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Continue to work our way through
the stories of our patriarchs, 

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stories in Genesis. 
And as has been my custom, I 

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will continue to mention that we
are asking of the text and we're

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asking of our lives foundational
core questions to our own 

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existence. 
Who am I, what am I, and why am 

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I here? 
These are inescapable. 

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And if you do not come up with 
or are given excellent answers 

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to these questions, it's hard to
live a flourishing life in this 

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world. 
As we see they come through 

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again and again through Genesis 
and they are reiterated and 

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promises, promises given to 
Abraham that he will have a land

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to live in or a special place, 
that he will have a people, an 

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offspring, a nation that will be
then fulfilling a divine 

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purpose, a purpose of blessing. 
He will see receive blessing in 

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order to be a blessing to the 
nations. 

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We also see throughout Genesis 
the devastating effects of sin, 

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for sin disrupts place, people 
and purpose. 

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We see it with Adam and Eve. 
We also see it reiterated in the

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stories of the patriarchs. 
As paradise is lost, they are 

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banished or exiled out of Eden. 
Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain

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and Abel, and the one kills the 
other. 

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And then we see instead of 
blessings, curses enacted in 

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sin. 
These themes again come up in 

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the stories of the patriarchs. 
Most recently, we've been 

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talking about the rivalry 
between Isaac and his wife 

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Rebecca, expressed in the 
rivalry between their twin sons,

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Esau and Jacob. 
And once again we see through 

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sin these purposes, these 
blessings of God threatened or 

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disrupted. 
Last week we came across the 

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second tale of deception where 
Jacob, whose name means deceiver

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in acts a plot concocted by his 
mother Rebecca to deceive his 

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blind and aging father Isaac to 
receive the blessing that Isaac 

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intended. 
For. 

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Esau is a terrible text, with 
breathtaking drama, conspiracy, 

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ratcheting suspense, a near miss
and then passionate despair, 

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murderous rage, and a very sad 
parting. 

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As Jacob flees the house, he 
leaves with a blessing, but 

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nothing else. 
In this text, he is sleeping 

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under the stars, but that is not
a romantic picture of camping 

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without a tent. 
He is friendless, helpless, 

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hopeless. 
What's going to happen? 

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What's going to happen? 
Do any of the promises even 

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matter that this second cane 
flees? 

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He is scared. 
He is worried and vulnerable. 

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He is worried about his own 
personal safety and he needs 

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protection. 
He's worried about his stuff. 

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Apparently it wasn't even enough
time to secure a tent before 

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he's leaving his house. 
And he's concerned about peace 

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as he has been cast out because 
of his fear and the real threat 

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from his older brother. 
And this is where we pick up the

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text as was read to you. 
The Lord comes to Jacob as he 

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has come to his father and his 
grandfather before him with a 

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very special visitation, this 
time in his sleep, in his in his

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dream. 
He has a vision and an Oracle, 

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God's revelation, specific and 
special to him. 

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But then we also see his 
response. 

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So in the first movement we have
this stairway to heaven. 

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Sometimes it's called a ladder. 
And those both are appropriate 

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terms given the Hebrew concept. 
He envisions this staircase with

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angels ascending and descending 
with God himself at the top of 

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it, and this amazing reiteration
of the promises given to Abraham

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and Isaac that you will indeed 
have a land and the nation and 

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that your nation will serve as a
blessing to all the nations of 

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the earth. 
It's an incredible revelation. 

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Continuing on in the text in 
verse 18, we find out after this

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revelation from God, we find out
Jacob's response. 

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How does respond to the 
revelation so early in the 

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morning, verse 18. 
And Jacob took the stone that he

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had put under his head and set 
it up for a pillar, and poured 

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oil on the top of it. 
He called the name of that place

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Bethel, but the name of the city
was loose at the first. 

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Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 
If God will be with me and will 

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keep me in the this way that I 
go, and give me bread to eat and

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clothing to wear, so that I come
again to my father's house in 

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peace, then the Lord shall be my
God. 

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And this stone which I have set 
up for a pillar shall be God's 

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house. 
And of all that you give me, I 

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will give a full 10th to you. 
And so we see in this revelation

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an amazing vision, a place where
heaven, it seems, breaks into 

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the dark, starry night. 
Jacob, is that compelling to you

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or are you too tired of this 
story from too many years in 

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Sunday school? 
What is actually compelling 

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about a. 
A portal to another world? 

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Many of you are fans of the 
Narnia series from CS Lewis. 

