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00:00 Well, you have just heard the scriptural account of the story that is usually referred to as Jacob's ladder.
00:08 Well, if you were hoping to climb Jacob's ladder anytime in the near
00:13 future, I hate to disappoint you, but Jacob's ladder is closed as of tomorrow
00:19 morning. That's true. That's true. I've read it in the news. At 7:00 tomorrow morning,
00:26 Jacob's ladder will be closed. Right there it is. The city of Perth has
00:32 announced that Jacob's ladder is going to be closed. Evidently, there are some structural
00:39 problems that need to be repaired in this 240 plus step staircase in Perth
00:45 known as Jacob's Ladder. Well, it seems like there are few Old
00:51 Testament images that have caught the imagination of people in society as much
00:57 as Jacob's ladder. Now, the story of Jacob's ladder is not
01:03 recounted. The meaning of the story of Jacob's ladder is not recounted. But many, many things have been referred to
01:09 as Jacob's ladder. From beautiful things in nature's up to a horror movie. Here
01:16 are just a few examples. In the Peak District of England, a very beautiful area, this scenic trip through
01:23 nature, Jacob's ladder, a beautiful wild flower,
01:30 a little string figure there. Even shows you how to do it.
01:36 A game or a toy. You can get the giant size, you can get the small size, and it complete with a tutorial.
01:44 An exercise machine. Jacob's ladder, a certain type of wallet,
01:51 piercings known as Jacob's ladder. And if you like to play with
01:57 electricity, you can build your own Jacob's ladder and come up with something cool like they're on the right side. And using this type of
02:05 electricity, you can have wall sconces giving a little bit of light.
02:10 The horror movie I mentioned earlier. And then there's the music. Back in the
02:16 80s, I think it was 1987, this song was released and climbed very
02:22 high on the charts. Also, probably Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven drew on imagery from Jacob's
02:29 Ladder. But as I said, none of these things have absolutely anything to do
02:34 with the biblical account except they use that imagery of Jacob's ladder. And
02:41 even the texts of the songs that I have mentioned here are totally opposite of
02:47 the biblical message. For example, this song by Led Zeppelin. Here's part of the text. They're talking about a lady who's
02:55 going to buy a stairway to heaven as if somebody with a lot of money or
03:01 wealth could somehow bribe God like you would a corrupt government official and
03:08 buy your way to get into heaven. Or this song by Huey Lewis in the news.
03:15 This one came out al came out the mid 80s. I think
03:20 he already said he doesn't need salvation. And then he says, "I'm doing all right. I'm doing the best I can."
03:28 And then little catchy rhythm step by step, one by one. And then they're
03:35 climbing Jacob's ladder higher and higher. And again, the idea that somehow if I
03:42 try my best, if I work hard, I can somehow make my way up to heaven. You
03:49 can pull yourself up one step at a time, getting closer and closer to God.
03:56 And even the African-American spiritual that is often sung in churches, especially by children's choir, doesn't
04:02 really represent the message that we see in the biblical story of Jacob's ladder.
04:08 Because if you remember the story you just heard read, Jacob did not climb the ladder. No person climbed the ladder.
04:16 Angels, messengers of God, were going up and down, but there's nothing in the
04:22 story of Jacob's ladder that would imply that we as people can just start climbing Jacob's ladder.
04:29 The good news of the biblical story of Jacob's ladder is that heaven is indeed
04:34 open to us. But it's open not because of our superb climbing
04:42 skills. Heaven is not going to be available when we just climb higher and
04:49 higher and higher then try to force the door open to heaven. Rather, heaven is open because of God's
04:57 grace. Heaven is open not because of our climbing. Heaven is open because God
05:04 extends his grace to us. Even though we do not deserve it, God
05:10 extends his grace to us even when we don't expect it.
05:15 God is working and he extends his grace to us even when we're not aware that he's doing it.
05:23 God extends his grace to us by offering us salvation, reconciliation, forgiveness.
05:30 And he extends his grace to us by giving us what we need to be faithful to him.
05:36 Well, before we look at the text in depth that we just heard read, I want to give just a little background, just a
05:43 quick review of things we've heard up till this point. Want to remind you a few things about Jacob. When you look at
05:51 his character, you look at his actions, you look at what he's done, you realize
05:58 he does not deserve anything from God except possibly punishment. But here we
06:05 see in this story that God does extend his grace even though we do not deserve
06:12 it. Brief review. Jacob was a scoundrel. He was a bad person. He had lied. He had
06:19 cheated. He had deceived. He had stolen. And then he even used God's name in vain
06:25 to try to accomplish his evil schemes. all just to gain the financial benefit
06:32 of the birthright and of the blessing. He had basically stolen or deceived his
06:38 brother to get the birthright and the blessing from him. Now, some might just say Jacob was clever, good businessman.
