THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT<br> <br>

PROGRAM AIR DATE – 3-22-15<br> <br>



LESSON TITLE:  “JACOB.”<br> <br>



WELCOME<br> <br>

      “IN THE BEGINNING - GOD - CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH!”  THIS MORNING, IT IS BEFORE THIS AWESOME, GREAT AND MIGHTY GOD WHICH WE ASSEMBLE - TO PRAISE, LAUD AND MAGNIFY HIS WONDROUS NAME!  WILL YOU APPROACH HIS ALMIGHTY THRONE WITH ME IN PRAYER AT THIS TIME! <br> <br> 

      PRAYER:  OUR GOD AND FATHER IN HEAVEN, WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS DAY AND THE MANY BLESSINGS OF LIFE - THE PRIVILIGE THAT WE HAVE, AT TIMES SUCH AS THIS, TO APPRACH YOUR MIGHTY THRONE AND TO WORSHIP AND TO LAUD YOUR NAME. AND FATHER, HELP US TO ALWAYS DO THOSE THINGS THAT ARE PLEASING IN YOUR SIGHT - THAT WE MIGHT BE SEEN AS THOSE WHO ARE FAITHFUL AND WHO LOVE YOU AND WHO PUT YOU FIRST IN ALL. WE THANK YOU FOR JESUS AND THE SACRIFICE HE MADE WHICH MAKES ALL THINGS POSSIBLE THAT WE MIGHT SOMEDAY LIVE WITH YOU ETERNALLY. IN JESUS NAME WE PRAY, AMEN.<br> <br>

      LET ME THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. WHAT A BLESSING IT SHOULD BE FOR ALL OF US TO ASSEMBLE THIS DAY TO WORSHIP GOD.  I HOPE WE WILL EACH DO OUR PART TO MAKE THIS OFFERING TO GOD ACCEPTABLE IN HIS SIGHT.  FURTHERMORE, I HOPE WE WILL GIVE OURSELVES TO GOD EVERYDAY AS FAITHFUL CHILDREN, THAT WE MIGHT BE FOUND PERFECT IN THE END. <br> <br> 

      WELL, IT’S ALREADY TIME TO PRAISE OUR GOD THROUGH SONG.  SO, WON’T YOU JOIN IN WITH THE CONGREGATION AT THIS TIME AS WE SING TOGETHER, “TO THE WORK!”<br> <br>



DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS<br> <br>

      IN JOHN 4:14, JESUS TOLD THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA THAT THERE WAS A WATER THAT EVERYONE NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT!  IN FACT, JESUS TOLD HER THAT, “…WHOEVER DRINKS OF THE WATER THAT I SHALL GIVE HIM WILL NEVER THIRST. BUT THE WATER THAT I SHALL GIVE HIM WILL BECOME IN HIM A FOUNTAIN OF WATER SPRINGING UP INTO EVERLASTING LIFE.”  WOW, WHAT A POWERFUL WATER THIS MUST HAVE BEEN!  AND WHAT WAS THE WOMAN’S RESPONSE?   IN VERSE 15 WE READ, “SIR, GIVE ME THIS WATER, THAT I MAY NOT THIRST, NOR COME HERE TO DRAW.”  YOU SEE, THIS TYPE OF WATER EVEN SOUNDED GREAT TO THE SAMARITAN WOMAN.  BUT WHAT WAS JESUS TALKING ABOUT?   HE WAS TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF.  <br> <br>

      HOW BLESSED WE ARE TO HAVE A SAVIOR WHO IS REFERRED TO AS “LIVING WATER,” AND THE “BREAD OF LIFE.”  JESUS HAS THE ABILITY TO SPIRITUALLY QUENCH OUR THIRST AND HUNGER COMPLETELY, JUST AS BREAD AND WATER CAN QUENCH OUR PHYSICAL NEEDS.  <br> <br>

      SO WHAT IS OUR PART TO PLAY, AS THOSE WHO ALREADY HAVE THE “LIVING WATER” AND THE “BREAD OF LIFE?”  IN REVELATION 22:17, WE READ, “AND THE SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE SAY, "COME!" AND LET HIM WHO HEARS SAY, "COME!" AND LET HIM WHO THIRSTS COME. WHOEVER DESIRES, LET HIM TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY.”  AS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST, LET’S PROCLAIM TO THE WORLD THE VERY SAME TRUTH WHICH JESUS DID.  OUR LORD IS THE “LIVING WATER” THAT ALL MEN NEED IN ORDER TO QUENCH THE GREAT THIRST OF OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES!   SO, JUST AS WE HAVE COME TO THE WATER TO DRINK, LET’S GIVE EVERYONE ELSE THE SAME BLESSED OPPORTUNITY.  HAVE YOU RESPONDED TO THE “LIVING WATER FROM JESUS?”  

