 praise you, God. Lord, you are just so wonderful. 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:34.199 Thank you for every blessing, God. We love you 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:37.439 so much. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:42.420 worship church. All right. Well, I couldn't have 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:45.759 landed on a better spot in Genesis right before 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:48.540 Labor Day than the study that deals with Jacob's 00:05:48.540 --> 00:05:51.720 workplace problems. And so we're going to be 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:55.480 looking at all of that today. And so we're going 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:58.819 to be in Genesis chapter 30, verses 25 through 00:05:58.819 --> 00:06:02.579 43. But just to set the context here a little 00:06:02.579 --> 00:06:04.959 bit, you know, remember back in Genesis 28, Jacob 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:07.579 had this wonderful vision at Bethel as he was 00:06:07.579 --> 00:06:10.920 fleeing his homeland under threat of death because 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:14.500 he had deceived and stole from both his brother 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:18.339 and his father. And so now he was fleeing for 00:06:18.339 --> 00:06:21.720 his life. under the auspices of, hey, go find 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:24.959 a wife from our family in the north. And so he 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:27.480 has this vision at Bethel, these angels going 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:30.100 up and down on this staircase or ladder, whatever 00:06:30.100 --> 00:06:33.160 you want to call it. And there God was just reminding 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:36.420 him that, Jacob, there is nowhere you can go 00:06:36.420 --> 00:06:39.839 that I am not. There is nowhere you could run 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:43.579 to that I won't be there with you doing business 00:06:43.579 --> 00:06:46.980 on your behalf because I am your God. And so 00:06:46.980 --> 00:06:50.279 with that encouragement, Jacob heard the promises 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:53.459 reiterated to him by the Lord where the Lord 00:06:53.459 --> 00:06:56.199 said, hey, the promises that I gave to Abraham 00:06:56.199 --> 00:06:58.079 that went to your father Isaac that are now to 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:00.519 you is you are going to inherit this promised 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:03.920 land. You are going to have a people that you 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:06.220 and yourself, your offspring are going to grow 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:08.259 and be more numerous than the stars in the sky 00:07:08.259 --> 00:07:11.579 and the sand in the sea. And you and your people 00:07:11.579 --> 00:07:14.920 are going to be a blessing to the entire world. 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:18.459 And then God kind of closed off that whole moment 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:21.100 there where he told Jacob, I am with you and 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:24.759 I will keep you wherever you go. That's a huge 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:27.620 promise for us to hang on to as God's children. 00:07:28.430 --> 00:07:31.110 Because every time we find ourselves in a mess, 00:07:31.350 --> 00:07:35.050 we tend to freak out a little bit, maybe forget 00:07:35.050 --> 00:07:38.129 God's with us, start getting concerned with, 00:07:38.170 --> 00:07:39.410 I've got to figure this out, and I've got to 00:07:39.410 --> 00:07:41.310 come up with all the plans and the way out, and 00:07:41.310 --> 00:07:45.250 all that type of stuff is fine, but we can't 00:07:45.250 --> 00:07:48.029 let that override the reality that God is with 00:07:48.029 --> 00:07:51.089 us, that God has promised to be with us in whatever 00:07:51.089 --> 00:07:53.329 our circumstances are, no matter what we're going 00:07:53.329 --> 00:07:57.079 through, God is there. After that wonderful event, 00:07:57.180 --> 00:08:00.279 Jacob continued up to Haran where he met with 00:08:00.279 --> 00:08:03.620 his family, and he met right there when he arrived 00:08:03.620 --> 00:08:06.980 what would be the love of his life, Rachel, the 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:10.399 woman he wanted to spend his life with. And so 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:13.139 he ended up working seven years for the right 00:08:13.139 --> 00:08:16.160 to marry her, and the Bible gives us that wonderfully 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:18.579 romantic moment where it's like, oh, but it was 00:08:18.579 --> 00:08:21.120 but a few days for him. You know, and we all 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:25.240 go, oh, every time we read that, right? But after 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:27.699 those seven years, his crafty uncle Laban tricked 00:08:27.699 --> 00:08:32.360 him into marrying his older daughter Leah instead 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:35.580 of Rachel, to which Jacob obviously objected 00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:38.850 to. But then Laban used that to extort another 00:08:38.850 --> 00:08:41.629 seven years of labor out of him for the right 00:08:41.629 --> 00:08:44.710 to marry Rachel. And so now Jacob, during this 00:08:44.710 --> 00:08:48.730 second seven years, his family had begun to grow 00:08:48.730 --> 00:08:52.509 as he started having children. Leah, the unloved, 00:08:52.509 --> 00:08:56.559 the unnoticed. wife was the first one to bear 00:08:56.559 --> 00:08:59.559 sons. God had given her that great blessing to 00:08:59.559 --> 00:09:01.679 not only be the first to bear sons in the family, 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:04.639 but she also gave birth to those that would be 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:07.759 directly in the line of the Levitical priests, 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:10.360 that she gave birth to Levi, and the kingly line 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:12.720 as she gave birth to Judah, which ultimately 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:15.279 the Messiah would come from. What a great honor 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:18.259 for her. But through that, you had Rachel, who 00:09:18.259 --> 00:09:21.279 was then barren, entered into battle. trying 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:23.980 to outbirth Leah because she wanted to be the 00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:26.620 number one woman in the family. And so this battle 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:31.039 of babies would ultimately produce 12 sons. Through 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.059 all of this chaos and all of this mess and all 00:09:33.059 --> 00:09:35.700 of this difficulty, what God worked through this 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:38.240 was the foundation of the 12 tribes of Israel, 00:09:38.460 --> 00:09:42.200 the men that these tribes came from. And so just 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:44.919 a reminder again that out of all the human scheming 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:46.779 and all the human fighting and all the human 00:09:46.779 --> 00:09:53.389 striving for blessing or position, God still 00:09:53.389 --> 00:09:55.809 worked his sovereign plan through it because 00:09:55.809 --> 00:09:58.149 God had made promises that were dependent on 00:09:58.149 --> 00:10:00.029 him and his character, meaning there was nothing 00:10:00.029 --> 00:10:03.850 man could do to derail those promises. And so 00:10:03.850 --> 00:10:07.389 that brings us to Genesis chapter 30, verse 25, 00:10:07.769 --> 00:10:10.429 where we pick up the story here in Jacob's life. 00:10:10.610 --> 00:10:14.269 It says, after Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob 00:10:14.269 --> 00:10:17.370 said to Laban, send me on my way so that I could 00:10:17.370 --> 00:10:20.639 return to my homeland. Give me my wives and my 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:22.919 children that I have worked for and let me go. 00:10:23.559 --> 00:10:28.860 You know how hard I have worked for you. So 14 00:10:28.860 --> 00:10:33.519 years, Jacob has been working for his conniving 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:37.220 uncle Laban. building his uncle Laban's prosperity, 00:10:37.580 --> 00:10:41.000 building his business, growing his flocks, all 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:43.500 of this stuff. And for the first seven years, 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:46.440 I imagine it was elation for him. He was anticipating 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:49.279 the marriage to the love of his life, Rachel. 