God of Grace.

Steve Gentry

[0:05] Alright, go ahead and have a seat. [0:07] Welcome to Village Church. [0:08] If this is your first time here, my name’s Steve, one of the pastors here at Village [0:12] Church, and as always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:16] If you have your Bibles this morning, go ahead and open them to Genesis 35. [0:20] We’re going to be making our way probably through half of that chapter as we really

[0:29] But before we do that, I want to talk to you about groups. [0:34] Our community groups are starting this week for the fall semester. [0:39] And so if you have been part of a group, just so you know, put it back on the schedule, [0:44] you’ll be going to your group this week. [0:46] But if you’ve never joined a group or if you’ve kind of taken a break from group, this [0:52] is a wonderful time for you to engage, for you to check out a couple of groups.

[0:57] But if you’re not part of a group, I’ve got one suggestion. [1:00] This week we’re starting something new. [1:02] This Wednesday night, we’re starting at something called Starting Points. [1:05] And this is for people who are looking to check out what community group is like, as [1:10] well as learn what community is in the ministry of Village Church as a whole. [1:16] And that’s going to be a six week program that you’re going to go through.

[1:20] And we’re actually going to go through the core values of the church and then explain [1:24] what gospel-centered community looks like in light of that. [1:27] And our prayer is that through that, you can either join an existing group or maybe start [1:33] a group right there in Starting Points. [1:36] And that’s going to be this Wednesday night. [1:38] I want to invite you to be a part of that.

[1:40] I think we’re going to have a great time over the next six weeks as we do that. [1:44] But I’m going to ask you right now to join me in prayer. [1:48] Father. [1:49] Oh, you are good. [1:52] Lord, your mercies are new every morning. [1:54] And we are so thankful that we are not needing to depend on yesterday’s mercies for today.

[2:02] And Lord, we’re not going to need today’s mercies tomorrow.

[2:06] Father, I want to pray for those that are in the path of the hurricane right now. [2:10] Lord, keep them safe. [2:12] Lord, I pray that people would use common sense, Lord. [2:16] And that those who are not, Lord, that you’d be merciful and you’d be gracious and you [2:21] would make provision for them. [2:24] And Lord, we pray for those who are recovering from other disasters, other storms in Houston,

[2:30] in Asia. [2:32] Lord, we pray for them as they rebuild. [2:34] We pray for the relief workers as they serve. [2:38] Lord, we are thankful and we are in awe of all of your moves, both those that we take [2:44] pleasure in, as well as those that we stand back and they remind us of the sin in this [2:50] world.

[2:52] Lord, that you would this morning turn our eyes to your word, turn our eyes to your [2:57] glory.

[2:59] Lord, make us thankful. [3:01] Lord, make us worshipful. [3:03] Lord, help us to receive your word and enjoy your grace in new ways today. [3:07] Be merciful to me, a sinner. [3:09] In the name of Jesus, I pray. [3:11] Amen.

[3:12] Well, for the past few weeks we’ve been back in the book of Genesis, and so we’re getting [3:17] to the point where we’re about two-thirds of the way through Genesis. [3:21] Next Sunday we’re going to start marching our way through the narrative of the life [3:26] of Joseph, the son of Jacob. [3:28] And that’s probably a section of Genesis that most people are very familiar with. [3:33] You know, we’re going to talk about multicolored coats and all that kind of fun stuff, even

[3:37] though that has nothing to do with anything. [3:39] So we’re going to have a great time as we do that. [3:42] But today we’re kind of capping the end of what is Jacob’s narrative as we’ve kind of [3:49] gone through his entire life from the 20s on halfway through the 30s. [3:54] And today we’re going to talk about the God of grace and the life of Jacob. [3:59] And so as we’ve been taking a look at Jacob’s life, we’ve seen the good, the bad, and the

[4:04] ugly. [4:05] One thing kind of shines through in Jacob’s life is that he is not a hero. [4:10] I know maybe sometimes if you grew up in Sunday school, we kind of get this picture of characters [4:15] from the Old Testament and that there are all these great heroes and we need to live [4:18] up to their example. [4:20] Well, don’t live up to Jacob’s because he was an awful, awful person.

[4:24] From his childhood, Jacob had a chip on his shoulder. [4:29] And it started because his father preferred his twin brother to him. [4:33] And so Jacob’s reaction to that was to build a life of manipulation and deception. [4:38] And through scripture, we are able to see the foolishness of Jacob’s life as God reminds [4:44] him over and over. [4:45] Why are you living a life of faithlessness rather than a life of faithfulness?

[4:52] From birth, God had chosen to work through Jacob. [4:56] It was through Jacob’s lineage that the entire nation of Israel would come. [5:03] And so as he grew older, we see God involved in his life. [5:07] God spoke to him. [5:09] God assured him. [5:10] God blessed him.