06:46 You got to take advantage of the opportunities when they come. But we see to do that, Jacob had lied to
06:54 his father and deceived his father. He had cheated his brother using God's name
07:00 in vain to accomplish that. And he had ended up basically destroying the life
07:05 of his family. His mother and father were now at odds. His brother was so
07:11 angry he was threatening to kill him. And that, by the way, is the reason we
07:16 see in our text that Jacob left Beersa and went toward Haron. At least one of the reasons was his brother was going to
07:23 kill him. Another reason was Jacob was going to
07:29 Haron because that's where relatives lived and he was going to take a wife
07:34 from one of the relatives there. Now to look at this text, Jacob went
07:39 left Beers and went to Haron. This gives you an idea of what we're talking about. Circled in red there at the bottom is a
07:45 city of Beersa located in modernday southern Israel, still called Beersa
07:53 today. Abraham had lived there for a while after God led him to Canaan. Isaac
07:58 had settled there and Jacob was living there until he caused all this trouble
08:03 and had to leave for fear of his life. Up in the upper part, the northeast
08:09 part, you see circled an area that says Poden Aram, also Haram, the smaller town
08:15 there. This is currently in the very southern part of Turkey, very close to
08:21 the Syrian border. So to put that close to names that you may have heard in the
08:26 news if you've been following the atrocities of the Islamic State, it's about 60 miles from Kobani where fierce
08:34 fighting has been held about 120 kilometers north of Raqqa, the
08:40 headquarters of the so-called Islamic State. Good thing Jacob's not making that trip today. It'd be pretty dangerous. Even
08:48 back then, it was somewhat dangerous, although probably not quite as bad as it would be today. Pretty long distance,
08:54 too. He would have had to cover somewhere around 850 kilometers. Now, that's a long walk. Probably took
09:02 several weeks to make it. Well, you might ask, why did he go as far as Haron? Why are his relatives and family
09:09 up there? You might remember in the story earlier back the end of Genesis chapter 11,
09:16 Abraham's father and other relatives left Ur on the bottom right of the map
09:22 and they traveled over to they were heading towards Canaan, but they didn't make it that far and they ended up in
09:29 Haron up in the northern part. You might ask, well, why go all the way out of
09:34 your way? It's just a straight shot from or straight west to Canaan. Well, it's
09:40 because it's solid desert and you just cannot pass through that area and
09:46 survive very easily. So, the part you see green shaded there is known as the fertile crescent. And that's the way
09:52 people traveled. If they were traveling from Calaldia or Babylonia in that area, they would not head due west. Rather,
09:59 they'd go north following the river thereby they had food and water. Then they would come down south. And we see
10:07 that's the direction that Abraham's family had went. The whole family went up as far as Iron and then Abraham and
10:14 Lot came on down south. Common highway, common way of travel in
10:22 those days. Incidentally, when the Bible talks about enemies coming from the
10:27 north into Israel, this is the reason they always came from the north except for Egypt coming from the south. Because
10:34 even if the enemies are from the east, they had to go north and then they would come from the north. So often when you
10:41 see in the scripture enemies coming from the north, it has absolutely nothing to do with Russia or Moscow. It has to do
10:48 with the fact that the enemy armies traveled this way and then they came from the north heading south. Well, we
10:54 see that as Jacob was traveling, he came to a certain place and stayed there that
11:00 night because the sun had set. Later when we get to verse 19, we figure out
11:07 what this certain place was. It was near a city called Lo or Les. And then Jacob
11:14 renamed it Bethl or Bethl, meaning the house of God.
11:20 Jacob was still early in his trip. Here you can see how far away he had
11:26 traveled. He had covered maybe close to 100 kilometers but still had the vast majority of his trip to go. So we see
11:34 that God in his mercy and his grace encountered Jacob relatively early on on
11:40 this trip. So when Jacob came to this certain place the sun had set. He decided to spend the
11:47 night says taking one of the stones of the place he put it under his head and
11:53 laid down in that place to sleep. Now, undoubtedly, Jacob was tired. He'd
11:59 already walked a 100 kilometers. Undoubtedly, he was lonely.
12:06 He was separated from his family, separated from the comforts of home.
