1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,320 Continue in our series in Genesis entitled Legacy of 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:10,040 Blessing, asking basic questions of human flourishing. 3 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,680 What am I, Who am I, and why am I here? 4 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,440 And we've been arguing week after week after week that if 5 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:20,480 you don't have deep and satisfying answers to these 6 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,040 questions, you're going to have trouble. 7 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:28,040 And that the Christian religion does deliver beautiful answers 8 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:33,000 to these questions through Holy Scripture in the testimony of 9 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,360 the church. We have seen in Genesis that the 10 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,400 Lord provides in all of these categories, particularly in the 11 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,680 promises that come to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob promises to 12 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:49,080 make them a place to live in the land of Canaan, to grow their 13 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:52,240 family into a great nations. They have a people to whom they 14 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:57,720 belong and also to give them holy work to be a blessing to 15 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:00,520 the nations. We've also seen through the 16 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,760 stories of the patriarchs and even before that in Genesis, how 17 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:09,080 badly sin disrupts and threatens these promises. 18 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:14,040 So instead of having a home because of sin, there is exile. 19 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,720 Instead of having family, you have even brothers murdering 20 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,280 each other or threatening to murder each other. 21 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,240 And instead of having divine and holy work to bless the nation's, 22 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:32,000 we see catastrophic cursing the spread of evil. 23 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,120 What we need to see as the stories resolve, as God's 24 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:42,000 promises are experienced, is for the patriarchs to experience 25 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:49,040 home, to experience peace with one another, and to promote 26 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,440 blessing when not only within their family but into the 27 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,360 nations around them. Last week we saw a horrible 28 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,560 story as we went all the way down to the depths of despair. 29 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:03,520 Talk a little bit about the context. 30 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:12,360 We go down into this horrible place of sin as Dinah, the 31 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:16,280 daughter of Jacob, is violated and as her brothers destroy the 32 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,840 males of a city to enact their vengeance. 33 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:23,320 And we're wondering what in the world how can? 34 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,880 How can they live here if this is what is going to happen? 35 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,080 How can they be a people under this kind of threat? 36 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,640 Jacob is terrified. He says my numbers are few, and 37 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:38,000 if the Canaanites gather themselves against me and attack 38 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,520 me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household. 39 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:45,600 How can this be? And how will we possibly engage 40 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,480 the nations with blessing instead of genocide? 41 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:54,800 As we enter into chapter 35 and we're desperate for a solution, 42 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,080 the narrative tension is ratcheted up to a high point. 43 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:03,000 We need God to act, and indeed He does. 44 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:12,360 Chapter 35 and we see in chapter 35A Itinerary for a journey. 45 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,480 As the as Jacob's generation is coming to a close, we're going 46 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:20,160 to see him go on a journey with God into the land. 47 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:22,920 He's going to go back to the places that were important to 48 00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:24,560 his father and to his grandfather. 49 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:30,120 He's going to experience high spiritual highs and devastating 50 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:36,800 spiritual lows on this journey. He's going to mark the places as 51 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:40,320 he goes in sequence and we're going to see how that is 52 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:44,040 insightful for us today because we too are on a journey. 53 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:49,120 We too walk with God. We walk with God. 54 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:54,400 So I'll work my way through this chapter and make some comments 55 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:57,920 and summarize and we will then look at some applications for us 56 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,040 today. Like Jacob, our father before 57 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:04,680 us, we walk with God. God said to Jacob, arise, go to 58 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,400 Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God 59 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,240 who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau. 60 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,720 You remember the story. Esau is threatening murder. 61 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,440 Jacob flees for his life. He ends up in Bethel. 62 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,920 God comes to him, gives him a great vision of a stairway to 63 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:26,480 heaven, gives him a an Oracle saying that he is the God of 64 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:29,680 Abraham his grandfather and Isaac his father, and he is 65 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:34,520 going to give the blessings to Jacob as well promises to be 66 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,280 with him wherever he goes. Though Jacob is in great 67 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:40,760 distress and now here he's in distress again and God tells him 68 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:47,400 to go back where it all started. Go back to Bethel, verse 2. 