[5:12] Jacob’s life took a pattern though of sin and repentance, sin and repentance, sin and [5:19] repentance. [5:20] Maybe that sounds a lot like the story that you’re living in your life. [5:24] But in Jacob’s life, it went to the point where God literally appeared to him in physical [5:29] form, disciplined him, and then blessed him with his lineage saying, you need to have [5:35] the identity now of Israel rather than the identity of Jacob.

[5:41] And though last week we saw that the cycle even passed, this continued. [5:45] The outcome of his life of sin and indifference and manipulation and deception was seen. [5:52] And his disobedience and apathy led to the rape of his daughter as well as his sons [5:57] committing mass murder and plundering a city. [6:01] And so when you step back and look at Genesis 34, I don’t think it gets much worse than [6:05] that.

[6:07] I don’t think that that’s kind of a worst case scenario. [6:09] That’s kind of bottoming out. [6:12] I have never dealt with that type of situation in my life. [6:15] Nor have I known anybody to reach such a low bottom. [6:19] And don’t get me wrong. [6:20] I’ve had people bring me quite a few problems, quite a few issues that have made me kind

[6:24] of sit back and be like, how did you get yourself into this situation? [6:27] But no one has come to me with a situation as dire as Genesis 34. [6:34] As a parent, you’ve got to look at that chapter and say, this is a worst case scenario. [6:41] But as you see the outcome of it, it was because of the choices and the decisions that Jacob [6:48] was making and not making in his life that led his children to be in those type of environments. [6:56] At the end of Genesis 34, the record just ends.

[7:02] It ends pointing out Jacob’s failure as a father leader. [7:06] His kids look to him in the last verse of chapter 34 and basically say, why didn’t you [7:12] lead us, dad? [7:15] I mean, that is a heartbreaking narrative. [7:18] And then comes Genesis 35. [7:21] Genesis 35 is a shocking narrative in a different way than Genesis 34 is.

[7:27] Because in Genesis 35, the hero of the story is God. [7:32] It shows the astounding grace of God on full display. [7:36] It shows the forgiveness of God that is unparalleled and unending. [7:41] So Genesis 35 is a great example of the plans and purposes of God being dependent on him [7:49] alone and his grace to include sinful men like Jacob and us. [7:56] Here’s where we begin with verse one.

[8:01] God said to Jacob, arise, go to Bethel and dwell there. [8:07] Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau. [8:16] You know, Genesis 35.1 reminds me of Ephesians 2.4. [8:21] It reminds me of this because in Ephesians 2.4 we read, but God being rich in mercy because [8:27] of the great love with which he loved us. [8:31] This is a merciful God in Genesis 35.1.

[8:37] This is an example of God’s amazing love. [8:39] The jump from 34.31 to 35.1 is drastic. [8:45] 34.31 is like a movie with a really unsettling ending. [8:49] You ever watched a movie like that and it’s going and it’s going and then it’s just, oh, [8:55] that’s it. [8:57] So this is really my favorite kind of movie.

[8:59] I don’t like movies that everything just wraps up in this perfect picture. [9:03] Because a lot of us watch movies and we lose the reality that it’s a movie. [9:07] And we think life is actually going to end up that way. [9:10] You’re going to spend 25 years apart from the love of your life and just run into each [9:14] other because you both happen to be on vacation in Paris. [9:17] And then it’s like you pick up right where you left off and love forevermore.

[9:23] Life doesn’t work out that way. [9:26] That’s not real. [9:29] That’s fiction.

[9:31] But usually when you make terrible choices, the conclusion is going to be terrible. [9:40] That’s the reality of life. [9:43] That life often leaves us paying for the mistakes that we make and it does involve real pain [9:49] and it always involves real people with real hurt. [9:53] And I think that is why the ending of Genesis 34, 31 is so unsettling because we want God [10:01] to swoop in.

[10:02] We want God to just fix it. [10:05] We want God to make it as though no one had ever done anything wrong. [10:11] And in Genesis 34, 31, we instead see a picture of the cost of sin. [10:17] We just simply see sons looking for their father to lead and their father being silent. [10:26] That’s it. [10:26] The screen goes to black.

[10:30] I think it leaves us there on purpose because it leaves us sitting in our sin which is [10:37] never comfortable, which is never where we want to be. [10:42] Because we don’t want to be confronted with our bad choices. [10:45] We don’t want to be confronted with what happens in the aftermath of our bad choices. [10:53] But Genesis 34 forces us to stare at it. [10:58] It forces us to sit in it and say, you cannot fix this.

