Resenting People, Manipulating God.

Steve Gentry

[0:06] Alright, go ahead and have a seat. [0:08] Welcome to Village Church. [0:09] If this is your first time here, my name is Steve, one of the pastors here at Village [0:13] Church, and as always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:17] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them to Genesis 29. [0:20] We’re going to be going all the way from 29 to 31-13 today, so you’re going to be here

[0:26] for a while. [0:26] But the good news is we’ve provided lunch. [0:30] It’s the good news. [0:31] Now we’ll probably be in about the same amount of time, but it is two and a half chapters, [0:36] so bear with me. [0:38] But before we get into it, pray with me just for a moment.

[0:42] Father, we come before you thankful. [0:47] Lord, you are a good God. [0:49] Lord, you have blessed your people. [0:52] Lord, I pray right now that the worries and the stresses, the anxieties, the fears that [0:59] maybe some brought in to the service today. [1:04] Lord, I pray that you would alleviate those for the next few moments so that our focus

[1:10] can be on your word, our thoughts will not wander. [1:13] Lord, that we would focus on who you are. [1:17] That we would focus on what you have for us. [1:21] Lord, bind the enemy. [1:24] Lord, do not allow him to distract. [1:28] For Father, I pray that after our time together that we could celebrate in spirit and truth

[1:33] because we have met with you and we know we’ve met with you because we have focused on your [1:39] word. [1:41] Lord, be merciful to me a sinner. [1:43] In the name of Christ, I pray. [1:45] Amen. [1:45] Well, today is the 67th annual National Celebration of Life Festival of America and the Year of

[1:51] Our Lord 2017. [1:54] And so right after the service, if you haven’t memorized that, what’s your problem? [1:59] Right after the service, we’re going to have a picnic right out on the field. [2:03] Got some games, got plenty of food. [2:06] There’s barbecue, there’s burgers, there’s hot dogs, and if you’re a vegetarian, just [2:10] go to a different table.

[2:13] Because we’ll have other stuff. [2:15] It just isn’t as good and that’s your fault.

[2:18] But we’re going to have a lot of fun. [2:20] We’re going to celebrate. [2:21] So please, everyone’s invited. [2:24] If it’s your first time, that’s you as well. [2:27] We will feed you gladly. [2:29] If it’s one thing I know how to do, it’s have a lot of food.

[2:33] Obviously. [2:34] So we’ve got plenty of food for everybody. [2:37] So please stay. [2:38] If you leave, we’re going to stare at you. [2:42] That’s going to be awkward for you. [2:44] So you might as well at least eat a burger and just sit down for a minute and chit chat.

[2:50] But we are on the, I think it’s the eighth week of being back in the book of Genesis. [2:55] So next week we’re going to press pause on Genesis just for the month of July. [2:59] Maybe a little bit longer. [3:01] We’re going to go through a series called Anchors. [3:03] And so we’re actually going to, it’s going to be one verse each week. [3:07] And what these are going to be are some anchor verses that aid us in enduring in faith in the Gospel.

[3:14] And so I think it’s going to be a wonderful few weeks of just kind of taking a rest from the book of Genesis. [3:19] And then after that, in the month of August, we’re going to jump right back into Genesis. [3:23] But be looking forward to that as we’ve been going through it. [3:26] I think it’s going to be a great series. [3:28] It’s going to be very helpful for you. [3:31] But today we’re kind of continuing in the life of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, who received the promise of God that through his lineage, all of the nations of the earth were going to be blessed.

[3:44] All the families of the earth would be blessed. [3:47] And now we’re in a section of Scripture that literally it’s a story that spans or a record of history that spans about two and a half chapters. [3:57] So I want to just kind of summarize it and all of the themes from it into our week today. [4:04] And just to remind you that the Bible is a record of how God worked throughout history to redeem for himself a people of his own possession. [4:16] And there is nothing that can defeat his plan. [4:21] And so we read through the scriptures that no matter what happens, no matter what wicked people do, God’s plan always, always marches on.

[4:31] And so last week, we came to the conclusion of the story of Isaac’s family and the dysfunction that ensued in the lives of Esau and Jacob, really because of his parents’ lack of trust in God. [4:45] This is a family that had received a specific revelation from the Lord, but took no joy in receiving that, but instead chased after selfish ambitions and trusted themselves rather than trusting in God. [5:01] And so last chapter in Chapter 28, we saw God kind of intervene in the life of Jacob, whom he had promised to continue to work through. [5:10] And he told Jacob’s mother that Jacob was to go to his homeland to find for himself a wife. [5:19] And in this record, there’s going to be many similarities between how Jacob meets Rachel and how Isaac, his father, met Jacob’s mother, Rebecca. [5:29] And so Jacob, spoiler alert, he’s going to fall in love with a woman named Rachel.

[5:34] But the sin of his past is going to catch up with him and mar him. [5:41] And I believe it’s the hand of the Lord that’s going to do this. [5:44] And so let’s jump right back into it. [5:46] And point number one this morning is very simple. [5:48] Sin often comes back to discipline you. [5:51] Sin often comes back to discipline you.

[5:55] And while God’s doing that, while he’s disciplining you, understand that his path is still marching forward in prosperity. [6:02] Genesis 29 through 31 is one of the most interesting stories in scripture to me. [6:07] But it is a very tough one to apply to your life. [6:11] We’ve got a love story. [6:12] We’ve got a lot of deception. [6:14] We’ve got some gross stuff that’s not really preferable to talk about.

[6:17] I mean, you got polygamy. [6:18] You got all these kids born to all these different women. [6:21] You got intense rivalries. [6:23] You’ve got more examples of how not to parent your children and on and on and on. [6:29] So if you’re looking to the story and you’re like, I want some chicken soup for the soul. [6:33] It’s going to be really tough because what you’re getting is just a messy soup of wickedness.