69 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:51,880 So Jacob said to his household. Put Jacob said to his household, 70 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:54,800 and to all who are with him, Put away the foreign gods that are 71 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,120 among you, and purify yourselves, and change your 72 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:00,200 garments. Then let us arise and go to 73 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:04,200 Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the Lord who answers 74 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,680 me in the day of my distress, and has been with me wherever I 75 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,160 have gone. Interesting. 76 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:17,360 Jacob was so silent in the atrocities that came before, and 77 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:21,680 now he's acting in accordance to his faith. 78 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:27,240 An answer to this call and he asks his family to purge the 79 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:31,160 idols from among them, that they're going to go on this 80 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:36,720 journey to Bethel acting like a father and even a priest in this 81 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:39,120 text, verse 4, amazingly, they comply. 82 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:43,160 Verse 4 says so they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that 83 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:45,640 they had and the rings that were in their ears. 84 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,320 Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near 85 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,440 Shechem, this dysfunctional family that just destroyed a 86 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:56,280 city. Jacob buries their idols 87 00:05:56,280 --> 00:06:00,720 underneath a tree and they're going to leave that place. 88 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:05,200 You'll remember he's scared because the Canaanites around 89 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,120 may band together and destroy us. 90 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,080 They're afraid, but God is going to act on their behalf. 91 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:14,680 Let's continue in verse 5. And as they journeyed, A terror 92 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:17,400 from God fell upon the cities that were around them so that 93 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:19,480 they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 94 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,640 Jacob came to loose. That is Bethel, which is in the 95 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,480 land of Canaan, he and all the people that were with him, and 96 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,280 there he built an altar and called the place El Bethel 97 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:33,680 because we're there. God had revealed himself to him 98 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:38,200 when he fled from his brother. He's back to the place where it 99 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,200 all began making good on the vows that he made to God in the 100 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,200 1st place. That God, if you'll be with me, 101 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:49,040 I, you will be my God. Now he's back here building an 102 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:56,360 altar, worshipping the Lord. No, the text then is going to in 103 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:00,880 verse 8 to tell us of a death. In fact, this chapter contains 3 104 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,400 funerals as we see the older generation pass off the scene 105 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,080 and one from Jacob's generation pass off the scene. 106 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:11,720 And in this journey of Jacob's, this pilgrimage of Jacob's, 107 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:15,840 there's the the high highs of renewing the vows at Bethel, but 108 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,640 also the low lows as people die. Verse 8 says in Deborah, 109 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:24,120 Rebecca's nurse died and she was buried under an oak below 110 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:26,240 Bethel. So he called his. 111 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:31,640 So he called it's name alone. Bakuth, Rebecca's nurse took 112 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,000 care of his mother. Deborah's probably the closest 113 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:35,520 thing Jacob has to a grandmother. 114 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:39,840 This is a sad situation and as he buried the idols below a 115 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:44,960 tree, now he's burying his mother's nurse under another 116 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,840 tree. Verse 9 says God appeared to 117 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,720 Jacob again when he came from Padan Aram and blessed him, and 118 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:54,760 God said to him, your name is Jacob. 119 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:57,880 No longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall 120 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:01,480 be called your name. So he called his name Israel. 121 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:05,480 We learned before in a previous text that Jacob's name means 122 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:10,200 grasper or deceiver, and we see his early life, him functioning 123 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,600 in that way, tricking his father, tricking his brother. 124 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:20,320 Then we learn as he grows in exile, as he is oppressed and 125 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,800 learning to depend on the Lord, and then as he wrestles with an 126 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,040 Angel from the Lord all night long, he's given this new name 127 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:28,960 Israel. That means that you have 128 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,200 wrestled with God and have overcome and God's reiterating 129 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:35,840 this change of name and he's going to go on and and continue 130 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:37,880 to expand and explain the blessings. 131 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:41,960 Verse 11 And God said to him, I am El Shaddai, I am God 132 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,360 Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. 133 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,040 Looked at this before. Be fruitful and multiply, as a 134 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,560 refrain in Genesis goes all the way back to the very beginning. 135 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:54,840 Be fruitful and multiply. This is your purpose. 