[11:05] But then Genesis 35, 1 shows the God of grace who comes to forgive it. [11:12] Who comes to work his plan in spite of the sin that comes to us so naturally. [11:21] One of the more seldom considered graces of God is his voice in a sinful world.

[11:29] That’s what we have. [11:30] So we usually just kind of continue on in the narrative. [11:32] I know if you have any type of quiet time, you use any type of Bible reading plan where [11:37] you’re just going through the word very quickly. [11:39] You move from 34, 31 to 35, 1, then you just go on to 2. [11:43] And you continue on.

[11:44] All right, God work through Jacob. [11:45] All right. [11:47] But we have to look at this amazing transition of what happens between the silence of Jacob [11:53] and the voice of God. [11:56] That Jacob’s failure is not God’s failure. [12:02] That God is going to work.

[12:04] God is going to move. [12:06] And God is going to be gracious. [12:08] And how is he gracious first? [12:10] He speaks. [12:12] You know, God doesn’t owe me that. [12:15] God doesn’t owe me his voice.

[12:18] God doesn’t owe me his word. [12:22] God could justifiably so allow the entire word of God to end in Genesis 34, 31. [12:31] That that’s just the end of the narrative of the scripture. [12:33] God just steps away. [12:35] But he doesn’t. [12:36] He engages.

[12:37] He speaks. [12:39] He, Jacob, had experienced the grace and mercy of God. [12:43] He experienced the presence of God. [12:45] Yet he still showed great amounts of faithlessness. [12:50] And yet God spoke to him. [12:52] God still gives him commands.

[12:55] You know, this is an uncomfortable grace for us. [12:58] I don’t know about you, but I enjoy it when the bad guy loses. [13:01] I mean, I enjoy watching a movie and I like seeing the antagonist die every single time. [13:10] That guy’s got to pay. [13:11] He’s done some bad things. [13:14] And so when we look at Jacob and when I consider this amazing grace of God, that what Jacob

[13:20] had done, the position he had put his children in, the sins of commission of Jacob, the [13:25] sins of omission of Jacob, and there’s God in Genesis 35, 1 looking to Jacob and coming [13:30] in and saying, Jacob, go to Bethel, a command that he had given him many chapters previous.

[13:40] He comes in again and he says, Jacob, I’m not done. [13:45] Jacob, take your family. [13:47] Go to Bethel. [13:50] Jacob does not deserve this. [13:52] Yet God still speaks.

[13:55] This is the word of God. [13:58] This is mercy. [14:00] And this is the same mercy that allows me to have his word in my life and you to have [14:07] his word in your life. [14:09] We are never closer to God’s presence than when we are receiving his word. [14:15] The moment of Genesis 35, 1 in the life of Jacob is monumental because the word of God

[14:22] is there. [14:23] God is active in his life. [14:25] There is still hope for Jacob. [14:29] Because why? [14:30] Because it’s not too late to do the right thing. [14:34] It’s not too late.

[14:36] One of the struggles that many have with reading the narrative of scripture is finding it relevant [14:42] to your life. [14:43] And the reason that you don’t find it relevant to your life is because oftentimes you don’t [14:46] read it critically. [14:47] You don’t read it with as much critical thought as you read the sports pages. [14:53] You don’t read it with as much critical thought as you read the latest political blog that

[14:57] always what you think.

[15:01] You read the word of God flippantly and you think, oh, this just doesn’t relate to my [15:06] life at all. [15:06] So we read through the life of Jacob and we’re like, well, I’m not dealing with those issues. [15:09] You’re dealing with exactly this type of issue. [15:12] You are dealing with a need to understand that the grace of God is there so that you [15:18] can recover God’s vision for your life over and over and over again.

[15:24] You sin, you radically corrupt his vision for your life. [15:29] And yet there is God with grace that is unending saying, recover the vision, recover my design. [15:37] And that is the voice that he is bringing in to Jacob’s life right here. [15:44] This is a profound moment. [15:46] There are so many reasons to think that Jacob is done. [15:51] So many reasons.

[15:52] I mean, in thirty four, you got to look at it. [15:53] He’s like, Jacob has gone too far. [15:56] His sin is condemning. [15:58] But Ephesians two, four, God is rich in mercy. [16:03] It’s not too late for Jacob. [16:05] And it’s not too late for you.

[16:09] Just as Jacob can be redeemed from his sin, so can you be redeemed from your sin. [16:16] God not only offers him redemption to a static state. [16:20] It’s a dynamic restoration that God has in mind. [16:23] Note the command hasn’t changed. [16:27] What was God’s command to Jacob a few chapters previous? [16:29] Go to Bethel.