[6:39] And you’re like, what’s the lesson here, Lord? [6:43] Well, I think sometimes we do that because the way that we go to scripture is flawed. [6:49] So often the way that we go to scripture is we look at it and we’re like, I’ve had a rough day. [6:53] I need some inspiration. [6:55] And so we’re like, you know, you don’t really study it the way you’re supposed to. [6:59] So you just kind of open to some random section.

[7:02] You’re like, OK, here’s my inspiration. [7:04] My warning for you is if you land anywhere between Genesis 29 and 31, good luck. [7:09] All right. [7:10] It’s not going to make your bad day better. [7:12] It’s going to make your bad day more confusing. [7:15] All right.

[7:15] And you’re going to be like, I have no idea what’s going on in this text because that’s not the way [7:19] that we are supposed to read the scriptures. [7:22] We fail in reading the Bible because we always begin by looking for a moral to apply [7:29] to our personal lives. [7:32] And all that is that is you trying to be the main character of the scriptures. [7:37] But the fact is that you are not the main character of God’s word.

[7:40] God is the main character. [7:42] He is the hero. [7:44] His plan of redemption in Jesus is the point of scripture. [7:48] And this is his record of how he got there. [7:52] And so any time that you are reading the scriptures, [7:55] you need to understand and begin to apply all of them with a foundational understanding

[8:01] by asking the question, how is God working his plan to fulfill his promises [8:08] through this part of scripture?

[8:11] And what that does is it shows you that the key theme of all scripture is the [8:16] faithfulness of God to his promises. [8:19] That he’s the main character, that you learning about him is the main point. [8:24] Only when you read the Bible through that lens can you ever hope to truly learn how to apply [8:31] as a whole Genesis through Revelation to your life. [8:37] Because too many of you begin with yourself and you do not begin with God.

[8:41] If you start with God, then you can read records like this record that we’re going to go through [8:48] where it’s all just a big mess. [8:51] And you can begin to say, man, how is God working his faithfulness through this wickedness? [8:59] And when you do that, you begin to see the revelation of God in new ways. [9:04] And so in the first few verses of chapter 29, Jacob returns to the hometown of his grandfather [9:11] and his mother.

[9:12] And he meets the family at the well. [9:15] This is where we start in Genesis 29.1. [9:17] Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. [9:22] As he looked, he saw a well in the field and behold three flocks of sheep lying beside it. [9:27] For out of that well the flocks were watered. [9:30] The stone on the well’s mouth was large and when all the flocks were gathered there,

[9:33] the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep and put [9:38] the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well. [9:41] And Jacob said to them, my brothers, where do you come from? [9:43] And they said, we’re from Haran. [9:45] And he said to them, do you know Laban, the son of Nahor? [9:48] And they said, we know him.

[9:49] He said to them, is the well with him? [9:51] And they said, it is well. [9:53] And see, Rachel, his daughter is coming with the sheep. [9:56] He said, behold, it is still high day. [9:58] It is not time for the livestock to be gathered together, water the sheep and go pasture them. [10:03] But they said, we cannot until all the flocks are gathered together

[10:06] and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well. [10:09] Then we water the sheep. [10:10] Then down in verse 9, it says, while he was still speaking with them, [10:13] Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. [10:17] And so here’s, let me just paint the picture for you, okay? [10:20] Here’s Jacob and he’s on his journey and he gets to the well.

[10:22] Now, this is the same well that the servant of Abraham had found Rebecca, Isaac’s wife. [10:30] And so Jacob goes to this well. [10:32] He’s looking for his wife and he looks up and there she is. [10:37] All right, now it’s kind of the scene. [10:38] And if you kind of think about a romantic comedy, right? [10:41] This is the part where they put like five fans in front of someone and their hair’s like blowing back.

[10:46] You know, the light’s perfect. [10:48] They’ve got the foundation applied just right. [10:50] You don’t see any flaws. [10:52] It probably wasn’t like that. [10:54] I mean, she’s a shepherdess. [10:55] She probably hadn’t showered in days.

[10:56] She was so funky. [10:57] All right, she’s probably stank, hair’s all matted. [11:00] I mean, just whoa. [11:02] But Jacob, he’s like, wow. [11:04] He’s like, man, love at first sight. [11:08] Jacob falls wildly in love with Rachel.

[11:12] The first moment that he sees the shepherdess, Rachel. [11:19] And so Jacob sees that the hand of God that had revealed to him through a dream, [11:25] his will in the last chapter, he’s prospering the path of Jacob. [11:31] This is a picture of God being faithful to his promise to the lineage of Abraham. [11:37] Is the faithfulness. [11:39] But then the story, the record kind of takes an interesting turn.

[11:43] And that’s where it begins to get messy. [11:46] But I also believe that this is where God brings discipline into the path of Jacob. [11:51] Because you gotta understand, there are going to be repercussions for sin in this life. [11:56] That if we do not keep our vision on God’s faithfulness intact, [12:01] will cause us to be greatly discouraged as to how we see the hand of God. [12:07] Going into our lives.

[12:09] And so the way that the record goes is that he sees Rachel and then he goes to Laban, [12:14] Rachel’s father, and through a series of events, he basically looks to Laban and he says, [12:19] I am in love with your daughter. [12:21] I desire to marry her. [12:23] Things are happening so fast right now. [12:26] I just finished.

[12:28] It’s over.

[12:31] See ya. [12:32] We’re done. [12:34] Wow, credits. [12:36] Wow.

[12:38] So, I’m struggling to recover from what just happened on that screen. [12:42] I don’t even know what it looked like back there in color. [12:45] All right, because it’s black and white back here.

[12:52] So I’m trying to remember the Bible now. [12:55] It gets tough in moments.

[13:00] So, Jacob goes to Laban, Rachel’s father, [13:04] and through a series of events, he looks to Laban and he says, [13:08] I am in love with your daughter. [13:09] I would like to marry her. [13:10] Tell me what do I need to do to have your daughter’s hand in marriage? [13:13] Basically, what’s the wage that I need to pay?