136 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:58,560 A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and 137 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:01,040 king shall come from your own body. 138 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:03,880 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, 139 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:06,400 and I will give the land to your offspring after you. 140 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:11,640 God reiterates and expands upon the blessings. 141 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:15,080 Verse 13. Then God went up from him in the 142 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:18,240 place where he had spoken with him, and Jacob set up a pillar 143 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:22,040 in the place where he has spoken with him, a pillar of stone. 144 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,040 He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 145 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,200 So Jacob called the name of the place where God has spoken with 146 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,240 him. Bethel sets up a pillar. 147 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:36,920 He marks this memory. God came to me again after all 148 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:41,960 these years reiterated the promises, but the journey 149 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,720 continues. The the pilgrimage extends verse 150 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:46,960 16. Then they journeyed from Bethel 151 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,600 when they were still some distance from Efrath. 152 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:56,320 Rachel went into labor and she had a hard labor and when her 153 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,880 labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, do not fear 154 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,640 for you have another son. And as her soul was departing 155 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:07,960 for she was dying. She called his name Ben One, but 156 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:14,200 his father called him Benjamin. These words in Hebrew, Ben honey 157 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:18,840 means son of my sorrow, and Benjamin means son of my right 158 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:22,640 hand. And so you see this commingled 159 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:30,160 devastation, losing the wife of his young love, but being given 160 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:38,600 a son on the same day. So Rachel died and she was 161 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:42,480 buried on the way to Ephrath. That is Bethlehem, and Jacob set 162 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:45,800 up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's 163 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:47,600 tomb, which is there to this day. 164 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,600 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent toward the tower of 165 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:57,800 Adair. Text slows down and gives you 166 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,920 just such sad detail as we go through the labor and the 167 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:12,040 delivery and the ebbing out of life of Rachel, the naming, the 168 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:17,240 setting up of a gravestone. And then he moves on to the next 169 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:22,640 stage of his pilgrimage. Verse 22 Devastating. 170 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:29,760 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben is his first born son, 171 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:34,520 went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel 172 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:38,040 heard of it. What is happening? 173 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:46,080 His son, his first born son, commits incestuous adultery with 174 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:52,480 his wife. He is betrayed, and any parent 175 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,760 who has experienced the devastating consequences of sin 176 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:01,920 in their children can't help but be shaken by the Spurs. 177 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:08,600 This is an act of rebellion, probably an attempt by the first 178 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:12,080 born to claim his status as the heir. 179 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:18,880 It sets up a bunch of stuff that's going to come up in 180 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:20,440 chapters later. We're going to have to move on, 181 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:23,200 though, as the text does with a genealogy. 182 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:25,480 You're wondering, why are there genealogies here? 183 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,480 And this is kind of in common. It's parallel with Abraham's 184 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:31,760 story and Isaac's before now, Jacob, that we kind of come to 185 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,200 the end of their generational time in the spotlight. 186 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:38,960 You get genealogies about what happens with their families as 187 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:42,440 you are the reader focused to look to the next generation. 188 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:49,080 Now the sons of Jacob were 12, the sons of Leva of Leah, Reuben 189 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:55,600 Jacobs, first born Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, the 190 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:59,120 sons of Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin, the sons of Bilhah, 191 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:03,040 Rachel's servant Dan and Naphtali, the sons of Zilpa, 192 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:07,200 Leah's servant Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who 193 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:13,160 were born to him in Padan Aram. Then in verse 27, we learn about 194 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:17,120 yet one more funeral on this journey, this pilgrimage with 195 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:22,160 Jacob, verse 27, And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre or 196 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:25,040 Kiriat Arba. That is Hebron, where Abraham 197 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:27,880 and Isaac has sojourned. He finally came home. 198 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:32,680 Rebecca, his mother, is not here. 199 00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:35,600 She's not mentioned again until chapter 49 where it mentions her 200 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,480 tomb. He's home now. 201 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:41,400 The days of Isaac were 180 years. 