00:10:49.580 --> 00:10:52.039 The second seven years, however, I think were 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:55.159 in grudging acceptance that he had been outwitted 00:10:55.159 --> 00:10:58.340 by his uncle, that he had been outsmarted by 00:10:58.340 --> 00:11:02.129 him. But during this time, His family's growing, 00:11:02.250 --> 00:11:04.070 and he comes to the end of this, and now he's 00:11:04.070 --> 00:11:07.330 telling his uncle, send me on my way. Let me 00:11:07.330 --> 00:11:09.850 go. I've done the time. I've fulfilled the obligation. 00:11:10.470 --> 00:11:14.029 Send me away. And the reason here is because 00:11:14.029 --> 00:11:17.110 Jacob is ready to prepare or to provide for his 00:11:17.110 --> 00:11:20.289 own household. You see, during this whole time, 00:11:20.370 --> 00:11:24.730 he has been laboring and making his uncles. family 00:11:24.730 --> 00:11:27.330 rich. And it's interesting here, he goes, give 00:11:27.330 --> 00:11:29.769 me my wives and children that I have worked for 00:11:29.769 --> 00:11:33.409 and let me go. Because culturally in this place, 00:11:33.470 --> 00:11:36.429 even though they were Jacob's wives at this point, 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:39.759 They were still Laban's daughters. And because 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:42.259 Laban was the patriarch of that whole family, 00:11:42.460 --> 00:11:45.299 he had authority and control over all of it. 00:11:45.340 --> 00:11:48.460 And so Jacob's like, look, let me go so I can 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:51.899 start my own family with my wives and my kids. 00:11:51.940 --> 00:11:56.220 We could be separate. I could start my own family 00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:58.480 in all that regard. And so we see him just saying, 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:01.960 let me leave. And his words are sharp. His words 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:04.279 are kind of angry. There doesn't seem to be any 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:07.100 family love between Jacob and Laban anymore. 00:12:07.179 --> 00:12:08.700 He's like, you know how hard I've worked for 00:12:08.700 --> 00:12:12.059 you. It's almost like you could hear him go, 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:15.940 punk, let me go. Because he's tired of being 00:12:15.940 --> 00:12:18.539 taken advantage of. And he says, so I could return 00:12:18.539 --> 00:12:20.860 to my homeland. That phrase right there tells 00:12:20.860 --> 00:12:25.100 us that Jacob was still believing in God's promise. 00:12:26.129 --> 00:12:28.250 And how could he not, right? Because God said, 00:12:28.370 --> 00:12:29.649 you're going to have a land, you're going to 00:12:29.649 --> 00:12:30.730 have a people, and you're going to be a blessing 00:12:30.730 --> 00:12:33.830 to the world. Well, look at these sons. At this 00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:35.690 point, there was 11. He would eventually have 00:12:35.690 --> 00:12:39.210 12. But God had obviously fulfilled the promise 00:12:39.210 --> 00:12:42.870 of a people. His family, his offspring were multiplying 00:12:42.870 --> 00:12:45.909 in a very blessed way. And so let me go back 00:12:45.909 --> 00:12:48.269 to my homeland. Let me go back to the land that 00:12:48.269 --> 00:12:50.529 God promised me. I still believe in that promise. 00:12:51.450 --> 00:12:52.970 And I still believe that land is going to be 00:12:52.970 --> 00:12:55.649 mine. And so he knew that that land would be 00:12:55.649 --> 00:12:59.950 there ready for him. But he just wanted to go 00:12:59.950 --> 00:13:02.730 and wanted nothing from Laban anymore. He was 00:13:02.730 --> 00:13:06.809 done. I believe Jacob at this point in his life, 00:13:06.889 --> 00:13:09.610 as he's growing and maturing as a man of God, 00:13:09.750 --> 00:13:12.149 had come to understand that above all things, 00:13:12.210 --> 00:13:16.750 God is his provider. God is the one that's providing. 00:13:16.909 --> 00:13:19.210 He started out going, I believe God's promised 00:13:19.210 --> 00:13:21.090 so much I'm going to lie in scheme to get it. 00:13:21.549 --> 00:13:25.149 And all of that had led to this 14 years of laboring 00:13:25.149 --> 00:13:28.330 for someone else. It was a mess. And I believe 00:13:28.330 --> 00:13:29.850 he was finally at the point of saying, look, 00:13:30.029 --> 00:13:32.090 God will take care of me. Just let me go. I don't 00:13:32.090 --> 00:13:34.250 want to work for you anymore. God promised me 00:13:34.250 --> 00:13:36.850 a land. God's obviously promised me people, and 00:13:36.850 --> 00:13:39.350 my family's growing. And, you know, we have to... 00:13:39.629 --> 00:13:42.269 make sure that in our own situations, especially 00:13:42.269 --> 00:13:44.470 our working situations where we might find ourselves 00:13:44.470 --> 00:13:47.730 under a bad boss or a bad employer, or we have 00:13:47.730 --> 00:13:49.629 bad managers, people that are very difficult 00:13:49.629 --> 00:13:52.669 for us, we have to understand that our forward 00:13:52.669 --> 00:13:55.070 movement in life as Christians is ultimately 00:13:55.070 --> 00:14:00.330 by God's hand, not human approval, right? It's 00:14:00.330 --> 00:14:03.519 not based upon... all of our effort, it's based 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.419 upon primarily God's work in our life. And that's 00:14:06.419 --> 00:14:07.899 why we have to be in a place where we say, okay, 00:14:07.940 --> 00:14:10.200 God, I'm just trusting you. I don't understand. 00:14:10.340 --> 00:14:12.179 This doesn't make sense. But I'm going to trust 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:15.100 you in my situation here because you are my provider. 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:17.639 You are my father. You are the one that's taking 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:19.980 care of me and is going to provide for me. And 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:22.840 so in our situations, we just have to learn to 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:27.100 trust in God's provision. Now, Jacob, I believe, 00:14:27.139 --> 00:14:30.320 was coming to this place, but getting away from 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:33.029 his uncle Laban. was not going to be easy. And 00:14:33.029 --> 00:14:36.110 so we pick it up in verse 27. But Laban said 00:14:36.110 --> 00:14:39.590 to him, if I have found favor with you, stay. 00:14:40.570 --> 00:14:43.470 I have learned by divination that the Lord has 00:14:43.470 --> 00:14:46.830 blessed me because of you. Then Laban said, name 00:14:46.830 --> 00:14:52.190 your wages and I will pay them. So ever the manipulator 00:14:52.190 --> 00:14:56.909 and winner of the worst boss ever, Laban tries 00:14:56.909 --> 00:15:03.070 to continue manipulating his nephew Jacob. by 00:15:03.070 --> 00:15:06.090 flattering him at first. Oh, if I have found 00:15:06.090 --> 00:15:09.429 favor with you, as if Jacob was the authority. 00:15:09.909 --> 00:15:11.529 You see, that was the kind of phrase you would 00:15:11.529 --> 00:15:13.669 use with people that were in authority when you 00:15:13.669 --> 00:15:16.789 wanted to grovel to your superior, so to speak. 00:15:17.029 --> 00:15:19.850 And so Laban's like, oh, oh, I'm so sorry. If 00:15:19.850 --> 00:15:23.769 I have favor with you, stay, please. Notice he 00:15:23.769 --> 00:15:26.169 says, name your wages and I will pay them. Doesn't 00:15:26.169 --> 00:15:29.460 that sound familiar? That's exactly what he said 00:15:29.460 --> 00:15:32.980 14 years prior when he was like, oh, Jacob, your 00:15:32.980 --> 00:15:36.919 family. You shouldn't stay with me for nothing. 00:15:37.139 --> 00:15:40.059 Tell me what you want to earn and I will bless 00:15:40.059 --> 00:15:43.840 you with it. And that was Jacob's initial duping, 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:47.340 conning, or Laban's initial conning of Jacob. 00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:50.960 And so now he's trying to do this same thing. 00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:54.000 He says, I've learned by divination. And that's 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.679 an interesting word there because there's great 00:15:56.679 --> 00:15:59.639 debate on the exact meaning of it. Some commentators 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:03.200 and scholars go, oh, it means that he learned 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:06.039 by oracle or learned by omen, like some type 00:16:06.039 --> 00:16:08.019 of superstitious thing. Like, you know, he went 00:16:08.019 --> 00:16:10.820 to the local oracle who like threw the bones 00:16:10.820 --> 00:16:13.600 in the basket and read the smoke and, oh, I've 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:16.860 learned. Here's your oracle of what God is speaking. 