[13:16] And Laban looks to Jacob and he says, [13:19] if you will labor for me for seven years. [13:22] And I’m beginning to think in this part of the story, [13:24] he must have really liked Rachel because I don’t know of many people [13:28] that could work for their in-laws, okay? [13:29] And so Jacob is like, I’ll work for you for seven years.

[13:33] That’s how much of a knockout I think this girl is. [13:36] This is how much in love with her I am. [13:38] So he commits and he works for him for seven years. [13:42] And then after that seven-year period is over, [13:46] Laban is just a con man. [13:49] He’s a liar.

[13:51] And I don’t know how this happened. [13:52] This is part of the story where it’s like, [13:53] I’m a little uncomfortable talking about this myself [13:56] because somehow, I don’t know how drunk Jacob was. [14:01] I don’t know what happened, [14:03] but somehow over is dark in the room.

[14:08] I don’t know. [14:10] He somehow marries Leah instead of Rachel. [14:14] And the reason is, is for the same reason [14:17] that Jacob’s father, Isaac, was going wanted to bless Esau [14:21] because Esau was the oldest. [14:23] And so Laban doesn’t want Rachel to get married first

[14:26] because she’s the youngest. [14:27] He needs to offload Leah before he gets to Rachel. [14:32] And the text is not very nice here. [14:34] It says Leah’s weak in the eyes. [14:36] Doesn’t mean she needed a prescription.

[14:41] Ladies, don’t get offended. [14:43] That means she was hard to look at. [14:46] He didn’t, you looked once, he didn’t look twice. [14:50] Looked once, okay, over here. [14:51] Wow, Rachel, a lot better. [14:54] That’s what’s going on in the record.

[14:57] And so he didn’t want to marry Leah, [14:59] wanted to marry Rachel, and Laban’s like, [15:01] well, I’m just gonna, you know, I don’t know how. [15:04] But he wakes up and Leah, there she is. [15:09] And he’s like, oh, still weak on the eyes, see? [15:12] And so Jacob, he used to be a smart guy.

[15:16] Now he’s got kind of a dummy. [15:17] And so he goes back to Laban. [15:19] And instead of working things out by saying, [15:22] you’ve deceived me, I’m done with Leah, [15:25] this is part of the story that the scripture’s [15:26] not exactly specific about, so I can’t speak to

[15:30] why Jacob never says, I’m not marrying that one. [15:35] Give me Rachel. [15:37] Instead, Laban, who’s really conniving, [15:39] he says, I’ll tell you what, let me make you another deal. [15:43] Here’s the key, if after seven years [15:45] you’ve had bad business dealings with someone,

[15:46] don’t make another deal. [15:49] That’s just some common sense. [15:51] And so he makes another deal. [15:51] He says, okay, I’ll work for you seven more years. [15:54] And so now he’s working for Laban the liar’s [15:57] 14 years to get Rachel.

[16:01] Now, here’s where I have to be very specific [16:05] about just the life of Jacob, then we’re going [16:08] to get into the whole polygamy thing that goes on after that. [16:11] First, I want you to understand that there are some [16:13] crazy similarities to what happens in Jacob’s life [16:18] here as to what he did to his brother years ago.

[16:24] I mean, the details of how this went down are so similar. [16:27] There’s an older sibling and a younger sibling. [16:31] There’s deception of a family member in order to get his way. [16:35] And then Jacob was duped into something [16:38] that he didn’t mean to commit to. [16:42] This is so similar to how Jacob acted

[16:46] inside of his own family. [16:48] And while the scripture isn’t specific of drawing [16:51] the lines together, it’s so exactly similar [16:54] that we must take a look and say, it’s crazy how [16:58] what happened to Jacob so similar to what he did in his past. [17:03] And I truly believe that this similarity is significant

[17:07] and that it is God’s discipline for Jacob’s sanctification [17:10] to reveal to him the errors of his past. [17:15] You see, the fact is that you need to grow beyond your past [17:18] and the only way that you can do it is to face your sin. [17:21] See, if we don’t, we will either continue in sin [17:24] or we will live in shame, both of which

[17:28] are opposed to the gospel. [17:30] You see, Jacob had an experience in Genesis 28 [17:33] where the Lord literally confronted him [17:35] with his amazing dream of what the future [17:38] was going to look like through his faithfulness [17:40] to his covenants.

[17:41] And Jacob was changed by it. [17:42] I mean, he worships the Lord. [17:45] The text had not shown us before that Jacob [17:47] worshiping the Lord in spirit and truth. [17:50] And in Genesis 28, he calls the place Bethel. [17:52] He says, this is the house of the Lord.

[17:53] I have seen the Lord. [17:55] It’s an amazing experience. [17:56] I believe that was Jacob’s redemptive moment. [17:59] And so now he has the presence of God in his life, [18:02] but he hasn’t dealt with his sin. [18:05] See, many of you have dealt with your sin

[18:08] in a general sense. [18:11] You believe the truth of the gospel. [18:13] You’re seeking to give your life over to Jesus Christ. [18:16] And you have. [18:19] But there are specific sins in your past [18:22] that you have not dealt with.

[18:24] And the repercussions of it are following you. [18:27] Maybe it’s following you through shame. [18:30] That you are filled with shame and do not believe [18:33] that the Lord can use you. [18:35] And you do not believe that the Lord can work [18:37] in your life even though you believe in the grace.

[18:40] Of Jesus Christ because your past is too dark. [18:43] You’ve done too many things. [18:46] Or maybe reconciliation would be needed [18:48] because you have wronged someone. [18:50] Or you have wronged people. [18:52] And you do not want to deal with it.

[18:54] You do not want to reconcile with those people. [18:57] And so you carry that lack of reconciliation with you. [19:01] You carry the guilt of knowing what you should do. [19:04] You carry the regret of knowing what your past looks like. [19:08] But you can’t deal with that in your life [19:12] because you refuse to.