202 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:44,120 And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his 203 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:48,560 people, old and full of days, and his sons, Esau and Jacob 204 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,080 buried him. Couple of things to remark about 205 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:53,280 that. One is that Esau and Jacob are 206 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,560 in the text together at the funeral of their dad. 207 00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:58,160 Another picture of the reconciliation, which seemed 208 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:01,640 impossible. But it's also a generational 209 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:06,040 echo because if you'll remember, the sons of Abraham, Isaac and 210 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:09,320 Ishmael were together at their father's tomb when it was time 211 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:13,520 to bury their dad. Reconciliation among bitter 212 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:19,920 rivals. Hard journey, Highs and lows 213 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:24,280 simultaneous. So much like the lives that we 214 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,760 live. We get good news and bad news, 215 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,600 sometimes within hours of each other. 216 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:36,240 We walk with God through this life, and we understand that we 217 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:39,800 have sacred places on our pilgrimage, sacred places 218 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:44,320 perhaps of repentance and renewal and fulfilling of vows 219 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:47,360 and promises. And as our joys are commingled 220 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:49,920 with sorrow, we may even experience betrayal by the 221 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:53,320 people that are closest to us, even our sons and daughters. 222 00:14:55,680 --> 00:15:00,480 We experience birth and we experience death and burial, but 223 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,480 we also experience reconciliation, and we look 224 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,040 toward the future, wondering what God is going to next. 225 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:10,640 Because friends, we walk with God to a place. 226 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,320 And like Bunyan and his masterpiece, Pilgrim's Progress, 227 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:16,880 he's teaching us and the Bible teaches us. 228 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:20,080 So we're walking with God where we're walking with God to the 229 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,200 Celestial City. Aren't we the Celestial City? 230 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:27,560 And the only reason that we can walk with God to the Celestial 231 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:33,640 City is because of the work of Jesus Christ, Son of the living 232 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:38,640 God, who also went on a pilgrimage with very distinct 233 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:44,080 stages, went through sacred places in order to win for us a 234 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:48,720 pathway to heaven. Let's think for a second about 235 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:53,920 our Lord Jesus Christ, son of Jacob. 236 00:15:54,560 --> 00:16:02,280 We can note that our Lord Jesus buries our sin under a tree and 237 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:08,000 gives us clean clothes as we repent and cling to Him. 238 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:12,480 By faith we bury. He buries our idols under the 239 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:16,880 ground under the tree of Calvary, and the Bible says that 240 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,360 we are given righteous robes purchased for us by His blood. 241 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:29,080 Jacob in this text is moving to where God told him to go. 242 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:32,600 He needs to get to Bethel and then he needs to get to Hebron. 243 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:37,840 And our Lord Jesus knew what he was about and where he was 244 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:39,480 going. And the Bible tells us that he 245 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:42,520 set his face to Jerusalem. Even when people are telling 246 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:44,840 him, no, don't go there, they're going to kill you, he stays. 247 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:50,200 He sets his face to Jerusalem. He has a walk to make with God 248 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:53,240 to fulfill his mission in Calgary. 249 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:59,640 Benjamin, little baby Benjamin, whose mother died giving birth. 250 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:05,160 Benjamin named Son of Sorrow and son of the right hand. 251 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:10,160 We can think about Jesus because Jesus is a man of sorrows, isn't 252 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:14,079 he? But he is also the Son at the 253 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:18,079 right hand of God, the Father in heaven, the Son of sorrow and 254 00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:23,839 the Son at the right hand. Jacob is betrayed by Reuben, his 255 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:32,760 first born, who invaded sacred marriage as an act of rebellion. 256 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,640 Our Lord is nothing like that at all, though he is the first 257 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,320 born. He is ever faithful, ever 258 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:44,400 chaste, the perfect groom, the righteous. 259 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:50,440 He is the true first born and the heir of all things. 260 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:56,240 This Jacob's son, the Lord Jesus Christ, will reconcile all 261 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:58,800 things. We see enemies Esau and Jacob 262 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:02,760 together burying their father. The Lord Jesus Christ can 263 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:09,240 reconcile warring disciples, warring family members, and 264 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:12,960 bring Shalom to the most difficult places imaginable. 265 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:20,080 So because because of what God has done for us in Christ, we 266 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,880 friends, Christians can walk this journey with God. 267 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:24,560 But maybe you're not a Christian yet. 268 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:28,160 You will notice in this text that it starts with repentance, 269 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,440 the burial of idols in the cleaning of clothes. 270 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,840 And the text calls us to believe in the name of the Lord Jesus 271 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:36,200 Christ. And you shall be saved. 