Grace is a gift, don’t grasp.

INTRODUCTION

When I was a teenager… *tell the story of loving the Chinese Buffet. — focus on the all you can eat aspect of a buffet.

Contrast the buffet with a vending machine that’s broken, won’t accept bills, and only has Red Vines left in it. Not very appealing.

And yet, what we see from humanity in Genesis and in us today is… *describe the grasping nature of humanity from a vending machine while totally ignoring the free buffet next door.

A silly illustration, but it helps to paint a picture of humanity. God’s intent/plan is to give grace freely. But humanity’s plan is to grasp for all the grace they can grab. Humanity settles for grace they can grab while God’s desire is to shower his people with his blessings in his time.

Let’s begin by looking at the passage of Scripture that was read just a moment ago.

GOD’S PLAN TO GIVE GRACE

God gives grace materially (28:13)

Genesis 28:13 KJV 1900

13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

No good gift gets to Jacob or his father or his father’s father apart from God’s grace.

In it’s specificity, Genesis is referring to the material blessing of Jacob (we’ll see an example of that later in our passage tonight). But, God’s material graces abound to both believers and unbelievers every day. We refer to this as God’s common grace.

Consider, for example, the common grace of God as seen in Genesis 39:5 where God is said to have “blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake.” At Lystra, Paul declares that God “did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). Jesus himself said that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). The Father is described as being “kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35; see also Luke 16:25).

Our breath, the sunrise and sunset, the birth of a child, the taste of food… all of those are examples of God’s gracious gifts to humanity.

Stop for a moment and give God praise for his gifts of grace. Take a moment to recognize God’s gracious gifts in your life. Write them down. Pray through them later. Offer a moment of thankful worship to God.

Godly parents, a roof over your heads, a job to go to every day, siblings, food to eat, beautiful sunshine, etc. Mankind is extremely blessed by God’s gracious gifts. Christians ought to be those who recognize God’s grace in their lives and joyfully worship God for his grace.

God gives grace spiritually (28:14)

Genesis 28:14 KJV 1900

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

One of the central themes of the Bible is God dwelling with his people, not people trying to make it to God.

*illustrate this truth with Yoshi

God dwells with his people in Eden, through the cloud in the desert, through the tabernacle, through the temple, through Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, and ultimately through the eternal kingdom of God.

The greatest experience humanity has had concerning God’s grace is through Jesus Christ. God came down to dwell with his people. But not just to dwell with his people… but to die for his people.

Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf is the epitome of God’s grace. He didn’t have to, but he did.

I wonder, have you experienced that grace? Do you recognize it as grace? or do you think it’s a byproduct of your family, or that it’s a right of attending church, or it’s an American “grace.” Have you truly experienced the grace of God?

What is grace anyway? We’re talking about it… but what is it??

Grace is the unmerited (we didn’t earn it), undeserved (we didn’t deserve it) favor and love of God shown to humanity, primarily through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

A tendency of children/teens who grow up in church and are extremely familiar with biblical language and ideas is to develop an attitude of entitlement. Hear me, this is the exact opposite of grace. You don’t deserve grace. You can’t earn grace. There is nothing that you can do in and of yourself that would make you worthy of God’s grace.

And one of the themes that we’ve seen in Genesis so far is that humanity experiences grace apart from themselves and all because of God. It is God’s choice to bestow grace upon humanity.

Christians lay claim to their salvation not by pointing to anything in themselves but by pointing to everything in the Lord.

God gives grace eternally (28:15)

Genesis 28:15 KJV 1900

15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Notice those words… until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. In essence, God is saying that he will not leave Jacob.

God is looking beyond Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, the disciples, Paul, and the churches in the New Testament to see a kingdom that never fades away reserved in heaven for his people.

God will never leave his people. God’s blessings eternally rest on his people.

God’s common graces will run out for humanity. One of those is the staying of judgment. Right now, unbelievers do not experience the full justice, wrath, and judgment of God. But one day they will. And this is why we preach the good news of the Gospel. God’s common grace runs out, but God’s special grace extends for all eternity.

This is exactly what we saw on Sunday in Revelation 5. The future for believers is securely placed under the banner of God’s eternal grace. And all of this is predicated on the fact that God must come down and bestow grace upon us, because we cannot go to him and grasp grace for ourselves.

*contrast the Tower of Babel with the ladder at Bethel.

The rest of our passage tonight contains several examples of…

MAN’S PLAN TO GRAB GRACE

Again, we’re not going to cover every single verse or every important theme in these verses…

Up until the verses we just read, Jacob and the Lord don’t really seem to have any kind of relationship. The Lord has talked about Jacob, but never to him. And here’s Jacob’s response to the Lord speaking to him.