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:20.980 The problem is, is the word means that, but it 00:16:20.980 --> 00:16:26.220 also means simply to learn from experience. Other 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:28.559 scholars go, what he means by divination here 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.279 is he's just using a fancy way to say, yeah, 00:16:31.320 --> 00:16:34.340 of course, I've seen by experience how much you 00:16:34.340 --> 00:16:37.340 have blessed my flocks, how my business has grown. 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:40.419 And so it may be a superstitious thing that he's 00:16:40.419 --> 00:16:43.139 leaning into. It may not be. I kind of think 00:16:43.139 --> 00:16:45.019 there's a little bit of superstition to it because 00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:47.240 we've already seen that the family is prone to 00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:51.159 that, right? Remember Rachel? Give me those mandrakes. 00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:54.799 Those will cure my fertility. There was always 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:58.779 this sign of extra spiritual things that are 00:16:58.779 --> 00:17:01.299 somehow going to affect the situation. And we're 00:17:01.299 --> 00:17:03.019 going to see that even Jacob might have a little 00:17:03.019 --> 00:17:05.960 bit of that later. But either way, he says, I've 00:17:05.960 --> 00:17:09.400 learned, whether it's through spooky stuff or 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:12.059 whether it's just through observing that your 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:14.779 Lord has blessed me. And he uses the word Yahweh 00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:16.740 there because, again, he's trying to appeal to 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:20.119 Jacob's spirituality. You believe in this God, 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:22.630 Jacob. You believe in him, and so I'm going to 00:17:22.630 --> 00:17:25.509 pay him the honor that is due, and it's all manipulation 00:17:25.509 --> 00:17:28.829 on behalf of Laban. Because Laban cared nothing 00:17:28.829 --> 00:17:32.529 for Jacob's God. He cared only for the blessings 00:17:32.529 --> 00:17:37.269 that Jacob's God brought through Jacob. Now, 00:17:37.349 --> 00:17:41.630 this is actually a fulfillment of God's promise. 00:17:42.809 --> 00:17:44.750 You see, you remember the promise that God made 00:17:44.750 --> 00:17:46.430 to Jacob. He said, through you and your offspring, 00:17:46.549 --> 00:17:49.559 all nations of the earth will be blessed. Now, 00:17:49.579 --> 00:17:52.099 we know that primarily this application is ultimately 00:17:52.099 --> 00:17:54.880 the Messiah who came through the family line 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:58.259 and by dying for the entire world, blessed all 00:17:58.259 --> 00:18:00.559 nations of the earth by just simply offering 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:03.859 salvation through faith in Christ. But there's 00:18:03.859 --> 00:18:06.640 also kind of an auxiliary application here that 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:08.960 people around you will be blessed because I'm 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.519 blessing you. The promise we know originally 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:15.109 came to Abraham. And then in Genesis 26, we saw 00:18:15.109 --> 00:18:17.130 that Isaac, who inherited that promise, ended 00:18:17.130 --> 00:18:20.529 up being a blessing to Abimelech. And then in 00:18:20.529 --> 00:18:23.029 Genesis 39, later when we get there, we're going 00:18:23.029 --> 00:18:25.809 to see that Joseph ends up being a blessing to 00:18:25.809 --> 00:18:29.170 Potiphar's house, so much so that the devil tried 00:18:29.170 --> 00:18:32.730 to get in and ruin Joseph through all that. But 00:18:32.730 --> 00:18:35.170 here we're seeing that Jacob's presence in Laban's 00:18:35.170 --> 00:18:40.079 life was a great blessing to Laban. And that 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:42.539 is sometimes the situation we get to find ourselves 00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:44.680 in, where we're in the situation where we're 00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:46.859 like, this isn't right. I feel like I'm getting 00:18:46.859 --> 00:18:49.500 taken advantage of. I feel like this is unfair. 00:18:49.779 --> 00:18:54.420 And yet my unsaved pagan employer, their business 00:18:54.420 --> 00:18:57.980 is blessing. Their business is growing largely 00:18:57.980 --> 00:19:01.680 as a part of my work. And that doesn't seem right 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:04.559 to me. That doesn't seem fair. And that happens. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:07.000 God will do that. I think that's a part of our 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:10.000 witness to the world. That when God is blessing 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:12.579 those around us through us, it really does give 00:19:12.579 --> 00:19:15.059 us the opportunity to enter into those spiritual 00:19:15.059 --> 00:19:18.220 conversations to tell those, this is God. This 00:19:18.220 --> 00:19:20.119 is the Lord blessing you. Listen up. Because 00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:23.140 if you don't know him, ultimately you're going 00:19:23.140 --> 00:19:26.539 to stand before him in judgment. But it's a fulfillment 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:28.779 of what God said. Jacob, all the nations of the 00:19:28.779 --> 00:19:30.259 earth are going to be blessed through your family. 00:19:30.579 --> 00:19:33.480 And it's through Jacob's presence here that Laban 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:37.819 is being blessed. I believe this is what is meant 00:19:37.819 --> 00:19:40.220 when the New Testament tells us as Christians 00:19:40.220 --> 00:19:42.380 to be the salt of the earth or that we are the 00:19:42.380 --> 00:19:44.559 salt of the earth, right? We're a preservative. 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:49.059 Our presence a lot of times is a positive presence 00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:51.660 or it should be a positive presence in our workplaces 00:19:51.660 --> 00:19:53.740 and in our families, especially those that don't 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:57.299 know the Lord around us, right? Our employers, 00:19:57.339 --> 00:19:59.920 when they come to know us as we're the honest 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:03.650 ones, We're the trustworthy ones. We're the ones 00:20:03.650 --> 00:20:06.670 who don't clock in late and leave early. It's 00:20:06.670 --> 00:20:08.470 the Christian that's always the one that has 00:20:08.470 --> 00:20:10.849 a good work ethic. And when our employers see 00:20:10.849 --> 00:20:14.250 that, it's a witness to them. When they see that 00:20:14.250 --> 00:20:16.210 through our effort, they are being blessed, it's 00:20:16.210 --> 00:20:18.369 a witness to them. And so, you know, pay attention 00:20:18.369 --> 00:20:20.950 to that. Now, that doesn't mean that every time 00:20:20.950 --> 00:20:24.089 we're a positive witness in our difficult situations 00:20:24.089 --> 00:20:25.809 that that's going to lead to their salvation. 00:20:26.289 --> 00:20:30.059 That's ultimately a decision they make. But we 00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:32.079 need to be mindful of that effect that we have 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:34.000 so that we can then follow up on that to pray 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:36.680 with people and to encourage them to come to 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:39.779 know the Lord. But this is what is happening 00:20:39.779 --> 00:20:43.140 here with Jacob and Laban. So verse 29, Jacob 00:20:43.140 --> 00:20:47.220 says to him, you know how I have served you and 00:20:47.220 --> 00:20:50.339 how your herds have fared with me. For you had 00:20:50.339 --> 00:20:52.460 very little before I came, but now your wealth 00:20:52.460 --> 00:20:56.000 has increased. The Lord has blessed you because 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:00.089 of me. And now, When will I also do something 00:21:00.089 --> 00:21:05.289 for my own family? See, Jacob is God's person, 00:21:05.430 --> 00:21:08.509 but Jacob is still Jacob, and he's still a work 00:21:08.509 --> 00:21:12.609 in progress. So Jacob here is recognizing, of 00:21:12.609 --> 00:21:15.230 course, Laban is still trying to scam him. Name 00:21:15.230 --> 00:21:18.329 your price. But he's not going to take any of 00:21:18.329 --> 00:21:20.970 that. Why? Because he knows Laban is always going 00:21:20.970 --> 00:21:23.630 to try and twist the deal, change the terms, 00:21:23.990 --> 00:21:26.230 you know, do something to take advantage of that. 00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:28.700 But I believe Jacob here is sensing an opportunity 00:21:28.700 --> 00:21:32.140 to kind of counter -manipulate Laban. He's like, 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:33.859 oh, he's trying to pull one over on me, but I'm 00:21:33.859 --> 00:21:36.740 going to step out and try and manipulate him 00:21:36.740 --> 00:21:39.019 a little bit. Jacob is still a scoundrel here. 00:21:40.019 --> 00:21:42.799 And so he counters with, yeah, of course I've 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:46.059 been a blessing to you. Of course you've seen 00:21:46.059 --> 00:21:48.980 how I've served you. I know you've seen how big 00:21:48.980 --> 00:21:52.160 your flocks are. I see all that. You had very 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:54.420 little, but gosh, look how rich you are now. 