272 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,520 If you haven't given your heart to the Lord, do it today. 273 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:43,440 Cry out to him. Lord Jesus, I'm a Sinner. 274 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:48,000 I'm tired of running from you come into my heart and life. 275 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,560 Forgive me of my sin. I want what the preachers 276 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:57,480 talking about and then begin this new journey, this Pilgrims 277 00:18:57,480 --> 00:18:59,720 Rd. There's going to be suffering. 278 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,440 There's going to be high times. There's going to be low times. 279 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:07,680 It begins with repentance as we walk with God to the Celestial 280 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,040 City. But what are some other ways 281 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:16,280 that we can apply this text? Friends thinking this through, 282 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:21,760 thinking about journeys and how we mark sacred spaces and create 283 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,160 memories. And I think that's all beautiful 284 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:26,640 and something that I would encourage all of us to do in 285 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:28,600 your journey with God, Mark the miles. 286 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:32,360 Mark the miles. Where did you first find 287 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:36,120 repentance? Was it beside your parents couch 288 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:37,720 in your living room when you were a little kid? 289 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:43,320 Was it in youth group? Was it at summer camp? 290 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:48,040 Was it and the church service is some country church somewhere? 291 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:51,480 Where did you find repentance? That is a sacred place. 292 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:57,360 Mark the mile. We mark our highs and our lows. 293 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,560 In this text, Jacob is setting up pillars, but he's also 294 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:06,560 setting up gravestones. Gravestones are sacred markers 295 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,600 of sacred places, but they represent pain and loss. 296 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:14,720 We set these up to remember, but we also set them up to look 297 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,480 forward to what Christ will do when he raises the dead. 298 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:26,240 We mark miles, our highs and our lows, but this is this is 299 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:28,720 important not only for our own lives, but I think it's 300 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,760 tremendously, tremendously important as we're building 301 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:36,040 legacy into the next generation. And whether you currently have 302 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:38,720 kids or whether your kids are grown up and you have grandkids 303 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:41,320 or maybe you have no children at all, but you have spiritual 304 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:43,720 children and spiritual grandchildren, friends, we mark 305 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:45,680 the miles. But then we revisit these. 306 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:50,800 We revisit these places sometimes literally take your 307 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:52,840 kids or grandkids on a roots tour. 308 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:57,680 Show them those sacred places. Tell them what happened there. 309 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:00,360 They're going to act like you're weird. 310 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:05,320 Possibly they may say things like, when's this wrapping up 311 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,040 and where's my ice cream? You promised. 312 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:10,200 I get it. But friends take heart. 313 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,440 They're listening more than you think they are, and they'll 314 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:17,840 remember things that you said years later, things that you've 315 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:21,280 long forgotten. So take them. 316 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:24,680 Revisit those places. Tell them the story. 317 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:29,680 Show them the mile markers, which is the next thing. 318 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:33,040 Tell the story. You have to kind of go through 319 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:35,760 the process of thinking what these markers are and then 320 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,800 sharing them with one another. Friends, I have news for you. 321 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:44,400 Your story is not your story. It doesn't belong to you. 322 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:50,320 It's God's story, a story of redeeming love coming through 323 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:54,480 the pain and joy of your unique stained glass window, filling a 324 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:58,960 room full of warm light of all different colors. 325 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,680 It doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the glory of the 326 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,120 One who's writing it, and it belongs to the people who need 327 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:07,280 to hear it. Besides this book, the strongest 328 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,200 thing we have is Christian biography and testimony. 329 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:12,720 But when we tell these stories, we don't tell them in a braggy 330 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:16,720 way. Let me tell you how awesome I 331 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:23,280 am. No, Paul teaches us how to tell 332 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,800 these stories. We are to boast in Christ. 333 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,680 You have good glory to his name. So when you tell your story, 334 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:33,040 boast. And what the Lord is doing, how 335 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:36,080 he's writing this story and tell those, the next generation, how 336 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:40,440 they fit in, because you see how they repeat themselves over and 337 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:45,560 over and over again. Now as we're marking the miles 338 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:48,280 and as we're revisiting the past and as we're telling the story, 339 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,680 would be really, really hard to get stuck in the past. 340 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,760 Maybe, you know, people who are stuck in the past, but that's 341 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:58,320 not the point of this, to get stuck in some nostalgia about 342 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:00,760 the good old days. No, the point of looking back is 343 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:04,560 to look forward, look forward, look forward. 