Jacob

If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena

I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon

So if you have your Bibles, plese turn to Genesis chapter 35

We are continuing a new sermon series called “Genesis” and we will be going through six key accounts in the book of Genesis

Genesis is the first book of the Bible and is the first book of the Pentateuch

(Greek word is - pentateuchos, “five volume [book]”),

These 5 books are often referred to as “the law”

Includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy

The majority of scholars agree that they were written by Moses

Genesis is a narritive, and more than that it is the foundation to which the rest of scripture rests

And up till now we have talked about God creating the world and man

That God himself is good, his intent is good, his will is good, his design is good,

So when he created the world, the world was good

He created man his image and in his likeness

And it was his will that man and woman’s will be aligned with his

So he gave them a command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

We talked about Adam and Eve disobeying God and they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

And when they ate of it they were no longer unashamed but rather now carried shame

And it was at this point that God promised a Savior, one who would crush Satans haead though his heel would be bruised by death

two weeks ago we talked about Noah and how God saved him and his family when God flooded the world

God doesnt learn and he doesnt change

God will punish or or bless according to the current circumstance

So God does change the future of human history by flooding the earth

At the end, God made a covenant to never flood the earth again and gave a rainbow as the sign of it

Last week, we talked about God’s covenant with Abraham

Abraham had to faith and obedience to leave his country

As Abraham left, he was to be a blessing to all who he came around

God would make him a great nation

God would bless Abraham

God would make his name great

Through Abrahams came Jesus

Jesus is the Newer and better covenant

His covenant is not dependant on mans actions, rather on his own work on the cross

Thus, God has always been faithful to keep his covenants

We need to just have faith and obedience to him

And so today we have our fifth story in Genesis and we will be talking about Jacob

When the patriarchs of the faith are named you always hear Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

And as we look at Jacob today, we will find Jacob

Have you ever told a student or young person that they are mature for their age?

Like you were genuinely impressed with how they carried themself

Or how maturely they responded to a situation

At the same time, I am sure you have ran into many who were still immature

They make unwise choices over and over again

You just wonder, are they ever going to learn or grow up

In life, we know that these two kinds of student or young person can grow up and become two vastly different people

Sometimes the most immature becomes the mature adult

And sometimes the mature one goes crazy and acts like they have no sense

And so now I want you take a look at yourself think about how you have grown and matured

Maybe some of the dumb decisions you have made come to mind,

maybe you are filled with joy at how far God has brought you,

But you are able to look back and see how you have matured

This should be the same for our walk as Christians

As you continue in the faith, as you read scripture and pray, as you come to worship on Sunday,

You should be able to look back one day and see how much you have grown as you have walked with Jesus

You should be able to see some of your actions that have changed

Emotions have changed

Intentions have changed

Increase in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control

Jacob is one who we can look at as one who matured and grew in his faith

We know that Isaac was Abrahams promised son from God

And from Isaac, we know that he had two sons (Jacob and Esau)

And in tradition, The oldest son is to be the one to carry on the family name and the majority of the blessing

But before they were born, God had spoken and said that the older shall serve the younger

Rebekah felt the struggle between the two of them in the womb

Genesis 25:23 “And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.””

From Malachi 1:2-5 and Romans 9:10-13 makes it clear that God loved Jacob and hated Esau

And so knowing what God had said Rebekah favors Jacob (Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He Cheats, deciever)

Isaac with tradition, and the love of Esau’s game, favors the older Esau

What we mentioned last week briefly is that Abraham and Sarah at one point took matters into their own hand

Instead of trusting God that Sarah would concieve,

Sarah gave Abraham her servant so that she would concieve in her place

What we find with Jacob - is that Jacob and his mother Rebekah take matters into their own hands and do not wait on God to bring about His word

First, Jacob takes advantage of a situation where he recieves the firstborn birthright

In this event, both Jacob and Esau are at fault but it is clear that Jacob had ill intent in his heart to get what he wants

Second, Both Rebekah and Jacob decieve Isaac to take away the blessing from Esau

It is in this account that Jacob lied and wrongfully recieved the blessing

And it is at this point that Esau threatens to kill Jacob so he is forced away to live with Rebekahs brother Laban

Over the course of many years and struggles, dreams, wrestling with God -

It is aparent that Jacob matures

Jacob himself is decieved as he worked to marry Rachel but was given Leah - He worked additional for Rachel

Jacob humbles himself in reconciliation with Esau

Jacob doesn’t take vengance after one of his daughters is defiled

And so we get to todays text -

If you are able, I ask that you please stand and follow along as I read God’s Word - Genesis 35

Genesis 35 (ESV)

God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.