12:11 More than likely, he was afraid. This was a dangerous trip. There were wild
12:16 animals. There were snakes. There were robbers. And there's always the
12:21 possibility that his brother Esau might be following him and coming after him.
12:26 And here Jacob is outdoors and he's not an outdoor person. That was Esau. Esau
12:32 was the hunter. He was the one that always liked to be outside. Jacob was a homebody, a mama's boy. He took care of
12:39 the household chores. And now he's having to rough it outdoors.
12:46 More than likely, Jacob was feeling down, somewhat depressed,
12:51 possibly questioning what he had done. Is it worth gaining this extra wealth if
12:57 I can't even live long enough to enjoy it? If I get killed, possibly feeling guilty, feeling shame.
13:06 He had sinned against his brother, sinned against his father, driven a wedge between the members of his family,
13:13 basically splitting the family apart. The guilt and the shame possibly caused
13:19 him to think God might be getting ready to punish him for his evil deeds. So it
13:25 appears that as Jacob laid down at this place that night, he definitely did not
13:31 expect for God to show him his grace. And he
13:37 was totally surprised to see that God did extend his grace to him even when he
13:43 did not expect it. And here's how God showed his grace.
13:50 Verse 12, Jacob had a dream. And behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth,
13:55 and the top of the ladder reached to heaven, and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it, and
14:03 behold, the Lord stood above it. There was a ladder set up on earth, the
14:09 text said. And some when we read this word ladder, we think of a ladder like
14:14 this. And that has been depicted in some religious art that we have seen over the
14:20 years such as this French painting from the 1500s or this painting from the early 1900s by
14:27 Mark Shagal, a Jewish painter who was Russian descent living in France.
14:34 But more than likely, it was not a ladder like this. It was more likely
14:39 that these stairs were like a stairway. a stairway that would be on the side of
14:45 a ziguret or a temple, much like the stairs that would have
14:50 been built along the side of the Tower of Babel up until God stopped the work
14:56 on that tower. Interesting, isn't it? Men had tried to build a tower, a staircase that would
15:04 get them up to heaven to God, but it didn't work. But now we see God establishing a
15:12 staircase between heaven and earth. What men cannot do, God can.
15:19 We cannot reach up to God. But God does reach down to us. God takes the
15:25 initiative. God communicates with man. God bridges the gap between heaven and
15:32 earth. God opens up the heavens and extends his grace.
15:39 Now, an interesting point of grammar in the Hebrew here where it says that the Lord stood above.
15:45 The subject could be the Lord stood above the latter or it could be that the Lord stood above
15:53 Jacob as is depicted in this particular painting from a 16th century Italian
16:01 painter. the Lord coming near to Jacob and standing above him.
16:09 So the latter, this stairway is showing that God does come near to people. He
16:15 cares for us. He watches over us. He wants to have a close relationship with
16:20 us. He desires to communicate with us. God has indeed opened heaven. He has
16:27 extended his grace to us even though we do not deserve it. even when we don't
16:33 expect it. And he also extends his grace to us when we're not even aware of it.
16:41 Oftentimes, God is working and we're oblivious to the fact that he is
16:46 working. God is present, but we're oblivious to that fact. That's the way
16:52 Jacob was. He came to a certain place that night. He had no idea God was there. He had no
17:00 idea God was working in his life. But after the dream, the next morning he
17:06 woke up and this is what he said. Surely the Lord is in this place, but I didn't
17:12 know it. Have you ever felt like that? Have you
17:18 ever experienced that? going through a difficult time possibly like Jacob was going through and you
17:26 don't realize God's working because things are so tough
17:31 and then later looking back you can realize God was indeed present. God
17:37 indeed was at work.
17:42 God is present. God does work, especially in the difficult times when
17:49 we're thinking there is no hope. When we are depressed, when we're feeling down,
17:55 when we're feeling guilty, when we're feeling lonely, when we're feeling afraid,
18:00 and we're not aware of anything that God's doing, we can trust that God is
18:06 indeed working. God extends his grace to us. Even though
18:13 we do not deserve it, even when we don't expect it, and even when we are not
18:20 aware of it, we do not deserve God's grace.
18:28 We want his grace. We want his blessings.
18:36 Frequently we're not expecting God to work, but yet he does work.
18:43 Often times we're not aware that he's working, but he is working.