Jacob — Grace is conditional.

Genesis 28:20–22 KJV 1900

20 And Jacob vowed 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 raiment to put on, 21 So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: 22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

God’s unconditional covenant is conditional in the eyes of Jacob. Jacob is holding God to his promises while simultaneously being non-committal.

*girlfriend who receives all these gifts from her boyfriend but is still not wanting a label.

Jacob desires the blessings of God while experiencing freedom from God.

It seems as though Jacob chooses to receive God’s blessings when in actuality, it’s God’s choice to bestow blessings to Jacob.

Jacob is not convinced that God is going to bless him. He’s not convinced that God is going to keep his word. He makes his confidence in the Lord conditional.

Hear me again and again and again… God’s grace is never dependent on humanity. If it was then it would cease to be grace.

Grace is not to be found in conditions, or the fine print of a legal document. Grace is to be found in God — in Christ. And that’s the theme of man’s plan. Man grabs for grace in all of the wrong places. Man “experiences” grace from all of the wrong sources… sometimes even good sources. It’s just not the ultimate source.

Jehovah was already the God of Jacob whether he realized it yet or not.

The next illustration of man’s plan to grab grace is Laban. Laban gives us two illustration of one specific truth — Man grabs for grace (favor, love, and significance) in treasures.

Laban — Grace is found in my treasures.

*tell the story of Genesis 29:1-30 + Genesis 30:25-43.

Laban saw Jacob as the source of prosperity and blessing. We saw this earlier on with Laban. He tried to get every penny out of Abraham’s servant who was sent to find a wife for Isaac. Laban’s life is characterized by greed — the pursuit of favor, love, and significance through treasures.

Laban grabs for grace in the wrong place and even in the wrong person.

Jacob even highlights that in Genesis 30:30

Genesis 30:30 KJV 1900

30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?

Jacob seems to have turned a corner and realized that blessing comes from the Lord… not shady business dealings. Laban seemed to think blessing came from Jacob.

If you and I grasp/blessing for grace apart from God we will never experience the blessings that directly come from God.

If you think that you will be loved more, favored more, and more significant because of your possessions, your money, your job, your position, fill in the blank… then you’ve got the wrong idea of God’s grace. Grace isn’t to be found in money, in sheep, in treasures. Grace is to be found in God alone. It’s something that he gives and we receive.

But notice next…

Leah/Rachel — Grace is found in my children.

Genesis 29:31–30:1 KJV 1900

31 And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. 33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. 34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. 35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the Lord: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing. 1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

And throughout the preceeding chapters, Rachel and Leah go back and forth (even including handmaids) in an attempt to gain favor with their husband.

Society told women that their worth and value was directly associated with their womb. And so to be barren was to be cursed (not blessed). And so to bear children was a sign of God’s blessing or God’s favor.

There was bickering and fighting in order to become the most favored of God and therefore the most “attractive” to Jacob.

They thought they received grace through their children. And they thought they received grace from Jacob. They looked to Jacob to give what he didn’t have.

Society and culture are going to tell you many things throughout your life. You’re going to feel the pressures. You probably feel them right now. Society says to be successful (to experience blessing) you’ve got to have a good job, a nice house, a couple of children, and leisure time to spend on your boat. Society tells you to pursue the American dream and you will feel blessed. Society tells you all these things.

But what happens when you don’t experience those things? What happens if you never get married? What happens if you never have kids? What happens if you live pay check to pay check? What happens if you never own a home, buy a boat, attend a nice college, work your dream job, or whatever? What happens then?

Did you miss out on God’s grace? Did you not experience the blessing of God?

Here’s the problem with Laban, Jacob, Leah, and Rachel… they diminished God’s grace to something they could achieve. God’s unmerited and undeserved love and favor is something that makes the “perfect American life” feel cheep and meaningless. Don’t settle! Don’t let your feelings and emotions depend on the “graces” of our culture.

Here’s the encouraging point of our passage and the story of Genesis and the broader story of the Bible… God’s plan to bestow grace can never be thwarted.

*illustration of me planning Amanda and I’s engagement…

Three of these kids will become particularly crucial: Joseph, Judah, and Dinah. These children of women at odds with one another will be woven into Israel’s story of redemption, a story that ultimately offers hope to the world.

CONCLUSION

And that’s the point of grace. God plans to bestow grace to broken, mixed-up sinners like you and me, like Laban, Jacob, Leah, and Rachel.

We see even further into our passage that Rachel even steals from her dad as Jacob is leaving Laban’s household.

But for those who are recipients of God’s grace… Genesis 31:5

Genesis 31:5 KJV 1900

…the God of my father hath been with me.

God’s grace is accompanied by God’s presence.