[16:30] What is God’s command to Jacob in 35? [16:32] One, go to Bethel. [16:35] See, so many of you deal with the flawed logic that because of your sin, God’s commands [16:41] for your life have somehow changed. [16:43] They’ve not. [16:45] His gracious commands are still the same as they ever were when you started getting

[16:53] things wrong. [16:54] It is never too late to get your life right. [16:59] But it is only God who can get your life right. [17:03] Don’t miss that. [17:04] Because God’s grace is always larger than sin. [17:09] You know, sin changes us.

[17:12] Sin scars us. [17:14] Sin leaves us with regrets. [17:17] No regrets is a lie.

[17:21] Have you ever seen the Snickers commercial where a lady, or I think it’s a Milky Way [17:25] commercial where a lady tattoos no regerts on a guy’s arm and she’s like, sorry, I was [17:29] eating candy bar. [17:31] All right. [17:32] That’s as honest as no regrets gets. [17:34] There are always regrets.

[17:38] Life never leaves anyone with zero regrets. [17:41] And so when some foolhardy 19 year old’s like, I’m never going to have any regrets, [17:45] I’d like to re-interview him at 45. [17:48] So 19 and 45, lots of regrets happen in most people’s lives. [17:54] And so the scars, though, weigh us down. [17:59] The pain weighs us down to the point where we think, I can never have God work in my

[18:04] life the way that God was supposed to work in my life. [18:07] I’ve experienced too much pain. [18:09] I have too many scars. [18:10] I have too much negativity going on for me to ever recover what God’s vision was for [18:16] my life. [18:17] So does that mean there are two scriptures?

[18:21] One for the pious sinless and another for those who have too many scars and too many [18:28] regrets? [18:29] No. [18:30] Do you understand what a profound grace that is? [18:33] That God has one word for all of us? [18:36] And throughout all of us, God is saying that when you have a vision that it’s all about

[18:41] what you have done, it’s all about what you can do, you are missing the hero of the story. [18:46] Because Jacob’s not the hero of the story. [18:48] God is the hero of the story. [18:51] And so when you say, my scars are too large for God to work in my life, for God to command [19:00] my life. [19:00] I’ve gone too far in the wrong way.

[19:03] God says, go to Bethel. [19:08] The original vision is still there because the God of grace is still there. [19:15] Yes, Jacob would limp in. [19:20] Jacob would go in wishing he had obeyed God sooner and been more faithful on the journey. [19:26] But by God’s grace, Jacob could still go to Bethel. [19:30] And by God’s grace, you can still obey him.

[19:33] It is never too late. [19:34] Why? [19:35] Because God is rich in mercy. [19:39] I’ve never met anyone who repented of sin, who exhibited faithfulness in God after a [19:45] period of sin in their life. [19:47] And they’re like, man, I am so glad I waited so long to get my life right.

[19:52] I don’t meet those people. [19:54] The people that I meet are people who say, man, I wish someone had told me this 20 years [20:00] ago. [20:01] I wish I had repented of my sin a decade or more ago. [20:06] I wish I had followed Jesus earlier in my life. [20:13] See, there are regrets.

[20:15] But understand, Jacob’s limp into Bethel shows that the scars might be there, the limp might [20:21] be pronounced, but you can go to Bethel. [20:26] You can obey the command of God no matter how young you are, no matter how old you [20:31] are, no matter how sideways you’ve gotten your life. [20:34] God’s grace is still sufficient for your life. [20:40] But then the narrative continues.

[20:42] Number two, this morning, grace teaches us to trust and obey. [20:47] Grace teaches us to trust and obey. [20:51] And I believe Genesis 35, 1 is one of the great turning points in Jacob’s life because [20:57] of what happens in the next few verses. [21:00] So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him. [21:04] And I love how some of that indifferent sin of omission that Jacob had struggled with,

[21:12] he’s still struggling with it, he’s still led it into his house because he looks to [21:16] his family. [21:18] And he says, put away the foreign gods that are among you. [21:22] I love that. [21:24] That’s typical of Jacob’s life. [21:28] Jacob the chosen one of God, Jacob the one that God’s been working through, Jacob the

[21:33] man who has physically wrestled with God, Jacob the man who has heard the voice of [21:38] God Almighty had been letting his family tinker with idols.

[21:45] He’d let false gods into his family. [21:49] And so he looks to them and he says, purify yourselves, change your garments, then let [21:54] us arise and go up to Bethel so that I may make an altar to the God who answers me in [21:59] the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone. [22:03] So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had in the rings that were in their [22:08] ears.

[22:08] Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem. [22:15] And so Jacob finally gets what needs to happen in his life. [22:21] There are no half measures to the grace of God. [22:25] There is no limit to the depth of the mercy and forgiveness of God. [22:32] That God’s grace is not satisfied with forgiving some of your sin. [22:38] God’s grace is not satisfied with dealing with some of your disobedience.