344 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:07,240 Jacob looks back to what happened to Beth El. 345 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:09,280 He's going to get there again and he's going to remember it 346 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,200 there. And then he's going to continue 347 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:13,880 on to Hebron. He's not stuck. 348 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,800 We look forward to the Celestial City, recognizing that we are 349 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,360 just passing through as aliens and strangers. 350 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:25,560 And though we may love this place and find a deer, if we 351 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,520 cling too hard, then we don't die well. 352 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:34,600 And we need to look forward to that which the Lord is preparing 353 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,080 for us. The New Testament, the book of 354 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,480 Hebrews, which I believe is a sermon. 355 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:44,240 The preacher goes back to the patriarchs to make this very 356 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:45,320 point. I'm going to read to you from 357 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,000 Hebrews 11. I'm going to read to you from 358 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:49,880 Hebrews 11, beginning in verse 8. 359 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:53,000 Hear the word of the Lord by faith. 360 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:57,520 Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that 361 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:00,880 he was to receive as an inheritance, and he went out not 362 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,040 knowing where he was going by faith. 363 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:06,080 He went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land, 364 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,520 living in tents with Isaac, and Jacob airs with him of the same 365 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:11,440 promise, for he was looking forward. 366 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:16,720 He was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose 367 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:21,360 designer and builder is God. Let's not forget Sarah. 368 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:25,480 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she 369 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:29,640 was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had 370 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,320 promised. Therefore from one man and him 371 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,080 as good as dead were born descendants, as many as the 372 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:39,200 stars of heaven, and as as numerable as and as the 373 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:43,240 innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 374 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:47,000 All these patriarchs and matriarchs died in faith, not 375 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,960 having received the things promised, but having seen them 376 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,840 and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they 377 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:55,480 were strangers and exiles on the earth. 378 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,480 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a 379 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,520 homeland. If they had been thinking of 380 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:05,200 that land from which they had gone out, they would have had 381 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:09,680 the opportunity return. But as it is, friends, friends. 382 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:13,520 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a 383 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:16,920 heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to 384 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:22,640 be called their God, for He has prepared for them and for you 385 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:30,720 and for me, a city. Look forward, look forward. 386 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:35,080 As I conclude, I'm going to share a story with you about how 387 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:41,000 these sacred spaces, sacred places, and the tendency for 388 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,920 things to loop back on themselves has happened to me. 389 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:47,640 I'm just old enough that my life starts to loop back on itself in 390 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:53,120 really interesting ways. So early this fall, we headed up 391 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:56,960 to Goshen, my hometown. I was raised in Sugar Grove 392 00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:59,760 Church in Goshen, IN. My parents are still there. 393 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:03,560 They've been there for 40 years. All through my formation. 394 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:08,120 In those early days, I was at Sugar Grove Church, got baptized 395 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:12,640 in that church. My Grandpa Kennedy's buried in 396 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:18,040 the graveyard right outside the church, can remember his 397 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:22,080 funeral. So we were heading up to Goshen 398 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:27,440 for a very special evening, a Sunday night, because Matt, my 399 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:31,360 brother, my other brother, the brother you don't know, his 400 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:35,280 three children, my 2 nieces and nephew were getting baptized 401 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:38,840 that night. It's Sugar Grove Church. 402 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,600 It's an outdoor service. The evening was beautiful, 403 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,560 service was beautiful. And I'm sitting there in my lawn 404 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:48,240 chair and I'm thinking, huh? Matt and Eric and I, we got 405 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:53,840 baptized all in one night, all together just a few 100 feet 406 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:56,840 back there. Now all these years have gone by 407 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:00,560 and I'm seeing my nieces and my nephews in the same spot almost, 408 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:06,560 and grandpa's buried right over there and what is happening to 409 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:09,680 me? Look at how things kind of fold 410 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:11,680 back on themselves. And then I thought, well that 411 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:13,640 was beautiful, but we know we got to get back to Upland. 