God's Big Picture: Genesis 35-36

God gives common grace to all and special grace to some.

Jacob is evidence that some of humanity receives special grace

Esau is evidence that all humanity receives common grace

How can I be sure that I have received special grace?

What should my response be to receiving special grace?

Many of you have heard the dreaded flaming turkey story. If you haven’t here it is real quick. ***Share the flaming turkey story*** My Punishment from that event was that I couldn’t have any friends over for a while and I wasn’t allowed to be at home by myself for a while either. Think, being 16 and not being allowed to be at home by yourself tragic I know. My dad was the one who was the most furious about the event. I would get random lectures on the danger of playing with fire, it was the worst. But there was one moment that I’ll never forget. One Saturday, only a week after the turkey event, my dad said to get in the truck because we were going to the store. I sighed, rolled my eyes, and said fine. I thought it was stupid that I wasn’t allowed to be at home by myself but I had to go. After being in the car for about 30 minutes I starred to get confused, I thought we were going to the grocery store down the road, so I asked my dad where we were going and he told me to just wait and see. I began to think that he was taking me to a fire station to learn some more about fire safety, but I was wrong. All of a sudden we pull up to guitar center at the mall. I look at him confused and he tells me to get out because we’re getting a new guitar for my Christmas gift. Did I deserve to be given a new guitar after the turkey event? No, I didn’t deserve anything for Christmas after that. But my dad gave me grace.

That word grace, it fills this text in different ways and we’ll see how tonight.

Jacob is evidence that some of humanity receives special grace.

God had chosen Jacob before he was born.

Gen. 25:23 and Mal. 1:2-3 tells us that God chose Jacob and not Esau to carry on the promise of redemption.

This grace given to Jacob is special. He is receiving a promise form God that he will have innumerous descendants, unbelievable land, and will bless all the earth. God is making a people for himself and he is choosing Jacob to accomplish this.

This is continued throughout Scripture.

God chose Israel to be his people.

God chose Gideon to be a judge

God chose David to be a king.

God Jeremiah to be a prophet

God chose Peter to lead the Church

God chose Paul to take the gospel to the Gentiles

God chooses people to make a people.

God continued to choose Jacob despite all his wrongdoing

We’ve seen time after time of Jacob dropping the ball when it comes to following God, but God still chooses Jacob.

God is giving Jacob a special grace of forgiveness of sins, not because Jacob has earned that forgiveness but because God is gracious.

God chose a crooked stick to make a straight line to Jesus

Jacob was as crooked as they came, even his name speaks to that, but God used him and many like him to point to Jesus.

As Christians, God has chosen us to point to Jesus.

Esau is evidence that all of humanity receives common grace.

God gave Esau life even though he didn’t have to

God promised death for rebellion in Genesis 2, but in his grace has allowed people to live a life on this earth he has made

We all have life and breath only because God is constantly giving that to us.

God gave Esau descendants even though he didn’t have to

Esau was given many descendants, even a nation, only because of God’s grace.

God made Esau’s descendants powerful even though he didn’t have to

Esau’s descendants are kings and chiefs because of God’s grace.

Jacob was promised that his descendants would be kings, but God gave that to Esau as well because of his grace.

How can I be sure that I have received special grace?

Faith in Jesus is evidence of receiving special grace

Ephesians 2:1-9 makes this abundantly clear, that our faith in Jesus is only because of God’s grace.

Conviction of sin leading to repentance is evidence of receiving special grace

Acts 11:18 tells us that because of God’s grace the gentiles felt conviction of their sin and repented of their sin unto faith in Jesus Christ

Baptism is evidence of receiving special grace

Romans 6:4-5 tells us that our baptism is our identifying ourselves with Christ’s death and resurrection. We are baptized because we have faith, we can be sure of our receiving special grace because our Baptism is a bookmark on that receiving faith.

What should my response be to receiving special grace?

We should go and share this grace with others through evangelism

Acts 1:8 gives us the call to go and proclaim the gospel because being a witness of the grace of Jesus should lead us to going and telling about the grace of Jesus. That’s what the whole book of Acts is about!

We should go and share this grace with others through service

James 1:22, 27 shows us that being people who have received grace from God we should be eagerly serving others in light of that. We should be doers of the Word, we should be giving grace to others as well.

We should worship God for giving us this grace

When we recognize the grace that has been given to us we should gladly worship him.

Romans 11:33-36 is when Paul worship God after writing about his grace for 11 chapters.

Jude 24-25 is when Jude worships God after pointing others to a right understanding of God’s grace