[22:44] God’s grace is not satisfied with dealing with a measure of your indifference. [22:50] When God calls a sinner, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, he calls him to come and die.

[23:00] God wants to deal with all of Jacob’s sins. [23:02] God wants to deal with all of his family’s sins. [23:05] And Jacob gets it. [23:06] You see, last week we talked about his indifference about getting to Bethel. [23:10] I think part of the indifference was that Jacob knew he couldn’t walk into the promised [23:14] land with false gods.

[23:16] And now after the terrible events of his sin have unfolded, God comes to Jacob in grace [23:23] and Jacob says, I can’t believe God’s grace is still there for me. [23:29] You ever had a moment in your life like that? [23:32] When people are struggling with a sin, one of the things that I tell them is you’re never [23:35] going to beat yourself into submission here. [23:38] Every time you give into that habitual sin, as soon as you realize what you’ve done,

[23:44] just tell yourself, God still loves me. [23:48] God still loves me. [23:49] That is a convicting reality to me. [23:53] That is a life-changing understanding for me. [23:58] Because that is what gives me real shame. [24:01] That is what gives me real conviction of my sin, is that the Father of Heaven still loves

[24:08] me. [24:09] And so when Jacob is confronted with this love of God, he does not say, oh man, you [24:14] mean God still loves me? [24:16] All right, well let’s stay out of Bethel for a little while longer.

[24:20] All right, well let’s deal with sin a little longer. [24:22] I can still be indifferent. [24:23] I can let my whole family go to hell. [24:26] God’s grace is still sufficient. [24:27] I can still sin. [24:28] No, that’s not Jacob’s reaction.

[24:31] Never in the narrative of Scripture do you see someone who truly is confronted with [24:36] the grace and mercy of God, who truly applies it to their life, who continues to just kick [24:41] it down the road.

[24:44] The most convicting force in life is the grace and mercy of God. [24:49] And that’s what Jacob is confronted with. [24:51] That’s why he looks to his family and he says, we’ve got to get rid of the foreign gods. [24:58] We’ve got to get rid of these idols. [25:01] The only proper response to grace is obedience. [25:03] It is never more sin.

[25:06] Grace does not come into our lives so that we can continue in self-destructive patterns [25:10] that will also hurt others. [25:13] That would be a denial of grace. [25:16] When God gives us grace, it is a call to faith. [25:22] It is a call to trust. [25:24] Even when you struggle in sin, it is not grace that enables you to disobedience.

[25:29] That is faithlessness. [25:31] That is denying grace. [25:34] Here Jacob responded to trust the grace of God. [25:39] You see Jacob’s need for grace in the spring cleaning that takes place in his house. [25:43] His apathy is gone. [25:45] Note that Jacob had a record of being apathetic where his family was concerned, of not leading

[25:51] his family. [25:52] But note what the grace of God does to him. [25:53] Could you imagine having a father that for years has been kind of hands-off, has been [25:59] completely apathetic, won’t lead you in the things of God, won’t tell you what to do when [26:04] your sister is sexually assaulted, won’t tell you how to respond to sin, won’t tell you [26:09] how to deal with anything, and then one day he comes in and he says, all right, things

[26:13] are changing around here. [26:15] Imagine what his wives thought.

[26:19] Uh, what? [26:21] Who is this guy? [26:22] What have you done with Jacob?

[26:26] But note that the story doesn’t tell us that Jacob did the wrong thing. [26:29] You see, some of you men are emasculated by your sin. [26:32] You’re so emasculated by your sin that you refuse to lead your family because you think [26:36] that they’re going to think you’re a hypocrite when you come in. [26:38] You think that your wife is going to confront you with every reason why you haven’t been [26:42] a good leader when you actually do try to lead.

[26:44] Did you know that doesn’t change your responsibility to lead?

[26:50] That cowardice that you’re dealing with, that refusal to engage because of your regrets?

[27:00] Yeah, guess what? [27:01] If you’re a man who has kicked the can of leadership down the road, if you’re a father [27:05] and a husband who has not led your family well, guess what? [27:09] It’s going to be a rough ride at first. [27:12] And yeah, they might bring up your sin. [27:14] Yeah, they might accuse you of being a bad leader.

[27:17] But guess what? [27:18] The best way to get rid of old patterns is to start some new ones, is it not?

[27:26] The answer to weight loss problems has never found a golden corral. [27:31] That’s just a fact, Jack. [27:33] You can tell yourself you’re going to get a salad. [27:36] No you’re not. [27:37] You can get that bourbon chicken and some rolls. [27:39] I know what’s going to happen.

[27:41] All right, and something like, I would never eat there. [27:45]

[27:51] The answer to your lack of leadership is not to never lead.