412 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:16,520 It's a 2 hour drive and it's getting late, but I couldn't 413 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,600 leave after the service. Friends, you know why? 414 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:23,120 Because all of these folks that raised me in the faith kind of 415 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:24,880 gathered around and formed a line. 416 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:26,720 They wanted to greet me. They wanted to hug me. 417 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:27,920 They wanted to tell me that they love me. 418 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:29,960 They wanted to meet my, my children. 419 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:37,640 So I'm looking at these 70 year olds who were in their 30s when 420 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:42,320 I was in that church and receiving such warm words of, of 421 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:48,400 blessing and encouragement. And I thought to myself, wow, 422 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:51,000 this is what this is what legacy means. 423 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:53,800 When the Bible's talking about the legacy of blessing, that's 424 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:55,880 what it means. And I came home so blessed. 425 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:58,400 And the next day, because we have our staff meetings on 426 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,520 Monday and the next day I just, I'm like, I have to tell my, the 427 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,240 staff, what happened to me. This is something to share with 428 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,400 the staff. And I shared the story that you 429 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:08,160 just heard. And I said to them, guys, look, 430 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:12,360 sometimes this is discouraging. It's hard work. 431 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:14,640 But you know what just happened to me? 432 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:18,280 I just talked to my Sunday school teachers from 30 years 433 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:23,880 ago and they met my kids. And what if that happens to you? 434 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:27,240 What? What if that happens to you? 435 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:32,560 You faithfully serve the Lord and somehow time sort of circles 436 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:37,160 around and you meet that squirrely little Rascal that you 437 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:40,280 had such a hard time with in Sunday school and now look 438 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:47,080 married children. And you can see that the 439 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:50,480 investment that you made, even when it was hard, it's now 440 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:55,120 bearing fruit downstream fruit, and it's multiplying. 441 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,800 We get so few glimpses of that. So much of that is for heaven. 442 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,480 We get so few glimpses of that. The Lord was generous to me. 443 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:05,280 I got 1. And I pray that that happens to 444 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:12,280 you because ministry is hard. Joys and sorrows together. 445 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:13,840 But what we're going to do is we're going to walk with the 446 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:17,080 Lord. We're going to recognize when he 447 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:18,760 fulfills his promises. We're going to get our new 448 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:21,680 names. We're going to bury people. 449 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:23,840 We're going to welcome the new babies. 450 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:29,080 And years from now, maybe millennia from now, we will get 451 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:38,320 to see our reward, which isn't like streets of gold and crystal 452 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:42,280 sea, as cool as that is. It's the people, It's the 453 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:46,560 nations, it's the be fruitful and multiply. 454 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:50,280 Now look at this massive Kingdom of God and y'all had a part in 455 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:56,040 it. May that be our legacy, may that 456 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:57,960 be my legacy, may that be your legacy. 457 00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:01,600 No matter how bad the pain and the dysfunction is in your life, 458 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:05,120 you cannot top what we just read in the Bible, no matter how hard 459 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:06,520 your story is. And it's really hard. 460 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,240 I know it's really hard and I have full compassion for that. 461 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:13,880 But God is greater. God is greater then all of our 462 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:17,200 sin. We sing about it, we cling to 463 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:20,800 him, we believe it as best we can in this, in this side, as 464 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:23,840 the Holy Spirit empowers us. To conclude. 465 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:27,560 Friends, the Christian life is a journey. 466 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:32,400 It's a pilgrimage. We progress along the road of 467 00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:37,080 joy and sorrow, walking with God who fulfills his promises until 468 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,800 we finally arrive at home with him forever. 469 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:47,880 Let us pray, Father, we humble ourselves before your greatness 470 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:52,160 and your mercy and your love. We confess our sins. 471 00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:54,800 We ask for clean clothes. We pray that you would encourage 472 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:58,200 us. We're in despair, and let us 473 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:00,320 have humility when we are rejoicing. 474 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:06,680 Bless us now as we respond to You in song. 475 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:10,400 And I pray that as we enter this week that we'll be on mission to 476 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:13,760 bless the nation's. In Jesus name we pray, and by 477 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:16,320 the Spirit one God forevermore, Amen.