[19:15] And my warning to you is that the repercussions [19:17] for your past in this life can follow you.

[19:22] Eternally speaking, you’ve been forgiven. [19:24] Eternally speaking, you have a relationship with God. [19:27] Eternally speaking, you’ve been redeemed. [19:29] But practically speaking, in this life, [19:31] you have to deal with your sin. [19:35] And in aiding people in growing and sanctification,

[19:38] that is the most difficult thing [19:40] that most people have to deal with. [19:42] Because we believe these little token verses [19:44] and we take them out of context. [19:46] And we’re like, oh, I’m just pressing forward [19:48] towards the price.

[19:49] I’m forgetting what’s going on in the past. [19:51] And that, Paul’s not saying you don’t have [19:53] to deal with your sin. [19:55] And you look at people and you say, oh, I confess. [19:57] I am a sinner. [19:58] I have sinned against the Lord in a general sense.

[20:04] But you don’t want to get more specific with that, [20:07] not even in your prayer life. [20:08] Because you don’t want to look at the reality of your life. [20:14] So you lie to yourself, you lie to others, [20:17] and what’s worse is you lie to the Lord. [20:21] And you don’t deal with it.

[20:23] Friends, I tell you, you need to face your sin [20:26] because you need to grow beyond your past. [20:30] And the only way that you can do that is to face your sin. [20:35] If you don’t, you will either continue in sin [20:38] or you will live in shame. [20:40] Both of which are opposed to the gospel.

[20:43] The discipline that God brings into your life [20:46] is never about getting you off of his path. [20:48] It is about getting you onto his path. [20:50] And so what you’ll think is, is you’re carrying this regret, [20:53] you’re carrying this shame, you’re carrying this thing [20:56] that you refuse to deal with.

[21:01] And the Lord’s disciplining you through it.

[21:05] You can’t have a vital life in the scriptures [21:06] because every time you do, you’re just reminded of your sin. [21:09] You can’t have a vital prayer life [21:10] because every time you do, you’re just reminded of your sin. [21:13] You struggle to serve the Lord because every time you do, [21:15] you feel like you’re carrying lead weight around with you.

[21:20] And so the fact is, is that the Lord has brought [21:22] those repercussions into your life to get you to face it [21:25] so that you can believe the gospel [21:28] in every moment of your life. [21:30] The Lord’s not trying to get you off of his track. [21:32] He’s trying to get you onto his track

[21:34] because there’s a way of viewing it where you say, [21:36] why is the Lord bringing this into my life? [21:39] Why is he bringing this one? [21:40] Does the Lord hate me? [21:43] No, the Lord loves you. [21:45] And because of that, he wants you to face your specific sins

[21:48] so that you can grow past them [21:52] so that you can actually deal with them. [21:54] The discipline for sin follows us, [21:57] but if we deal with it and turn from it to obedience, [22:00] specifically the repercussions for sin [22:03] will turn into a joyful moment

[22:06] to look at how much we have grown in faith.

[22:10] Otherwise, we will grow in our arrogance of sin [22:14] thinking that we don’t need to deal with it.

[22:18] So the fact is, is that the cross of Christ is so victorious [22:22] that it does not just deal with generic sin. [22:27] It does not just deal with general sin. [22:31] It deals with specific sin. [22:35] And it will get you right if you will trust it. [22:38] And once it has gotten you right, then,

[22:41] do you want to know the moment [22:42] that I think someone has really dealt with their sin? [22:44] When they can talk about it.

[22:48] I’m not saying the talk about it where it’s just like, [22:50] I mean, your face is so much in pain [22:52] because there’s still this weight that’s going on. [22:54] No, it’s that you can talk about it. [22:56] You can say, man, but God has been so good. [22:59] He’s forgiven me.

[23:01] That’s the point is that I was lost. [23:04] Now I am found. [23:05] This is my story. [23:07] Nor am I talking about the kind of way [23:09] that we share sins where we’re like, look at me.

[23:13] Focus on me. [23:15] The narcissism that would have us gather people around us. [23:18] I did this and I did that and I did the other thing. [23:21] And then 10 years later, I did this and I did that [23:23] and I did the other thing. [23:24] 10 years later, I did this and I did that

[23:26] and I did the other thing. [23:27] All you’re doing is trying to get people to look at you. [23:29] You are the main character of that story. [23:33] When you have truly dealt with sin, [23:35] you share what has happened in your life. [23:37] And then you say, but the point of the story

[23:39] is how great God is. [23:41] My sin no longer holds me back. [23:43] I’ve experienced real victory. [23:45] I’ve experienced real obedience. [23:46] I’ve been able to realign my affections to the Lord. [23:49] He is the hero of my story.

[23:52] Your testimony is never about you. [23:56] But too many times I hear testimonies [23:58] and you’re the main character of your story. [24:01] You haven’t truly faced your sin [24:02] if you’re still the main character. [24:05] You’ve only faced your sin when God is the main character.

[24:09] But number two this morning, [24:10] understand that God graciously blesses faulty efforts. [24:14] But joy comes from trusting God.

[24:19] You know, in fulfilling his promises [24:20] and the path that the Lord used through history to do that, [24:24] God has built a path of grace and mercy. [24:27] And I’m so thankful that he has [24:29] because if he wasn’t for his grace and mercy, [24:32] we couldn’t be on his path.

[24:35] And so as the story progresses, [24:38] it gets a little weird. [24:40] I mean, here’s where Jacob, [24:43] he’s married to Leah and then he’s married to Rachel [24:46] and then he’s married to Rachel’s servant. [24:48] Then he’s married to Leah’s servant.

[24:50] And I don’t know how many more women were in the process, [24:53] but let me just explain something to you [24:55] that the Bible never prescribes polygamy. [24:57] The Bible rejects it. [25:00] And this is wicked. [25:03] This is wicked.