[27:58] It’s not apathy. [28:00] It’s not indifference. [28:01] You’ve got to engage. [28:02] You’ve got to take a little bit of kickback. [28:05] And you’ve got to lead. [28:07] Note, Jacob just walks in and he says, we’ve got to get rid of the sin and our lives.

[28:13] We’ve got to purify ourselves. [28:15] We are going to obey God. [28:19] That is the voice that wives are waiting for. [28:22] That is the voice that children are waiting for. [28:26] And while their sin might rear its ugly head at first, they will be so grateful once you [28:33] lead.

[28:34] They will be so grateful for your love. [28:36] They will be so grateful for your response to the grace of God. [28:40] Lead and lead well and lead like the Jacob of Genesis 35. [28:45] Never lead like the Jacob of Genesis 34.

[28:51] You see, the biggest problem that many of you have is that God’s grace is there and [28:56] you know it is there, yet you do not respond. [29:01] And some of you, I have seen this happen. [29:03] You even get angry at the potential for life change because you want to believe that everything [29:10] is okay even when it is not okay. [29:14] Jacob’s daughter was out mingling with culture.

[29:17] His sons are violent. [29:18] His whole family is worshiping false gods. [29:22] Yeah, Jacob’s not doing all right. [29:25] Jacob’s got some issues at home. [29:27] And what’s the answer to that? [29:28] The answer is he needs change.

[29:31] And God gives him the grace to make those changes. [29:35] Let me tell you, you don’t go into the promised land with false gods.

[29:40] You have to clean house. [29:42] You have to obey God. [29:44] When God called Jacob to Bethel, Jacob understood that entering God’s promised land meant living [29:48] in God’s ways. [29:50] Look at what Isaiah chapter 30 says. [29:52] The prophet speaking many years later wrote this.

[29:55] God speaking through Isaiah, for a people shall dwell in Zion and Jerusalem, the promised [30:01] land. [30:01] You shall weep no more. [30:03] He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. [30:07] As soon as he hears that, he answers you. [30:09] And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet

[30:14] your teacher will not hide himself anymore. [30:17] But your eyes shall see your teacher, your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, [30:25] This is the way. [30:26] Walk in it. [30:28] When you turn to the right and when you turn to the left, then you will defile your carved [30:34] idols overlaid with silver and your gold plated metal images.

[30:38] You will scatter them as unclean things. [30:40] You will say to them, be gone. [30:43] Is that not what happens in Jacob’s life right here?

[30:48] Years later, the prophet says something very similar to the entire nation of Israel that [30:54] I think applies to all of us right here. [30:57] You need a fresh experience with the word of God in your life. [31:04] You need the grace of God to come in your life and say, this is my word. [31:09] This is the way. [31:11] Walk in it.

[31:13] And then you need to walk. [31:16] You need to repent of your sins and you need to follow Jesus. [31:20] That is the way of grace because it is God’s grace that empowers us to repentance. [31:27] Maybe that’s why he had delayed going into the promised land. [31:29] The scripture doesn’t tell us, but I don’t think he wanted to clean his house. [31:33] Jacob’s finally being a father.

[31:34] And why is that? [31:36] Because of the grace of God. [31:40] No, verse six, excuse me, verse five. [31:44] And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them so [31:51] that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. [31:54] And Jacob came to Luz, that is Bethel, which is the land of Canaan.

[31:58] He and all the people who were with him.

[32:04] One of the biggest issues that Jacob had in his life was his fear of other people, was [32:10] his fear of what would happen. [32:11] But note God’s provision for Jacob. [32:15] As he called in Genesis 34, as his meager numbers, as his small family journeys through [32:21] towns, as a terror falls on those people. [32:24] Why?

[32:25] Because of God, because of his grace. [32:27] Jacob had lived his life of fear, excuse me, in fear, but fear is faithless sin. [32:34] Fear of man shows that you have a small view of God. [32:39] If God calls you to the promised land, though, I want you to understand, God will somehow, [32:45] even as Isaiah says it, you may experience adversity, you may experience tough times, [32:50] but if God calls you to the promised land, you know where God’s going to get you?

[32:54] He’s going to get you to the promised land. [32:57] Because God is a God who keeps his promises. [33:00] No matter what the journey might look like, God is going to get you there. [33:03] He’s going to make the provision to get you there. [33:06] Jacob’s family just passes through all of the towns on the way to Bethel. [33:11] No one bothered them on the way.

[33:14] Question is, in light of what happened in 34, why didn’t those people attack Jacob? [33:18] They feared God. [33:20] Why? [33:21] Because God made them. [33:23] That’s why. [33:24] Some of y’all want this, you know, really earthy answer to these things.

