Entries in Genesis sermons (6)
SINNER & SAINT: A Sermon Series on Jacob (#6)
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Wrestling with God or Faith on Trial
Leaving Haran and Laban behind him, Jacob probably thought his biggest troubles were behind him. After twenty years of being swindled, cheated and ripped off by his uncle, he was finally free. But now, Jacob faced an even more threatening problem: his brother Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men. His situation seems to go from bad to worse. And now, when he needs comfort more than ever, he finds himself in a wrestling match.
After all the promises he had received from God, it probably seemed very strange to Jacob that he was experiencing these struggles, battles, and hardships. The same is true for us. Often, Christians make the mistake of thinking that once they come to faith in Christ, the battle is over. What is often misunderstood is that the battle has just begun! The world, the flesh, and the devil are no longer your masters, they are now your sworn enemies. But what is very strange is that throughout our lifelong pilgrimage to the Promised Land, we sometimes find ourselves wrestling not with our enemies, but with God himself.
SINNER & SAINT: A Sermon Series on Jacob (#5)
A Pilgrim's Desperate Prayer
I want to draw your attention to Jacob’s prayer in Genesis chapter 32. This is Jacob’s first recorded prayer in the Book of Genesis. It reveals quite a lot to us, enough for us to meditate upon this morning. Think with me about Jacob’s prayer. It is a pilgrim’s prayer; actually, a pilgrim’s desperate prayer, which is probably a fitting title for this sermon. He prays this prayer in a desperate situation. He is in danger. He’s stuck, as we say, between a rock and a hard place. Laban is behind him, so he cannot retreat and go back. And Esau – the brother he ripped off 20 years earlier – is in front of him, coming to meet him with 400 men. It is in that setting that he calls upon the Lord.
SINNER & SAINT: A Sermon Series on Jacob (#4)
Michael Brown
in Genesis sermons
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"The God of Bethel"
(Gen 30.25-31.55)
Imagine living in a world with no maps, no signs, and no landmarks with names. What would that be like? Most of us would agree that it would be a very difficult place in which to live. In fact, we could probably conclude that it would be sheer chaos. Without maps, signs, and landmarks, there could be no safe travel, no commerce, and no order in society. Every direction would be a new frontier and exploration. We would grope for our destinations. We would constantly live with the frustrating feeling of being lost.
What is it about maps, signs, and landmarks that make them so essential for living? Why are we so dependent upon them? Well, they are essential to our lives because they provide us with necessary orientation and direction. They communicate information that tells us the truth about where particular places are so that we can know our location, where we are going, and how to get there.
In many ways, that is exactly what God’s revelation is: it tells us the truth about where we are in the journey of life. It informs us of where we are going and the only way to get there. God has not made us to live life as drifters, people aimlessly wandering through a pointless series of experiences until we die. There is a goal, a destination to which all of human history is moving. And our individual lives find true orientation and direction only within God’s covenant.
This is why the Lord reminded Jacob of his covenant and promises. In the midst of the craziness and chaos of Jacob’s life, God spoke to him and said, “I am the God of Bethel…
SINNER & SAINT: A Sermon Series on Jacob (#3)
"Rip-offs and Redemption" - Genesis 29-30
Most of us would probably agree that one of the worst things in life is getting ripped off, that unpleasant and frustrating experience of being cheated by someone. Rip-offs come in all shapes and sizes: by an unscrupulous mechanic, a dishonest real estate broker, an unethical employer, or an adulterous spouse. But in whatever manner they come, they always hurt to some degree. You were promised one thing, but you received something else, or perhaps nothing at all. You put your trust in someone, and that trust was violated.
Sadly, rip-offs are a normal part of life. This is why we have lawyers; they make their living by protecting us from getting ripped off, and going after those who do. (And sometimes they rip us off in the process as well!)
Rip-offs are a normal part of life because we live in a fallen world. Ever since Adam broke the Covenant of Works in the garden and sin entered in to the human heart, the world has been a place in which rip-offs are commonplace. Promises are broken. People are cheated. Lives are frustrated.
The question for us today is: what does the Gospel have to say to those who have been, or at least feel like that have been, ripped off? What hope is offered to such a person? That is what Genesis chapters 29 and 30 are dealing with.
SINNER and SAINT: a sermon series on Jacob (#2)
"I Will Give to You" - Genesis 28
What would life be like if there was no special revelation from God? We would have a general idea about God’s eternal power and existence, since that is what nature makes known to us. But we would know nothing about the gospel. Had God not revealed himself specially, beyond what we ordinarily observe everyday in nature, there would be no good news, no message of redemption, no announcement of God’s promises. We would be Christless and hopeless. We would be left to speculate about God.
Thankfully, however, God has revealed himself specially. He has revealed himself in his Word, which records his mighty acts in redemptive history. He has sent his heralds to proclaim his promises. And, most supremely, he has revealed himself in his Son, who is the very “radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” And it is through him that God has spoken to us “in these last days.”