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Can you remember being 
captivated for the first time 

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with the idea, the idea that you
could enter into a wardrobe, 

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into a a whole nother world, a 
whole nother universe, a whole 

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nother time and place? 
There's something so compelling 

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about that. 
And here in our text, we have a 

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similar idea of a portal of 
heaven where things are pulled 

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back and you can see something 
happening. 

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God himself at the top of the 
ladder, angelic motion up and 

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down, and the Oracle repeating 
land, nation and blessing. 

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And then Jacob responds with 
quaking knees, doesn't he? 

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The fear of the Lord is in him. 
He comments on how special the 

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place is. 
He takes his pillow and makes it

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a pillar, and he anoints it and 
names it a stone of remembrance.

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But it's also looking forward to
the future, and it's hard to 

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interpret his language here. 
It's full of conditions. 

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If the Lord does this, protects 
me, if he gives me provision, 

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food and clothing, and if I 
return in peace to my father's 

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house, then the Lord will be my 
God. 

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It's hard to interpret. 
It's an oath, but with 

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conditions concerning his 
safety, scarcity, and sanctuary.

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But we also see him desiring to 
give a tithe like Abraham his 

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father, in response to the 
Lord's fulfilled promises, 

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should that happen in his life. 
Interesting, isn't it? 

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I'm going to move now into the 
New Testament and talk about how

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our Savior is in parallel or in 
conversation with this 

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particular story in John's 
gospel. 

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If you'd like to turn there. 
Chapter one, we have a very 

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interesting story and a set of 
stories where Jesus calls out 

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his disciples and they leave 
everything and follow him. 

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John's Gospel beginning in 
chapter 1. 

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I think I want to start in verse
43. 

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Let's start in verse 43. 
The next day Jesus decided to go

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up to Galilee. 
He found Philip and said to him,

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Follow me now. 
Philip was from Beseda, the city

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of Andrew and Peter. 
Philip found Nathaniel and said 

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to him, We have found him of 
whom Moses in the law and also 

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the prophets wrote Jesus of 
Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 

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Nathaniel said to him, Can 
anything good come out of 

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Nazareth? 
Philip said to him, Come and 

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see. 
Jesus saw Nathaniel coming 

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toward him instead of him. 
Behold, an Israelite indeed, in 

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whom there is no deceit. 
I'm going to stop right there. 

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There's a lot going on right 
there. 

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What we think has happened is 
that Jesus hasn't met this guy 

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before and that Nathaniel had 
been underneath a fig tree 

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contemplating this story from 
Genesis 28. 

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The story of this ladder with 
angels ascending and descending,

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Why? 
Well, the first clue is in verse

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47, because Jesus is riffing on 
the name of Jacob. 

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If you remember the word Jacob 
means deceiver. 

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And if you've read ahead in your
Bibles, you find out that he 

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gets a name change later on. 
He is called Israel. 

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So think about this. 
Nathaniel's under a fig tree. 

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He's thinking about Jacob and 
Jacob's ladder, and he comes up 

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and this guy's never met him 
before. 

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Is saying, look, an Israel, not 
a Jacob. 

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Nathaniel's like, whoa, you read
my mail, you know my mind. 

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What's going on? 
Nathaniel said to him, How do 

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you know me? 
Jesus answered him before Philip

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called you. 
When you were under the fig 

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tree, I saw you. 
Nathaniel is impressed by this, 

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to say the least. 
Nathaniel answered him, Rabbi, 

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you are the Son of God. 
You are the King of Israel. 

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Jesus answered him, Because I 
said to you, I saw you under the

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fig tree. 
Do you believe you will see 

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greater things than these? 
And he said to him, truly, 

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truly, I say to you, you will 
see heaven opened and the angels

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of God ascending and descending 
on the Son of man. 

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Again, another very clear and 
direct reference to this story 

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from Genesis 28, except Jesus is
going to apply it to Himself. 

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I am the stairway to heaven. 
If you follow me, you're going 

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to experience things you cannot 
even imagine regarding the 

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spiritual world and angels and 
who I am. 

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So let's continue to sort of 
unpack the life of Christ and 

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think together a little bit 
about how Jesus could be this 

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stairway to heaven. 
As you may have already guessed,

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He says I'm the way, the truth, 
and the life. 

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No one comes to the Father 
except through me. 

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He's a stairway to heaven, isn't
he? 

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He also refers to himself as the
gate for the sheep. 

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As it says in Genesis, this is 
the the gate of heaven. 

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Jesus is the gate. 
He's the stairway. 