God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Israel heard of it.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant: Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

This is the word of the Lord, you may now be seated

Worship

Last week we read that a land would be given to Abrahams offspring and here we are seeing this come true through Jacob

Jacob is now to go to the land and settle it

And Jacob is to be obedient in making an alter to the Lord there

And it is here that we see Jacob maturing once again

Jacob is not just concerned with being obedient to God -

But he is also concerned in the manner of which this obedience is taking place

before they are to go to this place to build an alter to call out to God and to worship him

Jacob wants the whole camp to worship God and knows that their hearts must be right

He doesnt want them to worship flippantly but with purpose

He wants their hearts to be first and foremost for God

“Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves

Up to this point, it seems that Jacob has tolerated the worshipping of other Gods

And now he is taking a stand and is saying to get rid of them and to purify yourself

Everyone in the camp is to get rid of any idols

Before they leave this place and go to Bethel Jacob wants them to leave purified

To purify is to repent

We talked about repentance when we talked about Noah

You change from your old ways and into new ways

You make a complete 180 degree change

It is a drastic change to say I have been living the wrong way and I vow to live the right way

This repentance is a heart change that comes from God

And Jacob is telling all in his camp that the one true God who has always been with him

Who has always blessed him

He and he alone is the one true God

And as long as you are in this camp, you are to serve this one true God

Repent and make God number one in your life

And this is my hope and prayer for us

That as we come to worship - that as we gather to worship the Holy and Righteouss God

That we come with hearts prepared for worship

We need to make sure that we are not coming to worship flippantly

And sometimes that means just saying a prayer of forgiveness or repentance

God this past week I failed here, and I sinned when I did this, and this thought displeased you

Lord forgive me and help me to change

Or maybe its God, I did not put you first in my life this week

I made my job a priority, I made my agenda the priority, I did not devote to you what you rightfully deserve -

to be number one in my heart

And hey - I acknowledge to you that this can happen during worship

During worship you can pray and ask for repentance and be convicted

But I submit to you that it is better to do this before worship

Warren Wiersbe - Worship is the believers response of all that they are - mind, emotions, will, body - to what God is and says and does

And if we are to come to worship to give God our all - to give God all of my mind, emotions, will, body

to declare the praises of who God is, what he has done, what he will do

We have to first prepare my heart to take away self

To take away any part of me that would focus on self so I can solely focus on him

There is clear preparation that should be done before coming to God in worship

And so what if Saturday night or early Sunday morning - you pray and confess and prepare your heart to come to worship here on Sunday

So that when you do come - you can give God all the glory and honor that he deserves

Jacob tells his camp to put away all idols and repent before coming to the alter but also

When they come to worship - change your dirty clothes into clean clothes

Obviously our church isn’t demanding that you have dress a certain way to come to worship

But there should be a clear difference or distinction that you are prepared to worship

This difference and distinction is different for people - but the root of this comes from the heart

The posture of your heart is what matters and this posture should spill over into various aspects of your life

Families - How are you preparing your hearts for worship?

Are you going to bed at a good time with the kids?

We know the mornings are hectic enough so how can you help alieviate some of the morning stress?

What are you listening to on your way to worhip?

Do your kids have Bibles and are you encouraging them to bring their Bibles?

The posture for worship needs to be taught at an early age and it should be one that stems from a pure heart

And here’s the important thing - our heart for worship needs to continuously grow and mature

And if you are seeking God and preparing your heart for worship - God will give you a conscience of how to go about it

Trials

Last week we talked about Abraham being obedient and now we see Jacob being obedient

Jacob goes and as he and his entire camp travels, they are protected by God

God brings a terror to the surrounding cities where they not dare to attack their camp

And then God changes Jacobs name to Israel

Jacob the deciever is now being changed to Israel which means “with God” or “of God”

And some will say that this is the point that Jacob’s heart was converted to God

I don’t want to get boggled down in that discussion but what is clear is that Jacob was ready

Jacob was ready for God to bless him and use him to continue the promise he gave to Abraham