18:49 I can remember a situation back when I was in high school. This was many years ago. But when I was in high school, a
18:57 friend of mine, as we were getting ready to graduate, he was trying to encourage me to go to the same university he was
19:04 going to. And I had a scholarship offer from that university, but I had decided
19:10 to turn it down. But he was trying to convince me, come on with me. We can join the same fraternity. We can have a
19:18 lot of parties. The alcohol will flow freely. the girls will be there. Come on
19:23 down. And I told him that I was going to be going to a Baptist university instead.
19:31 Man, you're crazy. You won't have any fun there was his response.
19:37 He went his way, I went my way. I did not see the guy for 10 years. But after
19:43 10 years, we had a class reunion and I ran into him and I started talking to
19:49 him and I asked him what he was doing. He was a deacon in a Baptist church
19:54 actively serving the Lord and I was just blown away.
19:59 I mean, talking about a guy that did not deserve God's grace. This was him.
20:05 Definitely had not been expecting God's grace. So, I asked him, "What in the
20:11 world has happened?" the last time I talked to you, you wanted me to come party with you at this university. Did
20:17 you not do that when you went to school? He said, "That stuff is just worthless."
20:23 When I got to the university, I met a Christian who shared with me and this
20:28 time I listened and unexpectedly God changed my life while I was at the
20:35 university. Totally unexpected from his point of view. Totally unexpected from me, but
20:44 God was working. So when we look at how God extends his grace, let's think about
20:50 ourselves, think about our lives. Yes, God not only extended his grace to
20:57 Jacob, God also wants to extend his grace in many ways to us today.
21:06 Today you may not be expecting God to do anything. You might have even come to church this morning, not expecting to
21:13 encounter God, just coming because it's Sunday morning and we go to church. Or
21:19 it's Sunday morning, chance to meet with my friends. Possibly you're living in a state of
21:24 rebellion against God and you know you don't deserve God's love. If you expect
21:30 any kind of an encounter at all, it will be an encounter of judgment. You think possibly you're just going through life
21:37 not really paying much attention to God except on Sunday mornings. You're not expecting God to speak to you. But it
21:45 could be that God wants to speak to you today. That he wants to encounter you
21:51 today, right now. Because God is offering his grace to you even when
21:58 you're not expecting it. And God is working even when you're not aware of it. If you're going through difficult
22:06 times, be assured God is wanting to work and minister to you during these times. Just
22:14 this past week, I was talking with a friend of mine who went through some
22:19 extremely difficult times about four or five years ago. His life was actually in
22:25 danger. He had given up on life. He said he
22:32 thought his life was over and with good reason. And he was basically hopeless.
22:41 And during that time, without him even being aware of it, God was working,
22:47 arranging the circumstances for what he would be doing in the future. And now,
22:52 four or five years later, he's doing well. Well, he's healthy, has
22:57 a family that's growing, he's involved in very meaningful, fruitful ministry.
23:03 He has purpose in life. He's filling a very valuable role in the kingdom of God.
23:09 And he said, "4 to five years ago, I was ready to give up." He didn't know that
23:14 God was working. But now, in retrospect, he can see that it's because or through
23:21 these difficult times that he is now where he is today. and he's able to have such a positive ministry. And if he had
23:29 not gone through that, he would not be where he is today. So even though he was
23:34 not aware that God was working, God was working. And we can trust that God is
23:40 also working in our lives wanting to show us his grace.
23:47 Well, let's go back to Jacob's dream.
23:52 And in the dream, we now hear the voice of God. As God
23:58 speaks, God says,"I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your father, and the God of
24:05 Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your offspring. Your
24:10 offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the
24:17 north and to the south. and in you and your offspring shall all the families of
24:22 the earth be blessed. Well, the first thing that God does is
24:28 he identifies himself. I am the Lord. I am Yahweh. I'm the God that your
24:34 grandfather Abraham worshiped. The God that spoke to your grandfather Abraham.
24:41 I'm the God that spoke to your father Isaac, the God that Isaac worships.
24:47 Now, when we hear this kind of introduction, it could make us think that possibly
24:53 Jacob had no real relationship with God up until this time. Why else did he need
24:60 such an elaborate introduction if he had already been walking in close relationship with God?
25:07 And in our biblical text, we do not see any evidence that Jacob had any kind of
25:12 a personal relationship with God up until this time. just goes to show us that even having a
25:20 religious, spiritual, Christian heritage does not guarantee that the children or
25:26 the grandchildren will have a relationship with God. And just because our parents might have been
25:33 committed followers of Christ does not mean that we're automatically born into
25:38 that. So, it could be that this was really Jacob's first major meaningful personal
25:44 encounter with God. Or it could just possibly be that God was reconfirming to Jacob, despite your
25:53 treachery, despite your lies, despite your deceit, despite your blasphemy,
25:60 I still care for you. I still have a plan for you. I will work through your
26:06 life. I still will be your God. And so we see God then
26:14 repeating the promise to Jacob that he had earlier made to Abraham and Isaac.