[25:06] The scripture is clear that God’s design is one guy [25:09] to marry one woman, [25:10] and be intimate with that one woman [25:12] for the rest of his life. [25:13] And that’s God’s design. [25:15] Now we get his design wrong a lot

[25:17] and we just need to admit what it is. [25:19] It happens because of sin. [25:21] No matter what it is, it happens because of sin. [25:24] But in this story, [25:25] I don’t know how people get themselves [25:26] to thinking polygamy is a good idea

[25:28] because if you’re gonna see through the result of this story [25:30] that it doesn’t work out well for anyone. [25:33] I love my wife. [25:34] I’m married, just so you know. [25:36] And I can only comment this from a male perspective [25:39] for obvious reasons.

[25:42] I mean, I have a beard, guys. [25:44] I’m a man. [25:46] So I can’t come at it from the female perspective. [25:48] But from a male perspective, I love my wife. [25:50] I mean, she was designed by God for me. [25:53] I’m convinced of it.

[25:54] Not a lot of people could put up with this mess, [25:55] but my wife actually loves me. [25:58] It’s crazy. [25:59] And so she’s a wonderful woman. [26:01] And so I guess sometimes [26:02] you’re either Mormon or you’re stupid.

[26:05] It’s okay. [26:06] Mormons aren’t Christians, so I can make fun of them. [26:08] They’re stupid. [26:09] But the reality is that you look at your life [26:13] and maybe you’re just stupid one morning, [26:14] you’re like, man, if she’s so awesome,

[26:19] maybe two would be double awesome. [26:22] Three, triple awesome. [26:23] Four, quadruple awesome.

[26:26] But it never works out well at all. [26:31] And that’s why God didn’t design it to be that way. [26:35] And so, guys, if you’re ever tempted towards polygamy, [26:38] which isn’t really hot right now, [26:40] it’s not a big temptation in our culture, [26:43] but if you are, don’t.

[26:45] Bad things happen. [26:47] And so Jacob enters into this hot mess [26:50] of an immoral relationship with multiple women. [26:55] And the Lord, though, is still gracious [26:57] to work in his faithfulness by using sinful people. [27:04] And so sometimes when we read stories like this,

[27:06] we’re like, how could the Lord use such wicked people? [27:09] Well, realize that if he didn’t use wicked people, [27:12] he would never use you. [27:14] He couldn’t use any of us. [27:16] So when we read portions of Scripture [27:18] that contain wickedness like this

[27:20] and ask how could God use them, [27:22] and I would say he uses them the same way he uses you.

[27:26] Jacob worked another seven years, married Rachel. [27:29] It’s fascinating that the heads of all of the tribes of Israel [27:34] are born through Leah and Rachel. [27:37] And then in Genesis 29, 31, [27:39] we see the family begin to be born, [27:41] and the Lord opened Leah’s womb,

[27:44] and he closed Rachel’s womb, [27:46] and the text attributes that to Jacob didn’t love Leah. [27:49] And so God was merciful to Leah, [27:51] and he was gracious to Leah, [27:52] and he opened her womb so that she would have favor [27:55] in Jacob’s eyes, and he closes Rachel’s womb

[27:57] because she already had the favor. [27:59] And so the key that I want you to understand is [28:01] that here is where a rivalry between two sisters starts [28:05] that causes more wickedness than would have happened [28:10] if things had just gotten right in the first place. [28:13] And the real flaw here is Jacob.

[28:17] If Jacob had led as he was designed to lead, [28:21] he would have trusted God, [28:23] and all of this nonsense would have been stopped. [28:26] But who pays when husbands don’t lead? [28:28] The entire family. [28:31] And so if you’re in here, or you’re a husband,

[28:33] or you want to be a husband, [28:34] some of you won’t be husbands because you won’t grow up, [28:38] but if you’re in here and you are a husband, [28:41] I want you to understand something. [28:42] You were created by God to lead your family.

[28:46] And so when you abdicate yourself by leaving your family, [28:50] which is a pandemic in our age, [28:53] or you abdicate by letting your bride lead the family, [28:57] understand that you are in sin [28:59] and going against God’s design. [29:00] When your family begins to have issues,

[29:03] when things begin to fall apart, [29:04] you do not look to your significant other [29:07] and say, what’s your problem? [29:08] You look in the mirror and you say, what’s your problem? [29:12] Because everything rises and falls on leadership. [29:15] And so men were meant to lead their families

[29:18] in godly fashions, and Jacob refuses to lead his family. [29:24] And decades of mess ensue [29:27] where Leah and Rachel now have this rivalry [29:30] where one resents the other because she’s the pretty one. [29:33] The other one resents the other [29:35] because she’s the one that’s fertile.

[29:37] The other one resents the other one [29:38] because her servant was able to get pregnant. [29:40] The other one resents the other [29:41] because her servant was able to get pregnant. [29:43] And then Leah’s upset because finally Rachel gets pregnant, [29:46] and there’s just rivalry, contention, deception,

[29:49] and just a giant mess that ensues. [29:55] And when you look at the lives of Leah and Rachel, [29:57] I want you to understand that after we look [29:59] at the flaw of Jacob as a non-leader, [30:01] we must then look at the lives of Leah and Rachel [30:04] as they resent each other

[30:05] because resentment is never the path of faithfulness. [30:09] Because Jacob didn’t lead his family in righteousness. [30:12] The path that they walked was ripe with rivalry, [30:15] contention, deception, and no one in this record [30:20] was taking joy in the promises of God. [30:23] No one.

[30:25] A friend, I tell you, if you want joy in the promises of God, [30:28] you must be faithful to God. [30:30] If you want to know where rivalry with other people starts, [30:34] it always starts with not trusting God.

[30:39] And so as the years go on, [30:41] the resentment and the rivalry between these two women [30:44] and then their servants on top of them [30:47] just gets bigger and bigger and bigger.