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But this text in Genesis also 
talks about the Lord's ongoing 

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presence with him. 
I will be with you wherever you 

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go. 
And what do we, what do we learn

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about our Lord's name? 
We love to talk about this 

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during Advent and Christmas 
time. 

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He shall be called Emmanuel, 
which means God with us. 

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It's beautiful, but we can 
consider how our Lord came down 

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from heaven and went back up to 
heaven. 

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So let's consider for a few 
moments the descending and 

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ascending of our Lord, the 
stairway to heaven, how He 

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indeed acts in our behalf. 
Jesus comes down. 

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He leaves his home in heaven. 
Why? 

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In order to give one to you and 
to me, as He prepares a place 

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for us, He left the wealth of 
heaven. 

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Why He comes down? 
He descends into poverty in His 

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earthly life. 
Why? 

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In order to make you and I rich 
in heavenly blessings, He comes 

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down. 
He gives up His heavenly food in

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order to give bread to you and 
to me, to His disciples, in 

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order to be our bread, in order 
to feed us with these provisions

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in some way. 
He does not cling to his 

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heavenly robes, but descends 
into the earth in poverty to 

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wear clothes that get dirty and 
soiled. 

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Why? 
To provide for us clothes. 

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He gives up His clothes even 
more when they strip him to 

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nakedness on the cross. 
Why? 

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In order to provide for you and 
me the robes of righteousness, 

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he left his home to give you a 
home, he left his wealth to give

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you wealth. 
He like gave up his bread in 

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order to feed you, He's giving 
up his clothes in order to 

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clothe you. 
He gave up his safety the 

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00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:14,800
fortress of heaven, to come down
totally exposed to the hands of 

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sinful men who will beat him and
pluck out his beard and spit in 

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00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:23,760
his face and scourge his back 
and drive nails into his wrist, 

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hang him from a tree. 
He gave up his safety in order 

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to be your refuge. 
He gave up his safety in order 

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00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:38,800
to protect his sheep. 
Jesus is indeed the stairway to 

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heaven. 
He came down from heaven in the 

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incarnation, Martin Luther said 
he went from the highest of 

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highs to the lowest of lows, 
despised and rejected, and the 

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climax of his crucifixion. 
Just think of a stairway. 

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A stairway is something that's 
between high and low. 

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And there's our Lord suspended 
on a tree between heaven and 

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earth. 
Stairway to heaven. 

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Angels minister to him. 
They ascend and descend upon him

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in the wilderness temptations 
and in the Garden of Gethsemane 

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and other places as well. 
They're mysterious to us, but 

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they bring Him down from the 
cross. 

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So we see another descent. 
But now not only from the cross,

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He goes into the ground, into 
the grave. 

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He is apart and dead, descended 
into the grave. 

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But thanks be to God, on Easter 
morning, as we sing up from the 

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grave, he arose, comes out of 
the grave, ministers again to 

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his followers, but he doesn't 
stay there. 

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He ascends now up into glory 
where he lives and reigns to 

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make intercession for believers.
He does not merely leave 

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everybody alone, but now the 
Holy Spirit is the one coming 

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down. 
The Holy Spirit is sent and 

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descends on the Church of 
Pentecost. 

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And now the ever present 
Emmanuel is with believers by 

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the Holy Spirit. 
He is always with you. 

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You're never alone if you are in
Christ. 

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But there's another descent 
promised by Holy Scripture that 

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we look forward to and pray for.
When we say come quickly, Lord 

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Jesus, it says he will descend 
again to judge the living and 

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the dead, and to finally and 
forever deliver peace on earth. 

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Shalom. 
How do we respond to this? 

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What can we say in response to 
such a story, to such a message?

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Well, I think the first and most
obvious thing to say is what 

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Jesus was saying to Nathaniel 
that very day. 

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Follow me, Follow me. 
How do we respond to the 

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revelation of God? 
It's an interesting question. 

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I think I've always been a 
little bit convicted and 

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surprised to actually at how 
quickly Jesus's disciples seemed

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to drop everything and instantly
follow him. 

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And Bible doesn't give us a lot 
of details, but they seem like a

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lot of instantaneous, hey, 
follow me, drop everything, 

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follow Jesus. 
And I think that's super 

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compelling to a lot of us who've
experienced Jesus in that very 

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way. 
And people testify to a very 

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day, a very, very week, a very 
hour, a very, very specific 

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time. 
I once was lost, but now I'm 

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found was blind. 
But now I see the experience in 

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a rapid moment. 
Jesus said, follow me and I said

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yes, Sir. 
And it's been one day after 

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another of walking with the Lord
since then. 

