Click here to download the sermon file.
Sermon recap from March 22, 2009:
1. Jacob’s prayer in Genesis 32 is a model prayer is many ways (much like the “Disciple’s Prayer in Matthew 6). He prays on the basis of a relationship with God; he repeats God’s Word to Him, reminding Him of His commands and promises; he confesses his unworthiness; he acknowledges God’s work in his life previously; and he makes his request.
2. Concerning Jacob's encounter with God in Genesis 32, it was said: “To be left alone with God is the only true way of arriving at a just knowledge of ourselves and our ways. …No matter what we may think about ourselves, nor yet what man may think about us, the great question is, what does God think about us? And the answer to this question can only be learned when we are ‘left alone.’ Away from the world, away from self, away from all the thoughts, reasonings, imaginings, and emotions of mere nature, and ‘alone with God,’—thus, and thus alone, can we get a correct judgment about ourselves.” (C.H.M. quoted in Gleanings in Genesis)
Monday, March 23, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Encounters on the Road to Reconciliation, Pt 2
Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of March 15, 2009:
1. As Jacob is about to enter the land of Canaan, he is greeted by angels. He names the place Mahanaim which means “two camps,” referring to his camp and to the angel’s camp. It is a reminder to him of God’s care and presence with him. It was also a reminder to him of the spiritual nature of the battle ahead.
2. Paul reminds believers in the New Testament that the battles they face are not physical alone but are spiritual. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers,…” (Ephesians 6:10-12). Spiritual warfare requires spiritual means (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
3. Angels are mentioned almost 400 times in the Old and New Testaments. They are created beings (Psalm 148:2-5), they do not procreate (Matthew 22:30), they are personal beings (exhibiting intellect, emotion and will), they are spirit beings (Hebrews 1:14, “ministering spirits) thus they do not have a body though they can appear as human, they do not die, and their main ministry is to serve those who are the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14).
Recap of March 15, 2009:
1. As Jacob is about to enter the land of Canaan, he is greeted by angels. He names the place Mahanaim which means “two camps,” referring to his camp and to the angel’s camp. It is a reminder to him of God’s care and presence with him. It was also a reminder to him of the spiritual nature of the battle ahead.
2. Paul reminds believers in the New Testament that the battles they face are not physical alone but are spiritual. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers,…” (Ephesians 6:10-12). Spiritual warfare requires spiritual means (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
3. Angels are mentioned almost 400 times in the Old and New Testaments. They are created beings (Psalm 148:2-5), they do not procreate (Matthew 22:30), they are personal beings (exhibiting intellect, emotion and will), they are spirit beings (Hebrews 1:14, “ministering spirits) thus they do not have a body though they can appear as human, they do not die, and their main ministry is to serve those who are the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14).
Monday, March 09, 2009
Encounters on the Road to Reconciliation
Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of the sermon from March 8, 2009:
1. In Genesis 31 Jacob and Laban set up a boundary marker as a means of protection from each other. Boundaries are helpful in our lives to protect ourselves from ourselves especially in the moral area. We need to think through boundaries for our lives regarding the opposite sex, and regarding what we read, watch, and view on the internet. Boundaries are simply strategies to keep us from falling.
2. As Jacob reaches the edge of the promised land he once again encounters angels as he did when he exited the land 20 years earlier. The angels were representative of God’s protection of Jacob and would remind him that this conflict was not physical only but spiritual as well and required a spiritual response on his part. As Dr. Allen Ross said: “When God’s work is involved, the conflict is spiritual, not physical. This was true for Jacob, it was true for Israel, and it is true today. No human effort can be sufficient for these things. The source of defense and means of victory come from God’s ministering angels.”
Recap of the sermon from March 8, 2009:
1. In Genesis 31 Jacob and Laban set up a boundary marker as a means of protection from each other. Boundaries are helpful in our lives to protect ourselves from ourselves especially in the moral area. We need to think through boundaries for our lives regarding the opposite sex, and regarding what we read, watch, and view on the internet. Boundaries are simply strategies to keep us from falling.
2. As Jacob reaches the edge of the promised land he once again encounters angels as he did when he exited the land 20 years earlier. The angels were representative of God’s protection of Jacob and would remind him that this conflict was not physical only but spiritual as well and required a spiritual response on his part. As Dr. Allen Ross said: “When God’s work is involved, the conflict is spiritual, not physical. This was true for Jacob, it was true for Israel, and it is true today. No human effort can be sufficient for these things. The source of defense and means of victory come from God’s ministering angels.”
Monday, March 02, 2009
Getting Their Goats, Part 3
Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of the sermon from Sunday, March 1, 2009:
1. Jacob’s emotional “default” setting when faced with conflict was to deceive and scheme, trusting in himself. Fear triggered his default setting.
2. Once again we see that we are faced with a choice to live in faith or live in fear. Faith is freeing and allows us to live openly, honestly, transparently and courageously. Fear, on the other hand, is crippling. Because we fear being taken advantage of we scheme, manipulate, and take advantage of others.
3. Jacob explained to Rachel and Leah about the need to leave. He recounted God’s instruction to him, and God’s care for them in the midst of the difficulties cause by Laban’s greed. It is part of a man’s God-given leadership in the home to consult with his wife about issues affecting the family and to explain family issues and decisions from God’s perspective (the perspective of the Word of God). For this reason a man must be well-versed in the Word of God and be ready to share with his family how God has cared for them in the past and how He will lead them in the future.
4. The Mizpah covenant/truce/treaty (Genesis 31:43-55) was a recognition of Jacob’s and Laban’s mutual distrust not of their mutual friendship.
Recap of the sermon from Sunday, March 1, 2009:
1. Jacob’s emotional “default” setting when faced with conflict was to deceive and scheme, trusting in himself. Fear triggered his default setting.
2. Once again we see that we are faced with a choice to live in faith or live in fear. Faith is freeing and allows us to live openly, honestly, transparently and courageously. Fear, on the other hand, is crippling. Because we fear being taken advantage of we scheme, manipulate, and take advantage of others.
3. Jacob explained to Rachel and Leah about the need to leave. He recounted God’s instruction to him, and God’s care for them in the midst of the difficulties cause by Laban’s greed. It is part of a man’s God-given leadership in the home to consult with his wife about issues affecting the family and to explain family issues and decisions from God’s perspective (the perspective of the Word of God). For this reason a man must be well-versed in the Word of God and be ready to share with his family how God has cared for them in the past and how He will lead them in the future.
4. The Mizpah covenant/truce/treaty (Genesis 31:43-55) was a recognition of Jacob’s and Laban’s mutual distrust not of their mutual friendship.
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