[30:52] Now, I’m going to have to have spoken to the men [30:56] about leadership, [30:56] and I’m going to have to speak to the women about rivalries. [31:00] Now, bear with me. [31:01] There’s a reason for this. [31:03] And my years of pastoral ministry,

[31:05] this was some before this church [31:06] and eight years as the lead pastor of Village Church, [31:09] I’ve noticed something about men. [31:11] Men get mad at each other, [31:13] but most men don’t let that anger fester for centuries. [31:19] All right.

[31:19] After about an hour or two, all right, they hug it out. [31:23] All right. [31:24] And then we can go get a burger. [31:25] All right. [31:26] They’re like, oh, sorry, bro. [31:27] Sorry, bro.

[31:27] Hug it out. [31:28] All right. [31:28] Let’s eat. [31:29] And that’s not all men. [31:32] Some of you are odd. [31:33] And you start these rivalries and I’m so emotional.

[31:38] But what I’ve noticed, though, in pastoral ministry, [31:41] women aren’t like that. [31:43] I mean, I’ve met some women. [31:45] They’re like, you don’t understand. [31:47] Her great grandmother offended my great grandmother. [31:52] We cannot coexist in the same church.

[31:55] Like, what? [31:57] Are you crazy? [31:58] The answer to that is yes. [32:00] All right. [32:01] But the outcome of that is just ridiculous resentment [32:05] that I cannot possibly understand.

[32:09] But the key is that there seems to be something [32:12] that goes on in many of us [32:14] where we will begin to have rivalries with other people. [32:18] But we need to deal with what those rivalries are. [32:22] They are demonic. [32:24] In Galatians chapter five, starting in verse nine, 19,

[32:27] the apostle Paul is writing and he wants us to understand [32:29] what the works of the flesh are versus the works [32:32] of the Holy Spirit in our lives. [32:33] And he says, the works of the flesh are evident. [32:35] There’s sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [32:37] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,

[32:41] fits of anger, rivalries. [32:44] And he says, I want you to understand. [32:46] I’ve warned you about this because those who do [32:48] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [32:51] And see, we read that list a lot of times [32:53] and we’re like, okay.

[32:55] All right, I get it. [32:55] Sexual immorality, bad. [32:58] All right. [33:00] You know, oh my goodness, sorcery, [33:02] should not look into the crystal ball. [33:05] Idolatry, we took down Baal a long time ago.

[33:10] Sensuality, but we don’t like it. [33:13] We don’t like it. [33:14] Rivalries, oh, that’s not as bad, right? [33:17] And see, the point of this text is not that the Lord [33:19] is giving us some sort of totem pole [33:21] about the seriousness of sin

[33:23] because the repercussions of some sin [33:24] are greater than the repercussions of other sin. [33:26] But what he wants us to understand [33:28] is that all of these things are offensive to God [33:32] and they are a barrier to the work of God [33:36] and they have no place in gospel-centered living.

[33:40] And he wants you to understand that the offense [33:43] of resentment and rivalries is as potent [33:48] to strangle faith in Jesus Christ [33:51] and strangle the witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. [33:55] As much as sexual immorality. [33:57] And so you should take it just as seriously.

[34:02] But many of us don’t. [34:03] What we do is, is we excuse it. [34:07] And you say, well, I don’t have a rivalry with someone. [34:09] They have no idea how much I resent them. [34:12] So it’s not really a rivalry, right? [34:14] I want you to understand that the Greek word

[34:16] used for rivalry here is the same word [34:19] that elsewhere is used for selfish ambition and resentment. [34:25] And so you don’t get out just because the other person [34:27] doesn’t know how much you hate them for no reason. [34:30] Right? [34:30] And we are so silly in the way that we live our lives

[34:35] where other people are concerned. [34:37] And I want you to understand that if you are living a life [34:40] with resentment towards others, [34:42] it is very difficult to trust Christ [34:44] and have rivalries in your life. [34:48] Rivalries arise because you think you lack something

[34:52] that someone else has or that someone has taken [34:55] something or some respect from you. [35:00] The offenses that cause rivalries [35:01] typically flow from a lack of belief that Jesus is enough [35:05] or a lack of willingness to forgive on both sides. [35:11] In all of its forms, resentment prevents you

[35:15] from using your time, using your giftings, [35:18] using your energy, and using your materials [35:20] for the cause of the gospel because it demands [35:23] that your focus be elsewhere to find the blessings [35:27] that you are really looking for. [35:30] Because they’re not heavenly, they’re earthly.

[35:33] That’s what rivalries and resentment show. [35:35] That you are more obsessed with earthly blessings [35:37] than you are with the blessings that God has promised you. [35:40] And because of that, Galatians 6, 7, [35:42] just one chapter over summarizes this list [35:45] by saying that it mocks God.

[35:50] Your resentment mocks God, [35:53] and you will reap what you have sown. [35:56] Friend, I warn you, if you reap resentment, [35:59] it is all that you will ever have. [36:04] You’re just letting people rent space in your head. [36:07] When you trust God, you have joy that can’t be robbed

[36:10] by something someone else does [36:13] or something you think someone else have done. [36:16] Because most rivalries are invented in the head [36:20] and are completely worthless. [36:22] You walk into a room and two people are having [36:25] a conversation and they stop the conversation.

[36:28] Oh, I know they were talking about me. [36:29] That’s why they stopped talking. [36:31] Well, I’ll show them. [36:32] I’ll just hate them forever.

[36:37] How’s that working for you? [36:39] I mean, man, they can barely take it.

[36:43] You’re just letting them rent space in your head. [36:46] They’re all free. [36:47] They don’t even know, man. [36:49] And you’re resenting them.

[36:52] You see, friends, Leah and Rachel robbed themselves of joy [36:56] until they learned to turn to God for gain.

[37:03] See, the truth is that some people [37:04] are going to criticize you. [37:07] People are going to say mean things about you. [37:10] Trust me, I know what that’s like. [37:13] You don’t stand up here and that doesn’t happen [37:15] to you 36 times a week.

