Lets Go To Bethel

The House of God.

LET’S GO TO BETHEL

“Back to God. Back to Your First Love. Back to the Place of Worship.”

Main Text: Genesis 35:1–7 “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.”

Genesis 28:20–22 “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, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 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.””

Genesis 32:24–27 “And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.””

Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!””

Jacob put his family in a dangerous situation because of his disobedience. Let’s pause there for a moment and ask ourselves: What have we done that may have put the people we love in a difficult or dangerous situation because of our disodisobedience, seen or unseen.

From last chapter we saw that Jacob's daughter was defiled and embarrassed. And we saw that Jacob's response to the situation led to his son's, to destroy a city, create generational trauma, creating widows and fatherless homes. Jacob was a liar Jacob was a deceiver Jacob was a manipulator. Jacob was a fraud Jacob was a bad father..

Going back to bethel proved to be a turning point in his life.

what he was before do can't move to the new season ahead of him.

INTRODUCTION — GOD IS CALLING YOU BACK

There are moments in life when God calls us to go back. Not back to our past. Not back to our mistakes. Not back to who we used to be. But back to God. God told Jacob: “Arise, go up to Bethel.” Bethel was a place Jacob had encountered God before. It was a place of revelation. It was a place of worship. It was a place where Jacob had experienced the presence of God. And now God was calling him back. Sometimes God will call us back to the place where we first encountered Him. Back to prayer. Back to His Word. Back to worship. Back to surrender. Back to obedience. Back to our first love. Revelation 2:4 (ESV) “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” God is saying: “Come back to Me.” 1. ARISE — GOD IS CALLING YOU TO MOVE Genesis 35:1: “Arise, go up to Bethel…” God didn't tell Jacob to sit there. He said arise. There comes a time when you have to get up. Get up from discouragement. Get up from disappointment. Get up from sin. Get up from complacency. Get up from spiritual laziness. Get up from the place where you have been stuck. You may have fallen, but you don't have to stay down. You may have gotten lost, but God still knows where you are. You may have walked away, but God is calling you home.

Don't ever think your too far from God. The command is simple: ARISE. 2. BEFORE BETHEL — GET RID OF THE IDOLS Genesis 35:2: “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.” Jacob understood something important: You cannot go forward with God while continuing to hold on to everything that competes with God. Before they went to Bethel, Jacob told his household: Get rid of the foreign gods. They gave Jacob their idols and their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the tree near Shechem. Why? Because there are some things you cannot carry into your next season.

Non TSA items, we cant bring with us.

You're pride

Lustful heart

wondering eye.