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:57.759 Why? The Lord has blessed you because of me. 00:21:58.900 --> 00:22:01.839 So he's acknowledging the stuff that's important 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:03.779 to Laban, but then he turns around with this 00:22:03.779 --> 00:22:06.480 phrase, but when am I going to get the chance 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:10.500 to do something for my family? Appealing to the 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:12.960 family honor that was so important in the culture. 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:15.779 You see, by pointing out all the prosperity that 00:22:15.779 --> 00:22:18.680 he's brought in Laban, he's pointing out the 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:21.839 thing that directly impacts Laban the most, the 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:23.799 most important thing to him, and that's his financial 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:26.740 bottom line. That's what Laban's been all about. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:29.019 He just wants the money as much as he could get. 00:22:29.579 --> 00:22:32.039 And so capitalizing on that, Jacob then uses 00:22:32.039 --> 00:22:34.619 this reverse psychology. When am I going to be 00:22:34.619 --> 00:22:37.819 able to be a husband and a father to my own family? 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:41.019 And so verse 31, Laban says, well, what should 00:22:41.019 --> 00:22:44.740 I give you? Jacob said, you don't need to give 00:22:44.740 --> 00:22:48.000 me anything. If you do this one thing for me, 00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:49.940 I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock. 00:22:51.460 --> 00:22:53.400 Let me go through all your sheep today and remove 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:55.660 every sheep that is speckled or spotted, every 00:22:55.660 --> 00:22:58.000 dark -colored sheep among the lambs and the spotted 00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:01.019 and speckled among the female goats. Such will 00:23:01.019 --> 00:23:04.380 be my wages. In the future, when you come to 00:23:04.380 --> 00:23:08.319 check on my wages, my honesty will testify for 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:11.460 me. If I have any female goats that are not speckled 00:23:11.460 --> 00:23:13.559 or spotted or any lambs that are not black, they 00:23:13.559 --> 00:23:17.140 will be considered stolen. Good, said Laban. 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:21.509 Let it be as you have said. That day Laban removed 00:23:21.509 --> 00:23:24.569 the streaked and spotted male goats and all the 00:23:24.569 --> 00:23:26.930 speckled and spotted female goats, every one 00:23:26.930 --> 00:23:29.509 that had any white on it, and every dark -colored 00:23:29.509 --> 00:23:32.509 one among the lambs, and he placed his sons in 00:23:32.509 --> 00:23:35.130 charge of them. He put a three -day journey between 00:23:35.130 --> 00:23:39.289 himself and Jacob. Jacob, meanwhile, was shepherding 00:23:39.289 --> 00:23:43.569 the rest of Laban's flock. So as I said, Jacob 00:23:43.569 --> 00:23:46.390 didn't want to get anything from Laban without 00:23:46.390 --> 00:23:49.240 earning it. Because he knew that Laban just had 00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:52.220 a way to twist. He wasn't generous. He wasn't 00:23:52.220 --> 00:23:54.619 benevolent. He simply wanted to take advantage. 00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:57.559 And so, Laban, I don't want anything from you 00:23:57.559 --> 00:23:59.900 just because you want to give it and bless me 00:23:59.900 --> 00:24:02.700 because that's not who you are. He knew that 00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:04.779 Laban was trying to attach strings and all that, 00:24:04.819 --> 00:24:07.579 so he gives this very clever proposal. And I 00:24:07.579 --> 00:24:11.299 believe this clever proposal was Jacob knowing 00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:14.000 Laban and trying to catch Laban in his own greed. 00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:16.880 And what this proposal was is, I will keep working 00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:20.299 for you. Cha -ching for Laban, right? I will 00:24:20.299 --> 00:24:23.279 keep working hard for you. I will keep laboring. 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:26.480 I will keep being a blessing to you in your bottom 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:30.259 line under these conditions. Now, this had to 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:33.220 shock Laban, right? He had to think Jacob was 00:24:33.220 --> 00:24:36.380 an idiot because Jacob says, I will keep working 00:24:36.380 --> 00:24:39.039 from you under these conditions. You keep all 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:42.900 of the prized, all of the purebred, all of the 00:24:42.900 --> 00:24:46.660 spotless livestock, all of them, and I'll take 00:24:46.660 --> 00:24:50.279 the rest. I'll take the leftovers. I'll take 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:53.420 the ones that are worth less money to sell. I 00:24:53.420 --> 00:24:54.960 will take the ones that are probably worthless 00:24:54.960 --> 00:24:59.970 to you. And this doesn't make any sense. This 00:24:59.970 --> 00:25:02.089 is what we would call today a bad business deal. 00:25:04.029 --> 00:25:06.750 Laban had to have been like, oh, poor Jacob. 00:25:07.630 --> 00:25:10.430 You sad moron. Have you learned nothing from 00:25:10.430 --> 00:25:14.089 me in all these years? And so Laban doesn't even 00:25:14.089 --> 00:25:18.809 negotiate. Good. Laban knew. Laban knew how lopsided 00:25:18.809 --> 00:25:20.730 this deal was. Let it be as you have said, he 00:25:20.730 --> 00:25:25.049 says. But God was setting the stage to provide. 00:25:25.930 --> 00:25:28.289 God was setting the stage to continue to show 00:25:28.289 --> 00:25:32.410 Jacob, I'm here with you. I will keep you. He 00:25:32.410 --> 00:25:34.690 was setting the stage here through this situation 00:25:34.690 --> 00:25:37.269 that Jacob would continue to grow in his understanding 00:25:37.269 --> 00:25:43.549 that God's promises are yes and amen. Now, Laban, 00:25:43.670 --> 00:25:47.849 poor guy, he's going to have everything turned 00:25:47.849 --> 00:25:49.890 back on him, but this is how God works in the 00:25:49.890 --> 00:25:53.670 world so much. One of my favorite verses in the 00:25:53.670 --> 00:25:55.849 Bible, favorite ideas in the Bible, is that God 00:25:55.849 --> 00:25:58.049 uses foolish people and foolish ways to confound 00:25:58.049 --> 00:26:00.529 the world. Doesn't that give you great hope? 00:26:01.609 --> 00:26:03.710 If it doesn't, it's because you don't understand 00:26:03.710 --> 00:26:08.529 you're the foolish person. I am so blessed when 00:26:08.529 --> 00:26:11.630 God takes what the world thinks should be and 00:26:11.630 --> 00:26:14.150 flips it upside down and still does a good thing 00:26:14.150 --> 00:26:17.210 out of it. The world would say, this is a bad 00:26:17.210 --> 00:26:19.089 business deal, and God's like, what's that to 00:26:19.089 --> 00:26:22.799 me? I could do miracles through a bad business 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:27.099 deal. In fact, you look at what God has done 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:31.160 in the world through his church. I've mentioned 00:26:31.160 --> 00:26:33.799 it before. Calvary Chapel pastors, we're all 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:35.500 known to be like, oh, what's the background of 00:26:35.500 --> 00:26:37.799 every Calvary Chapel pastor? How do you qualify 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:40.740 to be a Calvary Chapel pastor? Well, you had 00:26:40.740 --> 00:26:43.180 to have been a criminal, a drug addict, something 00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:45.980 in your past, right? Because every Calvary Chapel 00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:48.119 pastor, we seem to have all these really horrible 00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:50.160 backgrounds, and God says, yes, that's the one 00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:54.079 I want to use. That makes no sense. And that's 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:56.680 all of us. With all of our backgrounds, God says, 00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:59.160 I want to use you. And you're like, but I've 00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:03.380 done this. I've said this. Yeah, but I want to 00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:07.079 use you. Why? Why does God use foolish people? 