[37:19] But the fact of the matter is, [37:21] who are you going to listen to? [37:24] Are you going to listen to what God says about you? [37:27] Are you going to listen to what finite, [37:30] ignorant people are going to say? [37:32] And I’m not saying all criticism is ignorant.

[37:34] Some of you, I’m sure, have very good criticisms of me. [37:37] But the fact is that I’m not going to let any of it [37:41] dictate my eternal worth where God is concerned [37:44] and allow it to consume me to where I resent you [37:48] because it’s detrimental to me. [37:51] But it’s also detrimental to you

[37:53] because it prevents me from truly loving you. [37:57] And that is a sin against God. [38:00] That is why it’s wicked. [38:01] Resentment is demonic. [38:03] It is hellacious. [38:04] It must be repented of.

[38:06] Rivalries are demonic. [38:08] You must forgive others. [38:10] You must forgive yourself. [38:12] You must deal with your sin, not because it’s about you, [38:16] but because that’s how powerful the gospel of Jesus Christ is. [38:21] It heals all of our wounds.

[38:24] It binds us when we’re injured. [38:28] And it is greater than any criticism [38:31] that you could ever endure. [38:32] And it is greater than any rivalry [38:34] that you have in your life. [38:36] And the fact of the matter is,

[38:37] you don’t always need to seek the person out. [38:39] You just simply need to forgive them and move on and love them. [38:44] Number three, God’s blessings cannot be manipulated by human hands. [38:51] God’s blessings cannot be manipulated by human hands. [38:57] I want you to understand that the story continues. [39:00] Rachel eventually turns to the Lord.

[39:03] What a crazy idea. [39:05] She turned to the Lord. [39:07] And she said, she said, help me, Father. [39:09] And he helps. [39:10] But then in chapter 30, about halfway through, starting in verse 25,

[39:16] Laban and Jacob get together. [39:17] Jacob’s like, hey, Laban, I need to go home. [39:20] I need.

[39:23] I need to go home. [39:25] And so, and so, so Jacob goes to Laban. [39:27] And I mean, at this point, it has been probably three decades at minimum. [39:32] And he says, he says, I need to go back home. [39:35] He should have gone home a long time ago. [39:37] But Laban was a con man.

[39:39] He’s proven that. [39:40] And Laban looks at him and he butters Jacob up and he’s like, Jacob, well, [39:44] it’s been so wonderful to have you. [39:45] I’m so thankful because Jacob had become Laban’s horseshoe. [39:52] It’s golden horseshoe. [39:53] He’d become his rabbit’s foot.

[39:54] He’d become his get rich quick scheme because Laban looks to him. [39:58] He says, look, Jacob, I know that the only reason I’ve gotten so rich since you’ve been here [40:03] is because the hand of God is prospering you. [40:05] And so then he tries to kind of lay it on thick and he’s like, what wages can I give you for this? [40:10] All the while in the back of his mind thinking I’m about to set in the perfect con [40:14] to make myself even richer.

[40:17] Laban was not in it for God. [40:21] He wanted money. [40:24] That’s all he was in it for. [40:26] And he was trying to manipulate the hand of God to make himself richer. [40:30] And this is a struggle that we all have. [40:32] Even if the Bible tells us specifically, hey, that’s not good.

[40:37] I mean, Hebrews chapter 13 gets so specific. [40:39] It says that the desire of wealth is in the same league as sexual immorality and false doctrine. [40:48] I wish it wasn’t in that same league, but it is. [40:51] And here’s why. [40:53] The desire for wealth can consume you the same way that the desire for sexual immorality can [41:02] consume you.

[41:03] The desire for wealth can consume you in the same way that false doctrine can consume you. [41:09] And it leads you off of the right path. [41:12] And that’s the path that Laban is on. [41:14] I get it. [41:16] I have HGTV. [41:17] I watch it and covet immediately.

[41:20] I want diamond plated countertops. [41:22] I think that’s next. [41:23] And then I also want floors that are reclaimed wood from a barn in Kenya. [41:28] All right. [41:29] That’s what I’m like. [41:30] Oh, I got to have Kenyan floors now.

[41:34] Okay. [41:36] Somehow I got to make a million dollars this year. [41:38] All right. [41:39] But I don’t desire wealth. [41:41] I mean, no, no, no, no. [41:43] First Timothy 6, 9 reminds us says, don’t desire it.

[41:48] It says don’t desire it. [41:49] It tells Timothy, he says teach those who are rich, which means this is also not a sin to be rich. [41:55] God will bless some with great material gain. [41:59] And it’ll be for his glory. [42:01] But understand that those who experience material prosperity must acknowledge that [42:06] it is the blessing from the Lord and not just the product of their own limited abilities.

[42:13] Because friend, if you have great material gain, you have great responsibility. [42:17] Do not let others covet it because that is what is impressive about you.

[42:23] See, because some of us fall into the trap that we have great material gain, [42:26] but then we fall under this trap of that’s the most impressive thing about us is our bank account. [42:31] So that’s not the way of the Lord. [42:33] You must work hard for humility and godliness so that others know where your true treasures are, [42:39] or people will regularly resent you. [42:42] They will start rivalries with you and they will think that they just need your money.

[42:47] Now, God’s material blessings to Jacob were about the land promises and the prosperity [42:51] that he promised to the lineage of Abraham. [42:53] Therefore, Laban tried to deceive him in verses 32 through 40. [42:58] But Jacob fell into the same type of disobedience by thinking that his hope was in riches. [43:04] You see, God hasn’t promised us material gain. [43:06] He’s promised us better things.

[43:08] Redemption, love, reconciliation, forgiveness, community, peace, joy, transformed lives, etc. [43:16] That is what we should be envied for. [43:19] The chase for financial gain is not a promise of God and therefore a foolish venture, [43:25] according to the book of Ecclesiastes. [43:28] But here’s a story where two men are trying to manipulate God for blessings. [43:31] Oh, what did old Jacob do wrong?