26:19 Now God made the promise to Abraham and to his descendants, but only one of
26:25 eight of Abraham's eight sons was heir to the promise. Isaac. Isaac had two
26:31 sons, but only one of them was going to be heir to the promise. And this was the first time that God specifically told
26:38 Jacob, you are the one through whom I am going to work my salvation plan. So here
26:45 we see the three parts of the promise. First of all, there's going to be land. Well, there's going to be many
26:52 descendants, a great nation through whom God is going to work. They need land if
26:57 you're going to have a nation. The descendants, many descendants, numerous.
27:02 They will expand all over. And then most importantly in the promise
27:08 through you and through your offspring all the families of the earth will be
27:14 blessed. You see that God is working his salvation plan. You remember earlier in
27:21 Genesis, God had created people living in a perfect relationship with him. They disobeyed. They sinned. Their
27:28 descendants sinned. Everybody sins. Judgment comes. But God does have a plan
27:33 of salvation. He's going to work through Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob, through their many descendants to make a
27:41 people for his own. Through whom he will give the holy scriptures, to whom he
27:46 will give the law, through whom the prophets will come and give their messages, and most
27:53 importantly through the singular offspring, Jesus in the flesh. Jesus was
27:59 a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Through Jesus and what he does to bring salvation for
28:06 people, then all peoples of the earth will be blessed.
28:13 And there's nothing that Jacob can do that is going to thwart God's plan of salvation.
28:19 Now, that does not mean that everything that happens in the world is God's will. Sin by its very definition is against
28:27 God's will. So we should not think that everything that happens is God's will.
28:32 Many things happen because of sin. Many things happen because of human
28:38 error. Not everything that happens is caused directly by God. God allows it.
28:45 But what we are saying here is no matter what Jacob does, God is going to work
28:50 out the plan to bring salvation to all peoples of the world so that all who
28:56 respond in faith will be able to receive this blessing that was promised first
29:03 through Abraham and now being reaffirmed through Isaac. So this was the
29:09 three-fold promise. people, land for the people to live in. And then through this, God is going to
29:16 bring the salvation through Jesus to bless all peoples of the earth. And then
29:21 we see a fourfold promise that's specific to Jacob here.
29:28 God says, "I am with you." I'm sure that was comforting having left
29:34 home and being all alone, having sinned so greatly to realize God was still with
29:41 him. Secondly, God said, "I will keep you wherever you go." Also comforting
29:49 because many people in those days had the idea that whatever god you worship, well, he is the God of this particular
29:56 territory. kind of a tribal deity, a deity that is geographically limited.
30:03 But even though Jacob is going to be traveling 8 to 900 kilometers, God is
30:09 with him everywhere that he goes. And then God makes a promise, I will bring
30:14 you back to this land. Now, that's a promise that God kept. But
30:21 Jacob might have wondered at times if God was going to keep it because he was
30:26 away from his land for many, many years, probably close to about 20 years before
30:32 God finally kept this promise. But God did fulfill this promise. And then the
30:39 last part of this four-fold promise, God said, "I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
30:47 Now, that's probably not to be seen as a threat. I will leave you later, but more than likely, I am going to stay with
30:53 you. I will not leave you because I have something to do through you for the rest of your life. And it definitely does
31:00 mean that God is going to complete his plan, do his will in the life of Jacob,
31:07 giving him several sons through whom then this nation will be built, through whom the Messiah will later come.
31:16 Well, we've seen the promises that God made to Jacob. The first three were the same that he had made to Abraham and
31:21 Isaac. And then we've seen these four specific promises to Jacob. How can we
31:28 apply these promises to us? First of all, the three that were given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
31:37 Has God promised any of you here a piece of real estate on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea?
31:44 Probably not. Has God promised any of you that you're going to have numerous
31:49 offspring? That you will then kings will come from your line and you will have a great nation?
31:57 Probably not. Through one of your offspring, all people of the earth will be blessed. No.
32:04 So, none of these three promises would apply literally specifically to us. But
32:12 each of these three promises does speak of God's plan to bring salvation to the
32:18 world. And that does apply to us. We can receive the blessing of Abraham, the
32:25 blessing to Isaac, the blessing to Jacob through their offspring, Jesus Christ.
