Genesis 35:1-29: You Can Come Home

Introduction

Hudson’s Christmas wish list: Nintendo Switch Lite… Now, a flip phone… Who’s going to call him? Mom and dad… You don’t want to miss a call from your parents.

For some of you today, God is calling you to return to Him… Don’t ignore His call…

We’re all drifters. It’s easy to drift away from the God who loves you. World entices you, and you follow.

You know what God desires from you, but what God desires is often not as appealing to you as your sinful desires.

You’ve drifted far from the Lord. You’re here physically, but your heart has been far from God for some time.

Jacob’s story: He drifted off course. Supposed to be in Bethel but settled in Shechem.

Gen. 34 - His drifting from God cost his family. His daughter abused by a man, and his sons act with vengeance to defend the honor of their sister while Jacob stands by.

Jacob drifts from God, it costs him. Yet, God calls out to Jacob: “Come home.”

Ending Jacob’s story. Jacob story starts with grace and it ends with grace. That’s your story! Your story is a story of God’s amazing grace at work in your life.

If you’ve ever drifted, or if you know that you’re drifting from God right now, this message is for you. God is calling to you to come home, but how do you do it? How do you stop drifting and come back to the God who you know loves you? Three ways to stop the drift and return to the God who loves you.

Realize you have drifted and choose to repent.

Jacob in a place of fear, again. In the past, he feared Esau and Laban. Now he fears for his life in Shechem after what his sons had done.

Gen. 34:30: “You have brought trouble. We’re few in number. We’re going to die.”

Gen. 34 should be the end of Jacob’s story. After an encounter with God (Gen. 32) and miraculous reconciliation with Esau - Jacob drifted to Shechem - a place where God had not called him. Failure to deal with sin - passive and dismissive.

Gen. 34 disastrous story of a failing father. God not even mentioned in Gen. 34. BUT, Gen. 35 - God is all over this chapter. 22 times God’s name is mentioned in some form.

Jacob’s story could have/should have ended in Gen. 34- what happens when a man fails to lead his family - destruction.

BUT, not where the story ends. Jacob’s story ends with a lot of grace, God comes to Jacob again: “Get up! Go to Bethel!”

No condemnation, no guilting Jacob, no telling Jacob what a sorry believer he was. Just, “Get up and go...”

vs. 5 - “When they set out, terror from God came over the cities...” Jacob feared he would die, but God had already promised protection.

Before he heads to Bethel, confession and repentance - not just personal but corporate. Jacob finally acting like a spiritual leader! “Get rid of foreign gods… Purify yourselves...” Never too late to start leading your family...

Rachel had stolen her father’s household idols in Gen. 31. In Gen. 34 his sons plundered the Shechemites and undoubtedly stole their foreign gods.

Jacob to family: “Our hearts cannot be divided. We are returning to the God who has always been with me (Gen. 35:3).

If you’ve drifted in your relationship with God, three questions to ask yourself:

What caused me to drift? Neglect - It’s not that you don’t believe God, it’s that you don’t care. You neglect what’s not valuable to you.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hong-kong-bus-tour-sleep-deprived_n_617186e3e4b093143207f0de Neglect makes you unhealthy… Neglecting God makes your relationship with Him unhealthy.

Why do I keep drifting? Pride - you don’t want to admit you messed up. You don’t want to admit that God was right or that the people who love you were right. You’re stubborn enough to believe that your sinful ways are going to work out for you when they haven’t worked out for you yet.

How do I stop drifting? Repentance - Individual and leading your family to repent. Repent = a change of thinking that leads to a change of action.

Confess specific sins: you know where God is convicting you - the exact sins that keep you drifting - sins of attitude, relational sins, sexual sins, etc.

Change of direction: Not simply confessing but going in a different direction: broken relationship - confess it and try to reconcile. Eph. 4 - Put on the new. What are you neglecting to do in your walk with the Lord that you need to start doing?