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:09.579 Why does God use foolish situations? Why does 00:27:09.579 --> 00:27:14.240 God use foolish ways to work his will? So that 00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:18.019 nobody but him gets the glory. We should understand 00:27:18.019 --> 00:27:21.240 that. If God used the greatest speakers of the 00:27:21.240 --> 00:27:24.700 world to proclaim his message, then people would 00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:28.920 go, well, that guy's a great speaker. And that's 00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:33.160 not at all the situation. If God worked through 00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:34.980 every, well, of course that was a good business 00:27:34.980 --> 00:27:36.759 deal. That's exactly how we would do it. So of 00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:40.099 course God would do it that way. But God here 00:27:40.099 --> 00:27:42.559 is setting up the exact opposite of the good 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:45.400 business deal to work his will and his miracles. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:47.579 And I believe it's a critical moment in Jacob's 00:27:47.579 --> 00:27:50.319 life that Jacob's going to continue to learn 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:54.180 that it's God who gives the increase. It's God 00:27:54.180 --> 00:27:57.259 who gives blessing. It's God who takes care of 00:27:57.259 --> 00:27:59.900 his kids. Now, yes, he works through our experience 00:27:59.900 --> 00:28:03.019 and our talents and our gifts. And yes, he works 00:28:03.019 --> 00:28:05.539 through our work ethic and the things we do. 00:28:05.619 --> 00:28:09.690 But ultimately, it's him. It's him that's guiding 00:28:09.690 --> 00:28:11.670 and directing, and it's him that's setting the 00:28:11.670 --> 00:28:14.490 example for us to follow. And so here Jacob gives 00:28:14.490 --> 00:28:18.210 this terrible business deal, and Laban is like, 00:28:18.349 --> 00:28:22.329 oh my gosh, I got him again. Let's go forward 00:28:22.329 --> 00:28:25.430 with that, right? Now it's just a picture of 00:28:25.430 --> 00:28:27.650 God working through the everyday happenings of 00:28:27.650 --> 00:28:31.089 life. That's what we call God's providence, right? 00:28:32.049 --> 00:28:34.170 It's through the decisions we make, God works 00:28:34.170 --> 00:28:37.019 his will. It's through the things that we might 00:28:37.019 --> 00:28:39.539 not even be conscious going, okay, this is the 00:28:39.539 --> 00:28:41.960 Lord I want. It's just we're using what God has 00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:45.180 given us to make decisions in life, and God works 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:46.559 through that to work through his will. That's 00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:50.259 God's providence. And so it's in the mess of 00:28:50.259 --> 00:28:54.200 this radically dysfunctional family, God's sovereignty 00:28:54.200 --> 00:28:57.160 is seeing his will fulfilled through their decision 00:28:57.160 --> 00:29:00.299 -making. So the deal, right, Jacob would take 00:29:00.299 --> 00:29:03.519 all the spotted and speckled ones. Pretty weird 00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:08.220 deal as it is, but what does Laban do? Jacob 00:29:08.220 --> 00:29:10.880 said, I will go through the flocks, and I will 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:13.099 take all the unwanted ones, and I'll just set 00:29:13.099 --> 00:29:15.660 them aside, and I'll keep shepherding your flocks. 00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:18.779 And Laban goes, sweet. But before Jacob gets 00:29:18.779 --> 00:29:20.980 the opportunity, Laban goes through all the flocks, 00:29:21.140 --> 00:29:23.740 takes out all the spotted, all the speckled, 00:29:23.819 --> 00:29:26.480 takes out every one that Jacob would take according 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:28.900 to the deal, gives it to his sons, and he goes, 00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:32.569 guys, go three days that way. And then Jacob 00:29:32.569 --> 00:29:34.589 shows up to the flocks to get his wages, and 00:29:34.589 --> 00:29:39.269 there's no spotted ones. There's no speckled 00:29:39.269 --> 00:29:42.609 ones. Shucky darn, Jacob. I guess you're starting 00:29:42.609 --> 00:29:46.430 out with nothing. Now, if I was Jacob, that's, 00:29:46.430 --> 00:29:48.069 again, where I would have punched Laban in the 00:29:48.069 --> 00:29:53.250 face, but I'm not in the story, right? It's like, 00:29:53.269 --> 00:29:58.470 what a jerk. What a horrible person this Laban 00:29:58.470 --> 00:30:05.849 is. And what is God doing here? I think God is 00:30:05.849 --> 00:30:09.150 still allowing Jacob to continue to learn the 00:30:09.150 --> 00:30:12.069 lesson of what it feels like to be taken advantage 00:30:12.069 --> 00:30:15.730 of. What's interesting to me is Jacob took advantage 00:30:15.730 --> 00:30:17.910 of his brother, and then he took advantage of 00:30:17.910 --> 00:30:21.450 his father. And now Jacob has been duped twice. 00:30:23.009 --> 00:30:24.849 Once with the whole marriage in the first 14 00:30:24.849 --> 00:30:27.910 years, and now with the continued development 00:30:27.910 --> 00:30:31.990 of his family. I find it very funny to hear a 00:30:31.990 --> 00:30:34.450 man like Jacob say this. In the future, when 00:30:34.450 --> 00:30:37.630 you come to check on my wages, my honesty will 00:30:37.630 --> 00:30:41.410 testify for me. Are you kidding me, Jacob? You're 00:30:41.410 --> 00:30:43.470 like the opposite of the poster child for honesty. 00:30:45.269 --> 00:30:47.549 But that tells me that at this point in Jacob's 00:30:47.549 --> 00:30:51.849 life, he's had growth. He's had maturity. He's 00:30:51.849 --> 00:30:54.210 at a place now of saying, okay, I tried it my 00:30:54.210 --> 00:30:58.250 way. It resulted in 14 years of labor I otherwise 00:30:58.250 --> 00:31:00.759 shouldn't have worked. So now I'm going to try 00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:02.900 and do the right thing. Now, again, I think he's 00:31:02.900 --> 00:31:04.700 being a little manipulative here, still a work 00:31:04.700 --> 00:31:06.680 in process, but he's thinking, I'm going to make 00:31:06.680 --> 00:31:09.200 a deal. I'm going to spell out all the parameters. 00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:11.559 It's going to be a fair deal. And I want you, 00:31:11.599 --> 00:31:14.140 Laban, to know that my honesty will testify for 00:31:14.140 --> 00:31:16.440 me. If you show up and, you know, things aren't 00:31:16.440 --> 00:31:19.279 right, you'll know that I did wrong. And even 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:21.759 in that honesty, God is still allowing him to 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:25.559 be taken advantage of. That's when it hurts most. 00:31:27.019 --> 00:31:30.029 You know, when we're... being stupid, and then 00:31:30.029 --> 00:31:32.890 we have bad things happen to us. It's kind of, 00:31:32.890 --> 00:31:35.269 it's our fault, right? We're reaping what we've 00:31:35.269 --> 00:31:38.390 sown in that regard. But here, Jacob's at least 00:31:38.390 --> 00:31:41.109 in his own mind trying to be honest, trying to 00:31:41.109 --> 00:31:43.529 do the right thing, and he's still getting taken 00:31:43.529 --> 00:31:48.900 advantage of. That's hard. But God is still growing 00:31:48.900 --> 00:31:53.000 him. God is still molding him. God is still teaching 00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:54.880 him the things that he needs to learn because 00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:58.759 Jacob's ability to negotiate, Jacob's ability 00:31:58.759 --> 00:32:02.000 to do business well, I think was a gift from 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:04.279 God. But the problem was Jacob used that ability 00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:07.180 to manipulate and to steal and to lie. And God's 00:32:07.180 --> 00:32:09.539 like, that's not what it's for. So I gotta burn 00:32:09.539 --> 00:32:13.019 that out of your system. The first 14 years, 00:32:13.140 --> 00:32:15.099 yeah, this was, you reaped what you sown. Hopefully 00:32:15.099 --> 00:32:18.500 you're not gonna do that again. Now Jacob's going, 00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:20.420 okay, let me be honest here. And God's going, 00:32:20.519 --> 00:32:22.279 I still need you to experience what it's like 00:32:22.279 --> 00:32:24.019 to even when you do the right thing, get taken 00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:27.359 advantage of. So that you don't continue to do 00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:29.599 that. So you don't do it again in your life. 00:32:29.700 --> 00:32:31.900 And that's often the times that God has us in 00:32:31.900 --> 00:32:33.660 these situations where we're crying out, God, 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:37.359 this isn't fair. God, I don't understand. God, 00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:39.180 I have good work ethic. I mean, I know I'm a 00:32:39.180 --> 00:32:42.980 sinner, but God, I'm endeavoring to choose obedience 00:32:42.980 --> 00:32:44.740 and to do the right thing. And yet, God, I'm 00:32:44.740 --> 00:32:49.329 still getting taken advantage of. Why? Maybe 00:32:49.329 --> 00:32:52.869 it's a lesson. Maybe the lesson for you is, hey, 00:32:52.890 --> 00:32:56.210 you've kind of been a Jacob, and I'm still allowing 00:32:56.210 --> 00:32:58.349 you to feel what this is like so that you don't 00:32:58.349 --> 00:33:03.369 do it again. Now, either way, Jacob launches 00:33:03.369 --> 00:33:05.529 into this really interesting breeding program. 