And so through Jacob will come many nations and through his line will Kings come

And we know that is through this line that the Eternal King Jesus will be born

It is through this line that the promise of Jesus will be fulfilled

And what is interesting about this is that this line that leads to Jesus endured many, many trials

We find that Jacob here, even after being obedient to God, encounters some trials

First, his wife Rachel died - And many of you who have experienced this knows of the pain and emptiness it brings

And she just didnt die of old age but she died giving life

If I am being honest this is one of my greatest fears in life that this would happen to me

I don’t know why I even think about this stuff, I know I’m weird but nonetheless

This tragedy happened to Jacob

For some context, in previous chapters, Rachel had not given birth so she gave Jacob her servant Bilhal to marry and concieve so that they could have kids

And now Rachel has passed away and Ruben, Jacobs first born son, he sleeps with Bilhal

And if that is not enough, we read on that Jacob’s father, Isaac, passes away.

And so we have 3 events that happened to Jacob that were not good

So in order, Jacobs wife that he loved died, incest happened with his son and Bilhal, and his father just passed away

In the same chapter of obedience, in the same chapter of blessing, there is hurt and suffering

This hurt and suffering are also a part of maturing

How will you respond to hurt and suffering in your life even when you have been obedient to God?

Even when you have had a pure heart for worship every Sunday for thirteen years, how will you respond when suffering strikes?

Our Sr. Pastor John Wethington and his wife Halcie, I know it is because of God and because of his strength that they are able to be mature and rely on him in this time.

If you do not know that Halcie has a form of brain cancer that was diagnosed in December of 2021

And yet, Pastor John is committed to his family and is also committed to God

And every Tuesday Pastor John leads our team and pours into us

And every Tuesday Halcie is working in the church tidying up the sanctuary, following up with visitors, and doing other things for the church

In the midst of having brain cancer the Wethingtons have joy and peace

The Wethingtons are obedient

The Wethingtons are raising their kids up in Christ and are showing others how to live in the midst of crisis

There are moments of fear and weakness but they do not allow that to dominate their time and mindset because they have Jesus

They are so open and transparent with this whole process that they will tell you that in it they are constantly growing and maturing in their relationship with Jesus

This is what it means to have a relationship with Jesus - That for better or for worse you know that Jesus has you

He will never falter or give up on you

Relationships grow and they get stronger but it takes work

I exhort you people of God to grow and get stronger in your relationship with Jesus

Do what it takes to grow and mature in your faith

God does deserve worship, God does bless you, and God is with you in all circumstances

It is natural for us to want to do things on our own

It is natural for us to want to do things our way

And when we leave God out and we will fail and we mess up

God is there to pick us back up, to teach us, and to mature us

Our God pursues you because he loves you

Our God picks you up becasue he loves you

And because he loves you - he calls you into life,

he calls you into a life that is more beautiful with him,

And he calls you to grow in him

Our text says, “And as her soul was departing (for she was dying),”

Each of us has a soul that is seperate from our body

That when our physical body dies, our soul will be separated from it and will live on

When we talk about growing and maturing in Christ, we are talking about growing and maturing in your soul

In your spiritual life

And because your soul, because your spiritual life is tied to the body, your growth in it will spill over into the body

Mark 12:28-30 “And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”

God loves you, and he calls you to love him back - with all of your heart - with all of your soul - with all of your mind - and with all of your strength

Here at New Day Church Pasadena, we are striving as a body of believers to start our day with God, to never miss worship, and to share Jesus every week

We are far from perfect in it, but we are maturing every time we do it

We would like to invite you to join us in our strivings

And if you are here today and you do not have a relationship with Jesus, it can start today.....

(Salvation Message)

Announcements

Not too late to sign up for Community Group and Connect Class - Please fill out Sign Up Sheet out in the foyer and Pastor John will follow up with you

Resolved Student Choir will come join us and sing on March 12th

We will also have a block party on March 12th @ 4pm - There will be games, snacks, prizes, and more

New Day Womens Retreat - Women from all three locations will join together March 31st - April 2nd @ Camp Tejas

(Registration is full) Doing their best to open more spots but as of now, you’d be sleeping on the floor

Canvas the Neighborhood - Creating flyers to invite others to church (Focusing on Deepwater and Dallas (between Burke and Strawberry)

New Day Reading Plan - Mon-Fri - Mark 8- Mark 12.

Please stand and recieve the benediction before we leave -

Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Thank you, you are now dismissed