[33:28] Well, it must have been, you know, that they understood that Jacob’s sons were these great [33:32] tacticians at war. [33:34] No. [33:35] It was that God supernaturally went into everybody’s brain in every town and said, [33:40] if you attack them, I’m going to kill you. [33:43] And they said, well, we are afraid of that guy.

[33:46] So we are not going to attack them. [33:48] That’s supernatural. [33:50] That’s a miracle. [33:51] That’s the provision of God. [33:53] That’s how grace works. [33:56] Is that when you trust God, he works.

[33:59] He doesn’t always work exactly the way that you want him to. [34:02] He doesn’t always make it as seamless as you want him to. [34:06] It’s not always the most delightful experience of your life. [34:10] But when God works, he works and it’s good. [34:16] Even when it’s painful, it’s good.

[34:20] You know, sometimes we fear making the changes that God has called us to because we’re afraid [34:28] that we’re going to stick out to other people. [34:31] Other people might notice the difference in our lives and think it odd. [34:36] Other people might see our changes and see it as an admission of guilt. [34:42] They might see it as an admission that we were living wrong and now we’re trying to live right. [34:47] Whatever it is, it is because you don’t trust God’s sovereign provision.

[34:55] You see, friend, when you obey God, you are in the best place you could possibly be. [35:01] God will move. [35:03] I don’t always know how, but I know that he will because he always has. [35:11] And I believe based on his word that he always will. [35:14] So what do you need to do? [35:16] Number three, this morning you need to submit to the grace of God.

[35:20] You need to submit to the God of grace. [35:24] You know, grace teaches us many wonderful things. [35:28] In Titus chapter two, here’s how the apostle Paul puts it. [35:33] He says, for the grace of God has appeared, and I’m so thankful that it has, bringing [35:38] salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to [35:44] live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed

[35:49] hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. [35:54] God gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself [35:59] a people for his own possession, who are zealous for good works. [36:06] In other words, they are jumping at the opportunity for good works. [36:11] You see, this sheds light on what I believe happened in Jacob’s life in Genesis 35. [36:18] His experience of grace led to a trust in God that taught him to renounce his ungodly

[36:25] action, and to trust the future provision of God in his life.

[36:33] You see, in Genesis 35, we see that trusting in God’s provision is proven by a life dependent [36:44] on God’s provision.

[36:48] Trusting in God’s provision is proven by a life of living in God’s ways.

[36:57] You see, you need to actually trust God. [37:02] See, many of you don’t need to trust God, because you’re not going to the promised land.

[37:07] Many of you don’t need God’s provision, because you’re not waiting for the blessed hope of [37:13] the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. [37:16] Yeah, you want to go to heaven, but you’re not living in light of the future kingdom [37:25] of heaven. [37:26] You want to avoid hell, but you’re not anticipating the glory of seeing Jesus Christ face to [37:36] face.

[37:37] And there’s a big difference there, friend. [37:40] When you are waiting for the glory, when you are anticipating the blessed hope of coming [37:47] face to face with God himself, that changes your present. [37:54] That changes your journey. [37:58] But a lot of you are living your life to avoid hell. [38:02] And guess how much that changes?

[38:04] Nothing.

[38:06] Nothing. [38:07] And guess what that’ll get you? [38:10] Hell.

[38:13] I’m just going to cut it real with you. [38:16] You’re not going to avoid it, because you have no trust in God. [38:21] Trust in God is shown in a life of submission to God. [38:28] You cannot walk through life doing whatever you want to do and claim you’re submitting [38:35] to God. [38:36] You are your God.

[38:41] But God wants to be gracious. [38:43] God wants to train you in this life through his grace. [38:49] Look at verse 9.

[38:53] God appeared to Jacob again. [38:55] I mean, what an amazing life this guy’s left.

[38:59] What an amazing life. [39:02] I’ve never had God appear.

[39:06] And Jacob got this amazing grace.

[39:10] When he came to Padana Ram, and God blessed him, and God said to him, [39:16] your name is Jacob, but no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name. [39:22] So he called his name Israel. [39:24] And God said to him, and I pray that God would say this to you, [39:28] I am God Almighty. [39:32] Be fruitful and multiply.

[39:34] A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. [39:41] The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you. [39:47] Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him, and Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, [39:55] a pillar of stone. [39:56] He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. [39:59] So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel, which means the house of God.

[40:09] Friend, you cannot experience God without submitting to his grace. [40:14] Grace cleanses, grace teaches, grace brings about amazing repentance in our lives. [40:21] We must form a view of God’s work in our lives that is different than we typically have. [40:27] Often we see the commands of God and simply think of them as authoritarian. [40:32] We don’t see the grace. [40:34] I want you to understand something very clear.