32:32 And these promises are preparing for the coming of the Messiah, for the coming of
32:37 the Savior. That happened 2,000 years ago. So, we're on the other side of the coming of
32:44 Christ than were Jacob and his ancestors. So, today, we can receive
32:49 God's salvation. We can receive God's blessing through Jesus as we respond in
32:55 faith to him and receive forgiveness of our sin. as the broken relationship with God because of our sin is now restored
33:03 and as we're able to have peace with God. So God does offer us salvation.
33:10 Although these three specific promises literally we don't have but salvation
33:15 and a right relationship with him. The blessing through Abraham's seed that is
33:21 for all people who respond in faith. Well, what about the other four promises? Do they apply to us?
33:30 Oh, I'm sorry. Before we go on to the other four promises, what I just talked about, this shows us that God does
33:37 extend his grace to us by offering us salvation.
33:43 These promises made to Jacob show he is at work with his salvation plan. That
33:48 salvation plan applies to us. Now, let's go on to the four promises.
33:54 Other promises, how do they apply to us?
33:59 God told Jacob, "I am with you." Or have you heard in the New Testament words to that effect that apply to us?
34:08 You probably think of the great commission. Matthew 28 verse 20. Jesus said, "Go make disciples of all people,
34:15 and lo, I will be with you to the ends of the earth, to the ends of the age."
34:22 What about the second promise God made to Jacob? I will keep you wherever you go.
34:29 Think of the promise that Jesus made regarding the Holy Spirit in John
34:34 chapters 14:15 and 16 as he said, "The Holy Spirit will be with us. He will
34:40 dwell within us. He will comfort us. He will counsel us. He will guide us. He
34:45 will lead us into truth. I will bring you back to this land.
34:52 Well, literally this promise does not apply to us because probably nobody here is going to be led back to Beersa in
34:58 southern Israel. So, while we don't have this specific promise,
35:04 we do have a similar promise in the fact that God has promised to lead us, to
35:09 guide us, and to bring us safe to our heavenly home. And then the fourth of these promises
35:16 that God made, I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised.
35:23 Does that ring a bell? Do you think of something from the New Testament? What about Paul's words in Philippians
35:30 chapter 1 verse 6? He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete that
35:38 work until the day of Christ Jesus. So we can see that just as God gave
35:45 Jacob what Jacob needed in order to do go what God wanted him to do, God also
35:51 shows us his grace by giving us what we need to be faithful to him.
35:58 God gives us all we need so that we can live a life faithful to him so that God
36:04 can work through us. So heaven is indeed open. God extends
36:10 his grace to us. So when we realize that God does extend his grace to us, how do
36:17 we respond? How do you respond? Well, first of all, let's look at how Jacob responded.
36:25 Jacob was afraid and he said, "How awesome is this place? This is none
36:30 other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven."
36:35 So early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on
36:43 the top of it. Jacob is building as it were a memorial. He wanted to remember
36:50 this very meaningful personal encounter with God. This was a big spiritual
36:57 milestone in his life and he did not want to forget it.
37:02 Now, Jacob's understanding was somewhat incomplete. This is possibly his first encounter with God. He still definitely
37:10 needed to grow in a spiritual life just like all of us.
37:16 The place where Jacob was was not holy just because of that place.
37:22 It was a special place. It was a holy place because God was there and God encountered him there.
37:29 Little bit like the situation in Exodus when God speaking to Moses through the burning bush and God says, "Moses, take
37:35 your shoes off. You're standing on holy ground." Well, the ground was probably the same
37:42 mineral composition as all the other ground nearby, same sand, same dirt, same rocks. What made the ground holy
37:49 was God was there. And so in this situation, it wasn't the place itself
37:56 that was holy. Even though Jacob may have thought that was the case, it wasn't the place that
38:02 was holy. What was holy was this event where God communicated with him and God
38:09 spoke to him. Significant spiritual experiences in our
38:14 life can help shape our life. And when we remember and think back to these
38:20 significant spiritual experiences, they can also be an encouragement for us.
38:25 Sometimes when we're doubting or when we're having trouble, if we look back and we see how God has helped us in the
38:31 past, that can be a great help as we go forward to the future. So, it's good to
38:38 have spiritual milestones or spiritual markers, so to say, like Jacob had. No,
38:45 don't build a shrine because the place is not holy, but a mental marker
38:51 remembering what God has done. Possibly as you think back to your conversion experience.
38:57 Possibly a time when you were seeking direction from God and he showed you clearly.