00:33:05.809 --> 00:33:08.029 You see, what I find interesting here is Laban 00:33:08.029 --> 00:33:11.410 steals all the sheep, sends them three days away, 00:33:11.589 --> 00:33:15.980 and it tells us in verse 36 that Jacob... meanwhile, 00:33:15.980 --> 00:33:21.559 was shepherding the rest of Laban's flock. I 00:33:21.559 --> 00:33:23.160 would have freaked out, as I said. I would have 00:33:23.160 --> 00:33:25.160 been like, this is wrong. You can't do this to 00:33:25.160 --> 00:33:28.119 me. But what is Jacob doing here? He just kind 00:33:28.119 --> 00:33:32.380 of goes along with it. Why? Because I think he 00:33:32.380 --> 00:33:35.940 had a plan, and we see this in verse 37. Jacob 00:33:35.940 --> 00:33:38.339 then took branches of fresh poplar, almond, and 00:33:38.339 --> 00:33:40.500 plain wood and peeled the bark, exposing white 00:33:40.500 --> 00:33:43.410 strips on the branches. He set the peeled branches 00:33:43.410 --> 00:33:46.170 in the troughs in front of the sheep in the water 00:33:46.170 --> 00:33:48.890 channels where the sheep came to drink. And the 00:33:48.890 --> 00:33:52.029 sheep bred when they came to drink. The flocks 00:33:52.029 --> 00:33:54.069 bred in front of the branches and bore streaked, 00:33:54.089 --> 00:33:57.529 speckled, and spotted young. Jacob separated 00:33:57.529 --> 00:33:59.710 the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked 00:33:59.710 --> 00:34:01.829 sheep and the completely dark sheep in Laban's 00:34:01.829 --> 00:34:05.009 flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn't 00:34:05.009 --> 00:34:07.819 put them with Laban's sheep. Whenever the stronger 00:34:07.819 --> 00:34:09.739 of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the 00:34:09.739 --> 00:34:12.320 branches in the troughs in full view of the flocks, 00:34:12.340 --> 00:34:14.000 and they would breed in front of the branches. 00:34:14.980 --> 00:34:17.280 As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not 00:34:17.280 --> 00:34:19.760 put out the branches. So it turned out that the 00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:21.679 weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:25.059 ones to Jacob. So we read the story and we go, 00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:28.599 what's up with the branches? Is there any scientific 00:34:28.599 --> 00:34:31.579 support that this has anything to do with breeding 00:34:31.579 --> 00:34:35.380 of sheep and goats? No, none that I could find. 00:34:35.420 --> 00:34:37.949 I looked for you. And there's nothing out there. 00:34:37.989 --> 00:34:40.949 This is likely just pure superstition on his 00:34:40.949 --> 00:34:43.110 part. And this is where there's the possibility 00:34:43.110 --> 00:34:46.070 that Jacob is even being influenced by the family. 00:34:46.190 --> 00:34:48.250 His mom, Rachel, get the mandrakes. That's going 00:34:48.250 --> 00:34:51.690 to fix it. His uncle, Laban, possibly through 00:34:51.690 --> 00:34:54.050 divination I've learned. And now there's this 00:34:54.050 --> 00:34:57.989 thing about if you strip this bark this certain 00:34:57.989 --> 00:35:00.989 way, it's going to affect the birth of the sheep. 00:35:03.900 --> 00:35:05.960 This was another thing that's postulated by some 00:35:05.960 --> 00:35:09.219 scholars, is there was something about the branches 00:35:09.219 --> 00:35:12.079 and how they were stripped that drew certain 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:15.139 sheep and goats to the place where they would 00:35:15.139 --> 00:35:17.699 breed. So it was kind of the idea of selective 00:35:17.699 --> 00:35:20.099 breeding. I don't know for sure. It could be 00:35:20.099 --> 00:35:22.559 either one of those. But what is going on here... 00:35:23.820 --> 00:35:26.280 is we have to understand that after 14 years 00:35:26.280 --> 00:35:30.679 of herding Laban's sheep, Jacob had learned a 00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:35.539 few things about herding sheep. He had some life 00:35:35.539 --> 00:35:39.739 experience that he was able to employ here. I'm 00:35:39.739 --> 00:35:43.320 sure he learned what we call today recessive 00:35:43.320 --> 00:35:46.500 traits and selective breeding and all that type 00:35:46.500 --> 00:35:49.380 of stuff that we know about today, right? That's 00:35:49.380 --> 00:35:51.699 what we do with dogs, selective breeding to get 00:35:51.699 --> 00:35:54.539 certain traits and everything. And so it's entirely 00:35:54.539 --> 00:35:57.000 plausible that he was familiar with these things, 00:35:57.059 --> 00:35:58.639 although he might not have called them that. 00:35:59.219 --> 00:36:03.599 But I believe it was even more than that. He 00:36:03.599 --> 00:36:07.420 was growing to trust the Lord in more mature 00:36:07.420 --> 00:36:10.820 ways than he had before. And that's why I think 00:36:10.820 --> 00:36:12.280 it's important that we pointed out the thing 00:36:12.280 --> 00:36:14.380 that it says Jacob just went on taking care of 00:36:14.380 --> 00:36:17.199 the flocks, that he didn't freak out, that he 00:36:17.199 --> 00:36:18.980 didn't punch Laban in the face. I mean, we have 00:36:18.980 --> 00:36:21.579 no record, right? Laban did this really deceitful 00:36:21.579 --> 00:36:23.599 thing, and Jacob just kind of went, all right. 00:36:25.539 --> 00:36:28.440 That tells me that Jacob is growing. He's maturing. 00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:31.420 For me, and I see him going, I'm trying to do 00:36:31.420 --> 00:36:33.000 the honest thing, that he's coming to this place 00:36:33.000 --> 00:36:35.500 and he's going, okay, God, you're going to do 00:36:35.500 --> 00:36:39.360 something here. I don't understand how. I mean, 00:36:39.380 --> 00:36:41.980 I have these skills, I have this knowledge. The 00:36:41.980 --> 00:36:44.840 peeling of the branches, that might be the superstitious 00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:47.579 part where Jacob's kind of mixing a little bit 00:36:47.579 --> 00:36:51.239 of superstition with his faith. Christians do 00:36:51.239 --> 00:36:55.199 that. Sometimes people think, you know, I've 00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:58.260 got to go to the pastor for prayer because his 00:36:58.260 --> 00:37:01.340 prayers are more powerful. My prayers aren't 00:37:01.340 --> 00:37:04.260 more powerful than anybody in here. Well, no, 00:37:04.300 --> 00:37:07.840 aren't you closer to God? No. Well, I've got 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:09.739 to go to the church to pray. I can't grab my 00:37:09.739 --> 00:37:11.800 brothers and sisters in here. Now, again, we're 00:37:11.800 --> 00:37:13.159 here to pray with you. There's nothing wrong 00:37:13.159 --> 00:37:16.840 with that. But we might add superstitions. Oh, 00:37:16.880 --> 00:37:19.019 if I don't wear my cross necklace, my day isn't 00:37:19.019 --> 00:37:21.739 going to go good. Cross necklace has nothing 00:37:21.739 --> 00:37:24.320 to do with your day. It's a great witness. It's 00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:26.820 a great testimony. But there's no power or magic 00:37:26.820 --> 00:37:31.539 in that. Christians that are hooked up on astrology, 00:37:31.800 --> 00:37:35.900 that just boggles my brain. What are you? What 00:37:35.900 --> 00:37:42.119 do you mean? What's your sign? The cross? When 00:37:42.119 --> 00:37:43.840 are you born? You're a Virgo. I'm like, what 00:37:43.840 --> 00:37:46.280 is that supposed to mean? That dictates my whole 00:37:46.280 --> 00:37:50.199 life? It's like, you believe in the Lord. So 00:37:50.199 --> 00:37:53.820 it can happen. And I think this might be what 00:37:53.820 --> 00:37:55.679 Jacob's doing here. There's faith. There's trust 00:37:55.679 --> 00:37:57.980 in the Lord. There's like, look, I believe God's 00:37:57.980 --> 00:37:59.460 going to work through this. But he still has 00:37:59.460 --> 00:38:01.860 this little bit of like, well, let me do this 00:38:01.860 --> 00:38:04.400 thing too. We have to understand, you know, it's 00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:08.000 not our tricks. That bless us. It's the hand 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:12.260 of God. It's not our superstitions. And we might 00:38:12.260 --> 00:38:18.579 not even call them that. But if there's something 00:38:18.579 --> 00:38:20.800 we put our trust in outside of just God and his 00:38:20.800 --> 00:38:24.199 presence and his reality, it could be superstition. 