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I think for many others of us, 
there's been more of a 

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gradualism. 
And the thing that's so 

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interesting about the character 
of Jacob specifically is that he

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is called basically a scumbag by
this text. 

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Grasper deceiver. 
These are not compliments. 

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The first two stories we get. 
He's cheating a really hungry 

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person and then a really old and
blind person. 

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This is not somebody that you 
would exalt and make a hero. 

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He's a loser. 
He's a scumbag and yet the Lord 

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out of his divine Providence and
his goodness and his infinite 

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grace that is greater than our 
sin, condescends to give him a 

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vision of condescension of God 
and and and mediating stairway 

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to heaven and promises the 
promises again to his 

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forefathers. 
And we see Jacob respond to 

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this, but it's an ambiguous 
response. 

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He makes an oath. 
He sets up a stone of 

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remembrance. 
He anoints it. 

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He calls the place Bethel, but 
there's a lot of conditions. 

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God, I'm swearing that these 
things will be done if you keep 

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up your end of the bargain. 
Too hard to know what to make of

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that. 
But it's the faith journey of a 

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lot of us who meager meagerly 
and weakly try to make a 

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commitment and we're going to 
see 20 years story coming down 

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after this and even longer of 
Jacob's ups and downs. 

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But I don't know about you 
whether you were the quick to 

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follow type or whether you're 
the learn the hard way kind of 

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slow person to there's something
here for everyone to respond to 

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the call of the gospel when 
Jesus says follow me. 

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Follow me. 
He makes his oath. 

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He consecrates a worship, 
consecrates worship, and 

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promises to give back out of his
wealth if this happens. 

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So if you've never accepted 
Christ as your Lord and Savior, 

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if you've never responded to His
command, follow me. 

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I'm issuing that as clear as I 
can this morning. 

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If you've never given your 
heart, your life, your dedicated

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oath to the Lord, do it today. 
Pray in meekness and humility 

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and cry out to God and say, 
Lord, here I am, save me. 

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I want to follow you. 
I repent of my sin, I want to 

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walk with you. 
Or maybe you've had a lot of ups

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and downs and it's time to make 
some changes. 

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There's no time like the present
to follow the feet of our Lord 

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and say, Lord, here I am, save 
me, heal me. 

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Walking with him looks like a 
slow, struggling path. 

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That's what's normal. 
Jesus says if you want to follow

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me, take up your cross and 
follow me. 

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00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:35,440
The Christian life is described 
as being crucified to self. 

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It's painful, but it's also 
loaded with all kinds of joyous 

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00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:42,560
blessings that are impossible to
comprehend. 

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00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,480
You start talking to old Saints 
and listen to their stories of 

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00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:52,400
faith and how the Lord met them 
in their need with protection, 

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00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:58,080
provision, and peace. 
Follow Him. 

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00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:02,040
Follow Him, my friends, and 
receive His blessing. 

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00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,760
And this isn't some sort of 
health and well thing, you know.

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Sign up for the Jesus thing and 
watch your bank account grow 

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00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:19,680
better than the stock market. 
If you have enough faith, sign 

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00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,720
up for the Jesus thing and he'll
heal all your diseases. 

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00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,880
Sign up for the Jesus thing and 
he'll make you successful in 

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00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:28,880
your job. 
That is not biblical. 

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00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:40,120
What is biblical, however, is 
that if you follow Jesus in 

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00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:43,720
company with the church on this 
hard Rd. of discipleship, you 

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00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:51,200
will experience blessing even in
this life and then unimaginable 

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00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,600
blessing in the hereafter. 
That's the deal. 

315
00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,640
Die with Him, to be raised with 
Him, to rule with him forever 

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00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:04,400
more. 
So when we receive His blessing,

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00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:08,160
we think not only of our 
physical lives and our spiritual

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00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:09,320
lives, we think of them 
together. 

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But I wanted to show you how 
this works even now for for 

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00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:17,480
sufferers. 
And in order to demonstrate 

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00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,880
this, I thought it would be fun 
to kind of unpack briefly the 

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00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:23,560
language of the benediction that
I enjoy using when we're in the 

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00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:28,280
Old Testament, the language of 
blessing that comes from Aaron 

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00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,320
to the people and Numbers 
Chapter 6 to say over the 

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00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:36,600
congregation. 
And we'll see how the themes 

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00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:41,560
that were in the text of Genesis
and in John are here also 

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proclaimed over the people. 
Do you remember this? 