39:03 Possibly a time when after sharing your faith, sharing the gospel with somebody, that person then eventually came to
39:09 faith in Christ. Possibly somebody in need and in the
39:15 name of Christ you help them meet the need. Possibly you helped you encouraged
39:20 somebody and you felt God's presence as a result as he was working through you
39:26 helping this person and you can look back to these special times remembering
39:31 and drawing strength from them. I hope you have times like this. If not, I pray
39:38 that God will give you some times. Every day is not going to be a spiritual
39:43 mile marker, but from time to time, God will be working significantly in our
39:49 life, giving us something that we want to remember and hold fast to. I can
39:55 remember when I was 17, just laying in my bed at home one night, a very inospicious place, a place I had been
40:02 several hundred times earlier. But I can remember one night when God encountered me
40:09 as he spoke to me about my lack of loyalty, lack of trust in him.
40:15 I can remember a time a few months later I traveled to England. I was in England at the time and I can remember a place I
40:22 can still in my mind see the brick walls that were close to me as I felt God was
40:28 leading me into ministry. a meaningful time, a holy time. Nothing
40:35 holy about the place, but a holy encounter because God spoke to me. God communicated to me. God gave me
40:42 direction. And God wants to do that with each one of us to speak to us, to show us his
40:49 grace. And when we have these meaningful milestones,
40:54 they'll encourage us. And we can look back and remember, yes, I know for sure God was in that place. Therefore, God is
41:02 here with me now in this place today. Let's continue looking at Jacob's
41:09 response. Kind of interesting, especially if you only read these verses. Then Jacob made
41:16 a vow and said, "If God will be with me, and if God will keep me in this way that
41:22 I go, and if God will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I can
41:28 come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God,
41:34 and this stone which I have set up for a pillar shall be God's house. And of all
41:39 that you give me, God, I will give a full tenth to you." So, just a casual reading, a surface
41:46 reading of this. It looks like Jacob is back to his old trick. He's a bargainer.
41:52 He's a shrewd businessman. God, if you do this and if you do that, and if you do this, then I'll serve you.
42:00 Do you ever do that? God, if you give me prosperity. Now, I'm not fluent in Mandarin, but I
42:07 understand Gongi Fai has something to do with prosperity, doesn't it? Yeah. God, if you make me prosperous in this new
42:13 year, I will serve you. Oh, wow. God, I'll even give you a tenth. Well, maybe
42:20 not that much. If you bless me just a little, I can afford a tenth. But if you bless me too much, that's too much money. I can't afford a tenth.
42:29 That's not much of a vow, is it? God, if you make me rich and prosperous and give
42:34 me health, if you give me well-educated children studying at esteemed universities, if you give me a nice
42:40 home, if give me a new car, if you give me great business contacts, then God, I'll serve you. That's paganism.
42:50 And I don't think that's what Jacob was saying. Notice he's not asking for wealth. He's not asking for silver and
42:58 gold. He's not asking for thousands of sheep and cattle and goats, etc.,
43:04 however they measured wealth in those days. If you look at the context here, you see
43:11 that Jacob is really not bargaining with God at all because everything that Jacob
43:17 is asking for, God has already promised him. Remember
43:22 these four promises that we saw? These are the exact same things that Jacob
43:28 says. God, since you have shown me your grace and you have promised you will do
43:34 that, you'll be my God.
43:39 Notice God had already told him, I will be with you. So Jacob just repeats what God had said. God, if you'll be with me.
43:46 God had already said, I will keep you. Jacob says, repeating God's promise, if
43:52 you will indeed keep me, I will bring you back to this land God had already
43:57 promised. And Jacob just reiterates that promise so that I can come again to my
44:02 father's house. The only thing that Jacob added that was not in the promise was give me bread to
44:10 eat and clothing to wear. But he's not asking for gourmet food.
44:15 He's not asking for one of these 8 to 10 course banquetss that you might have enjoyed during Chinese New Year time.
44:21 Just basic sustenance. He's not asking for designer clothes. He's not asking for a wardrobe full of clothes. Just the
44:29 basic necessities of life. And even though God had not specifically said, "I'll give you food and I'll give you
44:35 clothing." If God's going to safely bring him back after 20 years, you can't
44:41 go 20 years without food. Obviously, God's going to provide food for him. And
44:46 up north in Iran, it gets cold in the winter. You can't go around naked in the winter for 20 years. Obviously, God is
44:54 going to do that. So really what Jacob is saying is God
45:00 since you have made these wonderful promises to me since you will be with me
45:05 since you will keep me since you will give me what I need to live and since you will bring me back
45:13 you will be my God. I will serve you. I will give you a tithe
45:19 in response to God's wonderful outpouring of grace when he deserved judgment.