00:38:26.679 --> 00:38:29.239 Some of you might be like, I've got a certain 00:38:29.239 --> 00:38:32.469 parking spot. And I've got to park in that spot. 00:38:32.630 --> 00:38:34.269 And if I don't park in that spot, my day goes 00:38:34.269 --> 00:38:39.849 terrible, right? No! That's not how it works. 00:38:40.369 --> 00:38:44.329 So, anyways, I don't think the peeled branches 00:38:44.329 --> 00:38:48.110 did anything. And I believe Jacob came to understand 00:38:48.110 --> 00:38:51.429 this because later on in Genesis 31, verse 9, 00:38:51.570 --> 00:38:53.949 he testifies to this. This is what he says there. 00:38:53.989 --> 00:38:55.929 This is when he's about to leave. He's talking 00:38:55.929 --> 00:38:59.159 to his wives. And it says, Genesis 31 .9, God 00:38:59.159 --> 00:39:01.059 has taken away your father's herds and given 00:39:01.059 --> 00:39:03.579 them to me. When the flocks were breeding, I 00:39:03.579 --> 00:39:06.619 saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and 00:39:06.619 --> 00:39:08.440 speckled males were mating with the females. 00:39:08.860 --> 00:39:11.380 In that dream, the angel of God said to me, Jacob. 00:39:11.760 --> 00:39:15.239 And I said, here I am. And he said, look up and 00:39:15.239 --> 00:39:18.420 see. All the males that are mating with the flocks 00:39:18.420 --> 00:39:21.159 are streaked, spotted, and speckled, for I have 00:39:21.159 --> 00:39:24.739 seen all that Laban has been doing to you. Did 00:39:24.739 --> 00:39:28.900 you guys get the implication there? God did it. 00:39:29.719 --> 00:39:33.000 He says, I am the God of Bethel where you poured 00:39:33.000 --> 00:39:34.980 oil on the stone marker and made a solemn vow 00:39:34.980 --> 00:39:38.179 to me. Get up, leave this land, and return to 00:39:38.179 --> 00:39:42.679 your native land. It was God that was causing 00:39:42.679 --> 00:39:47.019 the breeding plan to flourish. Now, does that 00:39:47.019 --> 00:39:49.260 mean that Jacob's knowledge had no part of it? 00:39:49.900 --> 00:39:54.170 Absolutely not. Jacob was working through or 00:39:54.170 --> 00:39:55.969 God was working through Jacob's knowledge and 00:39:55.969 --> 00:39:58.389 his experience, but it was ultimately God that 00:39:58.389 --> 00:39:59.989 was making it happen. It wasn't these peeled 00:39:59.989 --> 00:40:03.630 branches. It does say that he would bring the 00:40:03.630 --> 00:40:05.449 strong ones in and the weak ones out. That's 00:40:05.449 --> 00:40:07.969 just knowledge and experience. But he had this 00:40:07.969 --> 00:40:09.809 dream while he was doing all of this, and God's 00:40:09.809 --> 00:40:14.449 like, bro, I'm doing it. I've seen how taken 00:40:14.449 --> 00:40:16.809 advantage of you are. Look what's happening. 00:40:17.869 --> 00:40:21.110 Only the spotted and speckled are mating. That's 00:40:21.110 --> 00:40:22.769 why you're having spotted and speckled offspring. 00:40:24.670 --> 00:40:26.849 It's just like a farmer who plants the seed in 00:40:26.849 --> 00:40:28.610 the ground, right? The farmer does the work, 00:40:28.690 --> 00:40:35.070 but it is God who gives the increase. It's a 00:40:35.070 --> 00:40:37.489 miracle of God that we plant a seed in the dirt 00:40:37.489 --> 00:40:40.969 and something grows from that. Now, does that 00:40:40.969 --> 00:40:42.750 mean the farmer's experience doesn't matter? 00:40:42.829 --> 00:40:47.340 No, of course not. You guys get that? It's ultimately 00:40:47.340 --> 00:40:49.199 a perspective where we step back and we say, 00:40:49.239 --> 00:40:50.980 look, I have experience, I have talent, I have 00:40:50.980 --> 00:40:53.739 knowledge, I'm employing my brain, I'm using 00:40:53.739 --> 00:40:58.820 my brain. But never take credit. God gets the 00:40:58.820 --> 00:41:02.840 credit. God gets the glory. And it's always God 00:41:02.840 --> 00:41:07.099 who should get the glory in all things. And so, 00:41:07.139 --> 00:41:10.500 now this is a small detail. This is one of those 00:41:10.500 --> 00:41:13.210 nerd Bible... studied things that I found. I 00:41:13.210 --> 00:41:15.190 don't know if there's a particular context to 00:41:15.190 --> 00:41:17.230 this or a meaning other than it's kind of like 00:41:17.230 --> 00:41:20.730 God's wink in the story. But Laban means white. 00:41:21.909 --> 00:41:25.010 That's what his name means. And so we have here 00:41:25.010 --> 00:41:27.329 in this story that it's white streaks on the 00:41:27.329 --> 00:41:29.570 branches and white markings on the sheep that 00:41:29.570 --> 00:41:33.150 Laban kept. It could be a Hebrew wordplay thing. 00:41:33.309 --> 00:41:35.369 And the reason I point that out just as an interesting 00:41:35.369 --> 00:41:38.789 detail is because earlier we had Esau, which 00:41:38.789 --> 00:41:42.159 means red. lost out on his blessing through red 00:41:42.159 --> 00:41:45.639 stew. And so there's just this interesting, again, 00:41:45.719 --> 00:41:48.500 I was like, is there something to this? And the 00:41:48.500 --> 00:41:50.599 Lord's just like, no, just wink, wink, right? 00:41:50.780 --> 00:41:52.639 That's kind of how it came across to me. But 00:41:52.639 --> 00:41:55.159 the idea is that Laban thought he was clever, 00:41:55.280 --> 00:41:57.019 and God just kind of flipped it on him, right? 00:41:57.840 --> 00:42:00.820 Wordplay, just like, ha -ha. And so we get to 00:42:00.820 --> 00:42:03.760 verse 43, and we come to the end of the story 00:42:03.760 --> 00:42:06.440 here. And the man became very rich. This is speaking 00:42:06.440 --> 00:42:09.389 of Jacob. He had many flocks, female and male 00:42:09.389 --> 00:42:14.590 slaves and camels and donkeys. God has a way 00:42:14.590 --> 00:42:20.989 of working through the mess. Jacob's home life 00:42:20.989 --> 00:42:26.070 was a mess. One wife he didn't love, one wife 00:42:26.070 --> 00:42:30.690 he did. Well, that's domestic bliss. Right? The 00:42:30.690 --> 00:42:34.210 battle of the babies. Moms naming their kids 00:42:34.210 --> 00:42:36.429 after the phase of the battle they're in. I mean, 00:42:36.429 --> 00:42:40.489 come on, what a mess. Jacob's work life was a 00:42:40.489 --> 00:42:45.530 mess. Laboring under this jerk who's just taking 00:42:45.530 --> 00:42:48.710 advantage of him. And yet God overshadows all 00:42:48.710 --> 00:42:52.530 of it with his will and brings blessing through 00:42:52.530 --> 00:42:56.690 the mess to the lives of those who know him and 00:42:56.690 --> 00:43:00.980 even some to those that don't. You see, God loves 00:43:00.980 --> 00:43:05.099 to use the most unlikely people in unlikely situations 00:43:05.099 --> 00:43:10.320 for his glory. And it's from this highly dysfunctional 00:43:10.320 --> 00:43:16.119 family comes Israel. And from Israel comes the 00:43:16.119 --> 00:43:20.300 Messiah. And the Messiah himself, the most unlikely 00:43:20.300 --> 00:43:23.460 baby from the most unlikely town, born in the 00:43:23.460 --> 00:43:28.460 most unlikely situation, who lived... The most 00:43:28.460 --> 00:43:33.440 unlikely, sinless, perfect life. Who died the 00:43:33.440 --> 00:43:35.940 most unlikely death an innocent person could 00:43:35.940 --> 00:43:39.800 die. And came back to life three days later, 00:43:39.880 --> 00:43:44.800 the most unlikely result of a person dying. But 00:43:44.800 --> 00:43:48.840 he wasn't just a person. He was the Son of God. 00:43:50.480 --> 00:43:54.019 He was God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. And he 00:43:54.019 --> 00:43:56.460 did all of this. He came and did all this for 00:43:56.460 --> 00:44:00.340 the most unlikely reason of all. We all know 00:44:00.340 --> 00:44:03.519 ourselves, right? He did it because he loves 00:44:03.519 --> 00:44:09.880 us. How unlikely is that? I know me. I wouldn't 00:44:09.880 --> 00:44:13.800 love me. In fact, I probably would have smited 00:44:13.800 --> 00:44:18.199 myself with great smiting already. But God didn't 00:44:18.199 --> 00:44:21.860 do that. God looked down and said, I know you're 00:44:21.860 --> 00:44:24.699 messed up. I know you're a sinner. I know your 00:44:24.699 --> 00:44:28.260 life is dysfunctional. I know a lot of it is 00:44:28.260 --> 00:44:29.960 because of your own decisions and some of it 00:44:29.960 --> 00:44:31.659 is just the situations around you, but I love 00:44:31.659 --> 00:44:37.739 you. I love you. And it's sinful, selfish, scheming 00:44:37.739 --> 00:44:45.000 sinners that he loved. But he died for them. 00:44:45.119 --> 00:44:49.139 He died for you. He died for me. The most unlikely 00:44:49.139 --> 00:44:51.280 thing that could ever happen. And he's still 00:44:51.280 --> 00:44:53.539 working in our lives. And he's still working 00:44:53.539 --> 00:44:55.760 on behalf of us. And he's still, for those that 00:44:55.760 --> 00:44:58.380 have trusted in him, working to sanctify and 00:44:58.380 --> 00:45:02.179 to change us into his image. And he does all 00:45:02.179 --> 00:45:06.239 that through our faith. Through our faith, he 00:45:06.239 --> 00:45:08.340 grants us forgiveness. He grants