Remember what you know to be true.

vs. 6 - Jacob finally in the place where God desired him to be.

vs. 9 - God appeared again. Not only did God appear again, God told Jacob essentially the same thing that he told him in Gen. 28 and Gen. 32.

vs. 10 - “You are Israel.” God already told him (Gen. 32), but Jacob needed to hear it again because he hadn’t lived like Israel. He had lived like Jacob - focusing on himself. He needed the reminder that he was the patriarch of a great nation.

vs. 11 - “I am El-Shaddai” Jacob wasn’t very mighty, but God was. God was mighty to rescue Jacob and protect Jacob. God was mighty to fulfill His plan for Jacob’s life.

A promise in Gen. 3:15 - A lot has happened since Gen. 3:15 - a lot of sinfulness - but God’s plan has not changed. At work in the midst of a lot of rebellion to accomplish His plan.

vs. 11 - “kings among your descendants...” A promise to Abe - now to Jacob (Gen. 17:6). David and ultimately Jesus.

vs. 12 - “I will give you the land...” Grace! God was going to do it in spite of Jacob.

Jacob had heard all this before. BUT… imagine hearing it now. After being an abysmal failure as a follower of God and a father, God says, “You’re not disqualified. I’m still faithful...”

You need to hear what Jacob heard: words of truth and grace spoken over you.

You need to hear who God is. Faithful, gracious, kind, Father, Savior, Almighty - more than able to accomplish His purpose in your life.

You need to hear who you are. Not a failure but a beloved child of God. Your life is not an accident but planned by God. Your life is not defined by what you do or what you’ve done but by the God who has done a work of amazing grace in your life.

The world tells you who you are not: a failure if you can’t realize your own dreams… an autonomous human who answers to no one but yourself - go for it.

God tells you: your existence and purpose is wrapped up in the grace and love of a sovereign God who is at work for your good and His glory.

You need to hear God’s plan for your life: to be a blessing to your family and your world by spreading the glory of God by sharing the Gospel.

Jacob: I’ve heard this before… BUT, he needed to hear it again and again, and so do you.

“Come on pastor, don’t you have anything new for me?” You don’t need new as much as you regularly need what’s true. You need the daily reminders of who God is and who you are - because these daily reminders are grace saturated and motivating.

“But the same thing over and over again is so boring...” Not, it’s life giving.

You don’t get bored when other people affirm you - because it’s relational. Need to stop viewing faith as facts to learn about God and embrace a relationship with God.

This is why we drift - we want new, we want exciting, we want something different than what we know is true. BUT there’s nothing better, more exciting, or more life giving that what God says.

This is WHY you need corporate worship every week - not to learn something new as much as to be reminded of what’s true.

This is WHY you need small group accountability - to help you live what’s is true and not the lies the world is selling to you.

Adopt a new attitude when it comes to hearing God: Not “Tell me what I don’t know” but “Tell me over and over what I need to know.”

“So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1).

Renew your commitment today to live for God’s will.

Jacob set up a stone pillar - named the place Bethel. He’s already done this! BUT… today was a renewed commitment. Today was a renewed commitment in response to God’s grace. He was back where he was supposed to be.

Over the last few months, you’ve heard the story of Jacob - constantly deceiving, constantly running, constantly ignoring God’s will by trying to live for his own will. Now, at the end of his story, Jacob makes a renewed commitment to live for God’s will in response to grace.

You hear and hear but you do not respond.

Will you continue to embrace a life that’s passive and dismissive?

Or, will you be embrace a life that’s intentional?

Grace has come to you again today - you’re hearing the voice of God.

Confessing to God and to us, “I need help...”

Confessing to God and to us, “I’m not letting go...”

Daily walking in God’s help through His church… discipleship and accountability… Putting yourself in a place of growth.

Daily living for God’s mission by seeing the Gospel opportunities that are before you.

Loss of urgency for many of us - God stirring our hearts for His urgent missions.

Jesus never lived a passive or dismissive life. He never drifted from the Father. The promised One who came from the lineage of Jacob was in a lot of ways the exact opposite of Jacob. He never deceived. He never strayed. With focus He went to a cross, died in our place, and rose from the dead to defeat sin and death for us and bring us into a relationship with the Father.

Today, a day to respond to the Gospel - new life in Him as you turn to Him by faith and repentance.

For us, passive and dismissive or intentionality? Will your story end with you embracing God’s grace and living in light of it or rejecting God’s grace?