[43:33] I didn’t think Jacob had done anything wrong. [43:34] He had. [43:35] See, he goes to Laban and he says, Laban, I need goats. [43:39] Things were different then. [43:41] All right. [43:41] Nowadays, it’s all about them papers.

[43:43] It’s all about big houses. [43:45] It’s all about nice cars. [43:46] Back then, goats. [43:48] That’s the sign of wealth. [43:50] And so Jacob says, hey, Laban, I want goats of a certain color. [43:55] And then Jacob leaves and Laban leaves and Laban’s like, okay, I’m going to separate

[44:00] the goats out so that I can get the best of the picks so that they will mate in such a way [44:05] and be the right color of speckled, mottled and all these other things. [44:08] And then Jacob goes and he practices divination by putting a stick in their watering trough [44:13] because they believed back then that if goats would look at a certain shape, [44:18] that it would affect their embryos so that they would be born of a different color. [44:21] By the way, not a goat farmer.

[44:23] My understanding is doesn’t work. [44:25] All right. [44:26] So if you are a goat farmer, do that. [44:28] Do it that way. [44:28] You will. [44:30] But in the end, we see that Jacob was matching his dishonest ways.

[44:36] Jacob tried to use divination because he didn’t trust the Lord. [44:42] And in the end, in Genesis 31, 11 through 13, we see the way it worked out. [44:47] Jacob flourished, but it wasn’t because of Jacob’s deception. [44:53] Laban failed, but list what Jacob says in Genesis 31, verse 11.

[45:02] It says, then the Lord of God said, the angel of God said to me in the dream, [45:06] Jacob, and I said, here I am. [45:09] And he said, lift up your eyes to heaven and see all the goats that mate with the flock [45:16] striped, spotted and modeled. [45:19] For I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. [45:23] I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and gave a vow to me.

[45:28] Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred. [45:33] You see, friends, once Jacob had flourished, the Lord revealed to him, Jacob, [45:40] it wasn’t your hand.

[45:44] It wasn’t your dishonesty that made you gain. [45:47] It was me. [45:49] I saw what Laban was doing. [45:51] Why didn’t you trust me? [45:54] Jacob, because it was the Lord that prospered me. [45:57] His worldly tricks were unnecessary and sinful.

[46:01] It is the promise of God that moved forward. [46:03] It was not Jacob’s manipulation. [46:05] Proverbs 19, 21 always reminds us, it says, we’re going to try all of it. [46:11] But understand, you cannot undo the plan of the Lord. [46:14] It will stand forever.

[46:19] So how do you apply that?

[46:22] First step is stop trying to make it all about you. [46:26] The Bible isn’t a moral lesson about how you can be successful. [46:30] It is about the promises of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. [46:35] It exists to grow your trust in God and faithfulness to his plan and promises. [46:42] Then you can glean wisdom. [46:45] You can because you come at it from the proper perspective of understanding

[46:48] that the point of your life is to follow as close to the Lord as you can. [46:53] And God has done everything necessary for that to happen through the gospel of Jesus Christ. [47:00] When he is the center of the story, when he is the center of the message, [47:04] then you’re building a life where you’re trusting in him and you are no longer in your selfish [47:10] ambition. [47:12] And the wisdom here is that you should be wise in your ventures.

[47:16] But when you make your life all about your ventures, pretty soon you will worship the world. [47:23] When you do that, you lose the true blessing of God’s promises. [47:27] The joy of knowing him.

[47:32] As the band comes forward,

[47:36] friends, we must seek to start finding joy in the presence and blessing of God.

[47:43] You see, many of you, you still struggle because all of the things from outside of this moment [47:50] are in your brain. [47:52] You’re thinking of what someone has done. [47:54] You’re thinking of what’s next. [47:56] You’re thinking of the last stress. [47:58] You’re thinking of the fear of the week ahead.

[48:00] You’re thinking of the anxiety of what’s coming tomorrow.

[48:05] Friend, right now in this moment, what I want you to focus on is what the Lord would have you [48:10] understand about yourself. [48:13] You see, the Lord is the one that says the truth about you. [48:15] And he says, yes, you are a sinner. [48:17] Yes, you have offended him. [48:19] Yes, you are worthy of his wrath.

[48:21] But he cares for you to the extent that he lowered God the Son into the lowest depths [48:29] of suffering that exists. [48:31] And Jesus did that for you to take your penalty, to take the wrath of God so that you will [48:39] never have to endure. [48:41] And when you think about what you are and who you are according to God, [48:47] then the things of this world, it’s not that they aren’t real.

[48:51] It’s that they don’t define you anymore. [48:55] God does. [48:57] Your identity is in him. [48:58] So it’s secure. [49:01] And so you can endure a hard season. [49:04] You can endure a hard moment.

[49:06] You can endure hard criticism. [49:08] You can endure resentment because you’re doing it all while saying, I am repenting of my [49:14] sins because I want to be as close to God as I possibly can.

[49:20] Friends, if you’re in here and you don’t know what life in Jesus Christ is, I want to invite [49:25] you in just a moment. [49:26] Instead of partaking in communion, you step right out in the foyer, talk to someone about [49:31] how to come to faith in Jesus Christ, talk to someone about how to know that you’ve been [49:36] forgiven and that you are loved by God. [49:39] But if you’re in here and you know Jesus Christ, the plate, the bread on it represents the broken

[49:44] body of Christ, the cup and the juice in it represents the blood of Jesus Christ. [49:49] And when we eat and drink as followers of Jesus Christ, it represents our reflection on the [49:56] death of Christ and the reality that if he saved us, he’s in us. [50:01] He defines us. [50:03] He is my savior. [50:05] He is my Lord.

[50:07] And I will follow him. [50:11] When you’re ready, come.