us grace. He 00:45:08.340 --> 00:45:13.000 grants us mercy and salvation. I mean, if God 00:45:13.000 --> 00:45:17.469 can turn... The very worst into the very best. 00:45:18.590 --> 00:45:22.110 If God could redeem the cross, which was the 00:45:22.110 --> 00:45:26.449 darkest moment in history, the whole situation 00:45:26.449 --> 00:45:30.590 with the Pharisees, the most dysfunctional scene 00:45:30.590 --> 00:45:36.590 you could have, if God redeemed that, what do 00:45:36.590 --> 00:45:40.869 you think he could do with your life? The darkest 00:45:40.869 --> 00:45:42.969 moment of history, he redeemed it into something 00:45:42.969 --> 00:45:44.510 that was the most glorious thing that has ever 00:45:44.510 --> 00:45:47.059 happened. What can he do with the darkest moments 00:45:47.059 --> 00:45:53.900 of your life? Well, there's mess. Okay. There's 00:45:53.900 --> 00:46:00.280 dysfunction. Okay. I've been a liar. Okay. Does 00:46:00.280 --> 00:46:02.659 any of that keep God from working in your life? 00:46:02.760 --> 00:46:10.340 No. If the Lord can bring the Messiah out of 00:46:10.340 --> 00:46:14.519 Jacob's family, what can he bring out of your 00:46:14.519 --> 00:46:20.000 life? Just think about it. Stop thinking about 00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:22.300 who you are and start thinking about who he is. 00:46:24.579 --> 00:46:26.760 Stop thinking about what you've done and think 00:46:26.760 --> 00:46:30.699 about what he did. And then ask yourself the 00:46:30.699 --> 00:46:33.800 question again. If he could bring the Messiah 00:46:33.800 --> 00:46:37.159 out of Jacob's messed up family, messed up life, 00:46:37.519 --> 00:46:42.500 what could he bring out of mine? And the truth 00:46:42.500 --> 00:46:49.769 is, glory. Beauty beyond belief. Not because 00:46:49.769 --> 00:46:52.429 of you, but because of Him. God's promises, they 00:46:52.429 --> 00:46:54.769 stand strong even in the midst of chaos and confusion. 00:46:56.469 --> 00:46:58.570 It doesn't matter how messed up the situation 00:46:58.570 --> 00:47:04.650 is. God is God. God's blessing will come upon 00:47:04.650 --> 00:47:07.469 us, can come upon us in the midst of the mess, 00:47:07.590 --> 00:47:13.369 and bless those around us. If that's not a testimony 00:47:13.369 --> 00:47:19.230 of God's love, I don't know what is. Sometimes 00:47:19.230 --> 00:47:22.010 when people look upon the Christian and they're 00:47:22.010 --> 00:47:23.809 getting blessed and they go, I don't understand. 00:47:25.309 --> 00:47:27.650 It's an opportunity to tell them about this God 00:47:27.650 --> 00:47:31.070 who loves them. When they're the ones actively 00:47:31.070 --> 00:47:33.050 fighting against the Christian and they're getting 00:47:33.050 --> 00:47:37.150 blessed somehow. They go, this doesn't make any 00:47:37.150 --> 00:47:39.710 sense. That's an opportunity for us to say, you're 00:47:39.710 --> 00:47:41.710 absolutely right, it doesn't make any sense. 00:47:43.150 --> 00:47:45.070 No, I wouldn't say that. You're a jerk, and God's 00:47:45.070 --> 00:47:49.630 blessing. No, don't say that. God is trying to 00:47:49.630 --> 00:47:55.570 get your attention. And God ultimately prospers 00:47:55.570 --> 00:47:57.690 us as people. I'm not talking about financial 00:47:57.690 --> 00:48:00.090 prosperity. God could do that if he chooses to. 00:48:01.010 --> 00:48:04.110 But I'm talking about prosperity in life, in 00:48:04.110 --> 00:48:06.809 good relationships, that zoe, that Greek word 00:48:06.809 --> 00:48:08.869 life that the Bible talks about that just means 00:48:08.869 --> 00:48:13.429 vibrant living, vibrant existence. Where we're 00:48:13.429 --> 00:48:16.409 not being dominated by depression and anxiety, 00:48:16.789 --> 00:48:19.210 but instead we're walking in the joy and the 00:48:19.210 --> 00:48:21.349 peace that is a relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:48:23.110 --> 00:48:25.250 That doesn't come through our tricks and our 00:48:25.250 --> 00:48:28.389 schemes and our superstitions and our parking 00:48:28.389 --> 00:48:33.469 space and our cross necklaces or whatever. It 00:48:33.469 --> 00:48:36.530 comes through God's hand. It comes through God's 00:48:36.530 --> 00:48:41.460 faithfulness. Because God redeems trials into 00:48:41.460 --> 00:48:45.059 triumphs. And when we're in the middle of the 00:48:45.059 --> 00:48:47.760 trial, we have to remember that. Because we remember 00:48:47.760 --> 00:48:49.599 that in the middle of the trial, we can find 00:48:49.599 --> 00:48:55.699 peace. We can find rest. That doesn't mean check 00:48:55.699 --> 00:48:58.440 your brain at the door. No, but use the brain 00:48:58.440 --> 00:49:02.460 God gave you. Work, labor, be a good example, 00:49:02.679 --> 00:49:04.920 be a godly worker, have good work ethic, all 00:49:04.920 --> 00:49:07.500 these things. But if you're in that situation 00:49:07.500 --> 00:49:08.940 where you're like, I'm being taken advantage 00:49:08.940 --> 00:49:14.639 of, and this isn't right, don't for a second 00:49:14.639 --> 00:49:18.500 think that God is not aware of that. And if you're 00:49:18.500 --> 00:49:21.579 still there, it's likely because he has you still 00:49:21.579 --> 00:49:25.900 there. So keep praying, keep trusting, and keep 00:49:25.900 --> 00:49:29.420 working unto him. When you find yourself in these 00:49:29.420 --> 00:49:34.920 situations, remain honest. Remain godly. Remain 00:49:34.920 --> 00:49:40.000 trusting him and pray. Lord, bless this mess. 00:49:42.059 --> 00:49:47.880 Lord, redeem it. I know you can. But in the process, 00:49:47.960 --> 00:49:50.940 Lord, give me the strength to patiently trust 00:49:50.940 --> 00:49:53.559 you and to patiently wait until you do something 00:49:53.559 --> 00:49:56.679 different here. Help me to learn the lesson. 00:49:57.980 --> 00:50:00.239 One of my favorite prayers is, God, please help 00:50:00.239 --> 00:50:03.579 me to learn the lesson fast because this is hard. 00:50:06.159 --> 00:50:09.059 And sometimes I do, and sometimes it's a long 00:50:09.059 --> 00:50:13.059 lesson. But God is faithful. We can't ever forget 00:50:13.059 --> 00:50:17.739 that. Let's pray. Lord, we love you so much. 00:50:20.460 --> 00:50:22.539 And God, I know that we don't always live like 00:50:22.539 --> 00:50:27.420 that. And Lord, I'm so grateful that our salvation 00:50:27.420 --> 00:50:32.489 is not based on us. And Lord, when we see these 00:50:32.489 --> 00:50:34.909 stories, these people in the Old Testament, Lord, 00:50:34.989 --> 00:50:39.090 like Jacob, God, there's hope in that story because 00:50:39.090 --> 00:50:44.989 we see growth in his life. He's not perfect. 00:50:46.730 --> 00:50:51.090 Neither are any of us. But Lord, we're hoping 00:50:51.090 --> 00:50:53.730 and waiting and trusting in you. And so God, 00:50:53.769 --> 00:50:57.039 I pray for everybody in this room, Lord. Those 00:50:57.039 --> 00:50:58.840 that know you, that they have confessed Christ 00:50:58.840 --> 00:51:03.699 as their Savior, Lord, and God, maybe even today 00:51:03.699 --> 00:51:08.480 they're in a situation of dysfunction. They're 00:51:08.480 --> 00:51:12.960 in the middle of a mess. God, I pray, Lord, that 00:51:12.960 --> 00:51:15.559 you would bring the peace and the joy and all 00:51:15.559 --> 00:51:19.059 that you could bring, Lord. That, God, you would 00:51:19.059 --> 00:51:21.179 give them the strength to persevere, trusting 00:51:21.179 --> 00:51:22.960 in you and what you're doing in that situation, 00:51:23.300 --> 00:51:25.869 Lord. I pray, God, that you would give them every 00:51:25.869 --> 00:51:29.909 opportunity, Lord, to share who you are, Lord. 00:51:31.969 --> 00:51:35.909 To share what your people can have in the midst 00:51:35.909 --> 00:51:42.309 of difficulty. And Lord, I pray, God, that as 00:51:42.309 --> 00:51:45.389 we use the mind you've given us and our experiences 00:51:45.389 --> 00:51:47.510 and things, we would never think that it's because 00:51:47.510 --> 00:51:51.079 of our plans and our ideas. But Lord, we would 00:51:51.079 --> 00:51:53.159 continue to give you the credit and give you 00:51:53.159 --> 00:51:55.519 the glory because you gave us the brain to have 00:51:55.519 --> 00:51:59.019 the idea. You gave us the hands and feet to do 00:51:59.019 --> 00:52:03.219 the work. And so Lord, thank you for everything. 00:52:06.079 --> 00:52:08.199 Lord God, I pray, Lord, that you would bless 00:52:08.199 --> 00:52:11.760 the mess in our lives. That we would see your 00:52:11.760 --> 00:52:14.920 hand and your movement in the midst of it. God, 00:52:15.019 --> 00:52:16.760 we thank you for any blessing that comes upon 00:52:16.760 --> 00:52:19.920 us in the middle of it. We thank you, Lord, that 00:52:19.920 --> 00:52:21.739 your blessing would go to those around us, God, 00:52:21.820 --> 00:52:23.679 because you called us to be a blessing to the 00:52:23.679 --> 00:52:30.840 whole world. Help us to just be at peace. Help 00:52:30.840 --> 00:52:33.739 us to shine your glory. Help us to glorify you 00:52:33.739 --> 00:52:37.539 in all things because you deserve it. We love 00:52:37.539 --> 00:52:41.340 you. We thank you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:52:41.820 --> 00:52:44.559 Amen. Let's worship, church.