Your unforgiving

You're ego

3. AN IDOL ISN'T JUST A STATUE We often think of an idol as a statue sitting on a shelf. But an idol can be anything that receives the place, trust, devotion, attention, or importance that belongs to God. Some modern idols can be: Money and possessions When having more becomes the measure of your worth. Career and achievement When your job, accomplishments, or status become your identity. Relationships When a spouse, children, boyfriend, girlfriend, or friendships become more important than God. Popularity and approval When likes, followers, praise, or acceptance determine your value. Appearance When beauty, fitness, clothing, or people's opinions consume your attention. Entertainment When television, gaming, sports, music, or hobbies dominate your time and attention. Sex and romance When sexual fulfillment or romantic love becomes the ultimate source of happiness. Comfort When avoiding inconvenience, suffering, sacrifice, or anything uncomfortable becomes your highest priority. Control When you trust your ability to manage everything instead of surrendering everything to God. Self When your feelings, desires, ambitions, and independence become the highest authority. Politics and ideology When you look to a political movement, leader, or ideology for the hope and security that ultimately belong to God. Technology and social media When you constantly need stimulation, connection, attention, or validation from your devices. Success and recognition When you need to be admired, respected, or considered important. Security When your savings, possessions, career, or earthly resources become what you ultimately trust. And here's something important: Even good things can become idols. Family can become an idol. Ministry can become an idol. Church can become an idol. Health can become an idol. Serving others can become an idol. A good gift becomes an idol when the gift becomes more important than the Giver. God isn't asking you to hate the blessings He gave you. He's asking: “Do you love the blessing more than you love Me?” 4. PURIFY YOURSELF — COME BACK TO GOD Jacob said: “Purify yourselves and change your garments.” This is a picture of repentance. Repentance means: I'm changing direction. I'm not going to keep walking the same way. I'm not going to keep feeding the same thing. I'm not going to keep carrying what God told me to bury. I'm coming back to God. Somebody needs to hear this: Your failure does not disqualify you from coming back. Your mistakes don't make God stop calling your name. Your past doesn't cancel God's purpose. You may have broken things. You may have made wrong decisions. You may have wandered. You may have gotten lost. But God is still saying: “Arise. Come back to Bethel.” 5. REMEMBER YOUR FIRST LOVE Revelation 2:4 says: “You have abandoned the love you had at first.” Think about when you first came to Christ. Remember the joy. Remember the hunger. Remember the awe. Remember how you wanted to pray. Remember how you wanted to read the Word. Remember how grateful you were. Remember how excited you were to worship. Remember how you couldn't wait to tell somebody about Jesus. Sometimes we don't lose our religion. We lose our relationship. We keep going to church. We keep singing songs. We keep saying the right things. But somewhere along the way, our heart became distant. God is calling us back. 6. REMEMBER, REPENT, AND RETURN When Jesus calls us back to our first love, there are three things we must do. REMEMBER Think back to where you started. Remember what God has done. Remember the joy of knowing Him. Remember the love you had for Him. REPENT Change your direction. Turn away from going through the motions. Turn away from the idols. Turn away from whatever has taken God's place. Repentance isn't simply feeling bad. Repentance means turning around and coming home. DO THE FIRST WORKS Return to the habits that built your relationship with God. Pray again. Read your Bible again. Worship again. Serve again. Seek God again. Not because you're trying to earn God's love. But because you've remembered how much you love Him. 7. NEW IDENTITY — SAME COVENANT Jacob was going back to Bethel, but he wasn't the same Jacob who had been there before. God had brought him through things. God had changed him. God had matured him. And yet the covenant remained. That's the good news: 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. You can have a new identity without losing God's covenant. You are not defined by your worst day. You are not defined by your failure. You are not defined by what happened to you. You are not defined by where you wandered. You are defined by who God says you are. God is not saying: “Go back and become who you used to be.” He's saying: “Come back to Me and become who I created you to be.” 8. BURY IT — AND DON'T GO DIGGING IT BACK UP Genesis 35 tells us Jacob buried the foreign gods. There are things God wants you to bury. Bury the bitterness. Bury the old identity. Bury the compromise. Bury the addiction to approval. Bury the need for control. Bury the idol. Bury the old mindset. Bury the things that have been competing with God. And here's the challenge: Don't go back and dig them up. Some things need to stay buried. You don't need to carry yesterday's idols into tomorrow's assignment. CONCLUSION — LET'S GO TO BETHEL God told Jacob: “Arise, go up to Bethel.” And today, God is still calling people back. Back to prayer. Back to worship. Back to holiness. Back to obedience. Back to surrender. Back to His Word. Back to His presence. Back to your first love. Back to Jesus. Maybe you feel broken. Come back. Maybe you've gotten lost. Come back. Maybe you've walked away. Come back. Maybe you've been distracted. Come back. Maybe you've allowed something else to take God's place. Lay it down. Maybe you've been serving God but lost your love for God. Come back. The invitation isn't: “Get yourself together, then come to God.” The invitation is: “Come to God, and let Him put you back together.” FINAL DECLARATION I'm going back to Bethel. I'm going back to the place of prayer. I'm going back to worship. I'm going back to the Word. I'm going back to obedience. I'm going back to surrender. I'm putting away every idol. I'm burying what God told me to bury. I'm leaving the old identity behind. I'm walking in the new identity God has given me. New heart. New mind. New identity. Same covenant. And above everything else: I'm coming back to my first love — Jesus Christ. Because when everything else is stripped away, Jesus is still enough. ALTAR CALL — COME HOME If you've been away from God, come home. If you've been broken, come home. If you've been lost, come home. If you've allowed something to take God's place, lay it down. If you've lost your first love, return to Jesus. Today is not about condemnation. Today is about restoration. Today God is saying: “Arise.” “Come back.” “Let's go to Bethel.” And when we get there, we're going to build the altar again. Not because God moved. But because God is calling us back to where our hearts belong. JESUS IS STILL YOUR FIRST LOVE. Let's go to Bethel