'God Was In This Place, And I Knew It Not' (Genesis 28:10-22, John 1:43-51)
Rev. Robert F. Ingram, June 26, 2022Part of the Morning Worship at North Greenville Church series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
God works through unlikely and unworthy events and people. Jacob, the deceiver, was transformed by God. He had stolen his brother’s birthright and had to flee from Beersheba to escape retribution from both Isaac and Esau. His uncle Laban was also a deceiver. Sin found Jacob out. In a dream, the Lord revealed to Jacob an unseen spiritual realm. Jacob saw that earth and heaven are connected, and interactions take place. These include interactions with angels, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. By means of these interactions, God is sustaining events on earth. Jacob was not seeking God, yet God was seeking Jacob. Jacob was not expecting grace. According to John 1, Jesus is Jacob’s ladder. (I am that bridge). Jacob, the fugitive from faith, found grace. There are two truths here: God is radically transcendent, and God is radically immanent. God is over and above us and is categorically different from us. God is very near and performs dramatic actions, such as the Flood, the 10 plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. In His immanence, He is with Jesus at the crucifixion and in the reconciliation of family members. He prevents accidents and turns infertility into fertility. He is tender toward us as a nursing mother. Three transformations took place that night at Bethel. (1) A memorial was established as the name of the city was changed from Luz to Bethel, the House of God and an enduring worship center. (2) The rock became a pillar. (3) The deceiver became a patriarch. Jacob would become Israel (he who strives with God). This is an encouragement to use, the God transforms lives that are seen by a watching world. A question for us is, are we apprehending God at this moment? If so, we must come and see! (hear the truth proclaimed). We must gather together where His communion with us is dramatically real. Jesus is the ladder from where we are to heaven. Barren places become fruited plains. All divisions can be healed, because God is here. Jacob worshiped God and yielded to Him. The covenant was renewed that morning, and Jacob responded in paying the full tithe. Shall we come to Heaven’s gate?
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
|---|---|---|
| « The Joy Of Finding Good News | None | Reality Therapy » |
Genesis 28:10–22 (Listen)
10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18 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 the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
(ESV)
John 1:43–51 (Listen)
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
(ESV)