[40:37] The next time you grasp the command of God, don’t make an excuse. [40:43] Don’t react with self-defense. [40:46] Instead, look for the grace. [40:49] You, a sinner, still receive the word of God. [40:57] You, a sinner, are not out of God’s reach.

[41:05] When you view his commands that way, you begin to understand the commands of God are gracious to me. [41:14] You know, grace multiplies. [41:16] In verse 11, it contains one of my favorite commands from the book of Genesis. [41:20] Be fruitful and multiply. [41:23] Be fruitful and multiply. [41:25] Multiplication is about the vision of God.

[41:28] This is a covenant command of God on the family, yes. [41:31] God has never rescinded his command for families to grow. [41:35] I mean, you see it all over the book of Genesis. [41:38] It goes further than that, though. [41:40] The reason I know that is because Jacob was getting older. [41:44] How would he obey this?

[41:46] God didn’t come to him like he did Abraham and say, hey, man, I know you’re old, but you’re gonna make some babies. [41:50] No, Jacob had already made a few babies, and he was pretty much done, except he was gonna have one more. [41:56] It goes further than that. [41:58] This is about being the people of God. [42:00] This is about generational faith. [42:04] This is about growing Jacob’s heritage of faith to the next generation and beyond.

[42:11] How would Jacob obey this? [42:12] He would obey this by submitting to the grace of God and leading like a faithful father so that his children would know God and those around him would know God. [42:26] You see, multiplication is about living the mission of God by obeying him and allowing other people to witness your life change, your repentance, your growth. [42:39] Friends, I tell you, God’s grace is amazing. [42:42] And it is the path of the glory of God. [42:46] It changed Jacob’s identity from someone who was overwhelmed with the effects of sin to the identity of Israel, the people of God.

[42:56] As I ask you a few questions this morning, how does your identity need to change for God’s vision in your life? [43:06] What are you holding on to that is keeping you from God’s vision for your life? [43:13] Where does change need to happen? [43:18] What does grace need to teach you?

[43:24] You see, we know further in the story that Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises to Israel. [43:31] He cleared the way so that we can live a life of grace and say, I know where God’s promises to Jacob went. [43:42] They went to the cross of Jesus Christ where Jesus paid the penalty for all sins, for all time, for all peoples of all nations. [43:53] And I trust that grace. [43:57] Are you following Jesus? [43:59] Do you know the God of grace in your life?

[44:05] And how are you reacting? [44:08] As the band comes forward, I am so thankful that the narrative of Jacob’s life didn’t end in Genesis 34. [44:16] I’m thankful because there’s a lot of times in my life where I am tempted to believe that the narrative of my life will end with just a question about my failures. [44:27] There are so many times where I am tempted to believe that my life isn’t going to be the vision that God had for it. [44:38] But then Genesis 35 and Ephesians 2, 4. [44:44] God being rich in mercy with the love with which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ Jesus.

[44:57] Friends, there are some of you that you’re not letting grace teach you. [45:02] You’ve never known the amazing grace of God. [45:05] All you have is regret. All you have is faithlessness. [45:08] All you have to hold on is the sin that has scarred your life so greatly. [45:13] And for you, I invite you to trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. [45:18] He is God.

[45:21] He died for your sin. [45:22] He rose from the dead so that you could have a new life. [45:26] And if you put your faith in him today, he’ll never leave you and forsake you. [45:33] He’ll be with you forever because he is a gracious Savior. [45:39] But some of you in here, you’re a follower of Jesus Christ. [45:42] You’ve trusted his grace.

[45:43] You’re anticipating his return, but you’re struggling.

[45:48] You’ve got sin that you’re struggling to deal with. [45:51] You’ve got choices that you know you need to make, but you’re being indifferent and you don’t want to make them. [45:57] You’re kicking the can down the road. [45:59] And for you, repent.

[46:02] Grow. [46:04] Trust Jesus with your sin. [46:06] And walk in obedience. [46:08] And the first step of that is always reflecting on the cross of Jesus Christ. [46:14] Every week here at Village Church, we participate in what’s called the Lord’s Supper. [46:19] We eat of the bread. We drink of the cup.

[46:22] The bread represents the broken body of Christ. [46:24] The cup represents his shed blood. [46:27] And when we eat and drink, we proclaim to everyone around us, [46:31] I believe that Jesus saves and he’s saved me. [46:37] And then we walk away from that table knowing that we have the presence of God in our lives. [46:42] Knowing that we have the grace of God in our lives.

[46:44] And I’m going to tell you to walk out those doors and live differently [46:49] than you would have lived if you hadn’t known the God of grace.

[46:54] If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, I invite you to the tables in the front or the back. [46:59] When you’re ready, come.