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00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:49,400
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face to shine 

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upon you and be gracious to you.
The Lord lift up his countenance

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00:23:53,160 --> 00:24:01,320
upon you and give you peace. 
The word for protection is keep 

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00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:08,080
the Lord protect you from your 
spiritual enemies, from the 

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00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:10,800
roaring lion who's seeking to 
destroy. 

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00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,640
Lord, leave me not into 
temptation, but deliver me from 

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00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:17,920
evil. 
I need your protection. 

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00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:22,800
Be my refuge, my strong tower, 
my wall. 

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00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:28,760
Protect me from evil. 
But I also need stuff. 

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00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:36,520
I need food, I need clothing, I 
need shelter that pertains to 

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00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:43,920
physical blessing and spiritual 
blessing. 

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00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:48,080
But then have you noticed, have 
you read ahead? 

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00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:49,760
Are you looking? 
Are you saying, what does it 

341
00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:50,680
say? 
At the end? 

342
00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:56,800
The Lord lift up His countenance
upon you and give you peace. 

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00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,560
And couched in the middle, there
is this bit about his shining 

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00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:04,520
face. 
Countenance also means face. 

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00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:07,720
And so the Gospels couched right
in there. 

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00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,720
Because when we are enemies with
one another and we're enemies 

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00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,000
with God, we don't want to look 
at each other, do we? 

348
00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:19,080
If I'm mad at you, unless I'm 
blowing up and I want to yell at

349
00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:21,080
you, it's more likely that I'm 
just going to be like, oh, don't

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00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:23,520
even look at me. 
Get out of my face. 

351
00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:27,400
You're going to treat to a 
different part of the house. 

352
00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:30,320
Get away from me. 
I don't want to see you. 

353
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,720
Not only enemies with God, but 
the Bible says we're with each 

354
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:36,440
other, but we're also enemies 
with God. 

355
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:38,800
What happens when they sin? 
They're hiding. 

356
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:40,720
Jesus. 
The Lord comes to them in the 

357
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,160
cool of the day to walk and 
they're they're hiding. 

358
00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:47,320
I don't want to see his face. 
They're afraid. 

359
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:52,440
They're guilty, but because of 
the gospel, because of the 

360
00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:55,320
blessings that we have in Christ
and the protection of in Christ,

361
00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:56,560
we have something even better 
than that. 

362
00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,680
We have the sunshine of His 
face. 

363
00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:04,040
Lord, make His face to shine 
upon you and be gracious to you.

364
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:09,440
It's like light in Indiana in 
February. 

365
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:18,520
It is so dark and it is so cold.
It is so dark and it is so cold 

366
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:24,960
and you just want, you just want
to like feel the warmth and the 

367
00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:29,000
light. 
And when I hear this, and when I

368
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:34,320
think about it, the Lord, the 
sunshine of His grace in Christ,

369
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:43,280
the countenance of full loving 
regard, shining into my doubtful

370
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:52,240
heart when I experienced the 
Shalom that comes from being in 

371
00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:57,240
Christ. 
And I guarantee you, friends, 

372
00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:04,480
that's for here and now too, not
just then and later. 

373
00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:14,920
Jacob's got a long way to go. 
So do you, and so do I, but the 

374
00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:18,920
Lord's grace is greater than all
of our sin, greater than all of 

375
00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:22,200
our idols. 
He smashes these things and 

376
00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,520
builds up something beautiful in
their place. 

377
00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:33,800
So to conclude, as with Abraham 
and Isaac, the Lord in this text

378
00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:37,360
is community, communicating 
directly with Jacob, the 

379
00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:43,160
scheming Sinner, communicating 
with him according to his 

380
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:49,200
matchless grace. 
The Lord reiterates the promises

381
00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:56,800
Jacob worships. 
Looking to the future, all 

382
00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:01,880
Christians are sinners called 
into relationship with God 

383
00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:06,640
through our Savior Jesus Christ,
the one and only stairway to 

384
00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:11,280
heaven. 
Let us respond in gratitude as 

385
00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:17,240
we pray and sing together. 
Father, I pray for our restless 

386
00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:23,160
hearts that seek security and 
provision and peace through 

387
00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:26,960
idols. 
So we pray Lord, that you would 

388
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:32,480
meet us in our need as we gaze 
upon our Savior, the one and 

389
00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:39,840
only stir in US a heart of deep 
love and affection in response 

390
00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:44,840
to your revelation this morning.
It's in Jesus name we pray, our 

391
00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:48,600
intercessor, and by his Spirit 
who helps US one God 

392
00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:50,600
forevermore, Amen.