45:26 In response to God's wonderful outpouring of grace when he did not expect it. When he was not even aware
45:32 God was there. Now he's making a commitment. Yes, God, you will be my God. I will worship you. I will serve
45:40 you. And in the Hebrew grammar, there's something that I find quite interesting
45:47 that could be the translation. You'll find that as a footnote if you have the NIV Bible.
45:55 There's a good possibility a good translation of that sentence would be not only if God will be with me but also
46:03 and if the Lord will be my God then
46:09 I will worship you and I will tithe. Think what Jacob is saying here. If this
46:15 is the correct translation, if God is willing to be my God,
46:23 I'm a scoundrel. I'm a cheat. I'm a liar. I've blasphemed God and he's still
46:31 willing to be my God. God, if you're willing to show me all
46:37 this wonderful grace. And if you're willing to be my God,
46:43 there's no way I want to go against your love. No way I want to go against your
46:49 grace. You will be my God. I will serve you. I will worship you.
46:56 This response of Jacob's is a fitting response for us also
47:02 because God has indeed shown us his grace
47:07 even though we don't deserve it. God has opened the heavens
47:13 and he's opened the heavens through Jesus. We can let God be our God.
47:22 Now, Jacob had an encounter with God there, sleeping on a stone with a dream
47:29 of a ladder from heaven. And he experienced God's grace not because he climbed the ladder, but
47:35 because God opened the heaven and God himself established a stairway bridging
47:40 the gap between heaven and earth. Well, today we like Jacob can have a
47:46 meaningful encounter with God not by trying to climb some ladder someplace.
47:52 But in the New Testament, Jesus refers to the symbolism in Jacob's ladder when he talks about himself.
47:59 Jesus speaking to Nathaniel says, "Truly I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending
48:08 and descending on the Son of Man." Son of man being a messianic title. Jesus is
48:16 the promised Messiah. And now Jesus is the one who bridges the gap between heaven and earth. There's no need for
48:22 some ladder for us to try to climb. We can't buy a stairway to heaven, but
48:29 rather Jesus is the bridge. He is the ladder. The angels are ascending and
48:34 descending on him. He is the one that will communicate with us. And through him, we have the channel of blessing.
48:42 Through him is the channel of God's grace. So in conclusion, let's remember God
48:50 does extend his grace to us through Jesus. even though we don't deserve it, even
48:56 when we don't expect it, even when we're not aware of it. But God extends his
49:02 grace to us through Jesus by offering us his salvation
49:08 and by giving us what we need to be faithful to him.
49:15 Jacob's ladder is closed, at least in Perth, but the way to heaven, the way to
49:22 God is wide open. No, you can't climb up there. You can't
49:27 buy it, but God has made this way possible for us. And when we see God's amazing grace,
49:38 our response is that first of all, we just marvel in that grace, standing
49:44 amazed in his presence, and then we respond like Jacob did,
49:52 letting God truly be our God as we place our faith in him.
49:58 Let's pray together. Almighty God, we are amazed at your
50:03 great grace and love, grace, unmmerited favor,
50:11 undeserved love, mercy that we cannot earn.
50:17 But yet you show that to each one of us. Father, you know the hearts of everyone that is here this morning. You know the
50:24 difficulties that some people are facing. You know the loneliness. You know the
50:30 guilt. You know the fear that some might be experiencing. You see the doubts that some people have. But as we've been
50:37 reminded through your word today, you are here. You are with us even when we're not aware of it. So, Father God, I
50:45 pray that you would speak to us even unexpectedly. That you would speak to us this morning. Show us how much you love
50:52 us. Show us that yes, we can be a recipient of your promise of salvation.
50:60 that we can trust you to supply all that we need to be faithful to you in service
51:05 to you. And if somebody is here this morning who has never responded in faith to your salvation, I pray that they
51:11 would come to you in repentance and faith accept Jesus and his sacrificial death on the cross as payment for the
51:17 forgiveness of their sin. And for those of us who have responded in you, in faith to you, I pray that you would help
51:24 us to walk daily following your leadership, marveling in your grace as
51:30 you show us your path, as you fulfill your promise of being with us, of
51:35 guiding us, and of bringing us to the goal that you have for us. In Jesus name
51:41 I pray.