      THIS MORNING, WE WILL CONTINUE OUR DISCUSSION ENTITLED, “SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES.”  OUR SPECIFIC MESSAGE OF THE DAY WILL FOCUS ON, “JACOB.”  SO PLEASE STAY WITH US THIS MORNING AND AFTER OUR NEXT SONG TOGETHER, WE WILL BE LEAD IN THESE MAIN THOUGHTS OF THE DAY.<br> <br>   

      AS FAR AS OUR GUEST SPEAKER, WE ARE HAPPY TO AGAIN HAVE BROTHER BRENT GREEN WITH US.  BROTHER BRENT IS THE MINISTER FOR THE HWY 13 CHURCH OF CHRIST IN BOLIVAR AND AS WELL IS AN INSTRUCTOR AT THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF MISSOURI.  WE THANK HIM FOR BEING WITH US THIS DAY AND LOOK FORWARD TO HIM LEADING OUR THOUGHTS TOGETHER FROM GOD’S WORD.  <br> <br>

      WELL, IT’S TIME TO JOIN IN OUR SECOND SONG OF THE MORNING.  THE NAME OF THIS HYMN, “WALKING IN SUNLIGHT.”<br> <br>

      

      

LESSON <br> <br>

BY BRENT GREEN<br> <br>

      WE'RE SO GLAD YOU'VE CONTINUED WITH US THIS MORNING NOW AS WE GO TO GOD'S WORD, AND ONCE AGAIN ARE PRIVILEGED TO LOOK AT ANOTHER GREAT HERO OF FAITH - ONE OF, AS WE HAVE SEEN IN CHAPTER 12 OF HEBREWS, IS AMONGST THE GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES OF THE FAITHFUL WHO CERTAINLY IN CHAPTER 11 AND HEBREWS ARE PROVEN BY THOSE WHO, NOT ONLY KNEW GOD OR KNEW OF GOD, BUT WHO BY FAITH DID WHAT GOD SAID. AND SO WE'VE LOOKED TOGETHER AT MANY OF THE GREAT INDIVIDUALS OF OLD AND THIS MORNING WE WILL ONCE AGAIN FOCUS ON ONE OF THE GREAT PATRIARCHS THAT IS MENTIONED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, SPECIFICALLY THE BOOK OF GENESIS AND ONE OF THOSE WE GENERALLY PUT WITHIN THE PATRIARCHS BECAUSE HE IS AMONGST THOSE WHO CONTINUE THE PROMISE OF GOD AND SO WE KNOW CERTAINLY ABRAHAM IN GENESIS 12 WAS FIRST GIVEN THAT PROMISE. BUT THEN ABRAHAM HAD ISAAC AND THEN ISAAC HAD JACOB. AND SO TODAY WE WANT TO LOOK AT THE STORY OF JACOB FROM THE BOOK OF HEBREWS - THERE IN CHAPTER 11 BEGINNING - AND THEN WE WILL DROP BACK INTO THE BOOK OF GENESIS. <br> <br>

      FIRST OF ALL WE SEE THAT JACOB IS MENTIONED IN VERSE 20. HE IS MENTIONED AS ONE OF THE SONS OF ISAAC. THE BIBLE SAYS, “BY FAITH ISAAC BLESSED JACOB AND ESAU CONCERNING THINGS TO COME.” THERE WE HAVE A FEW IDEAS THAT ARE ACTUALLY BROUGHT FORTH, BUT AS WE'LL LOOK IN JUST A MOMENT IN GENESIS 25, WE'RE REMINDED OF THE BIRTH OF ESAU AND JACOB AND HOW THAT ESAU WAS ACTUALLY THE OLDER SON INITIALLY AND THAT JACOB WAS THE YOUNGER OF THE TWO TWINS - THEY WE'RE ALSO TWINS - BUT IT  EVENTUALLY WAS JACOB WHO RECEIVED THE GREATER BLESSING AND THE BIRTHRIGHT, AS IS INDICATED EVEN HERE IN HEBREWS. NOTICE THAT JACOB IS MENTIONED FIRST BEFORE ESAU, FOR HE RECEIVED THE BIRTHRIGHT AND ALSO THE BLESSING THAT THE BLOODLINE WOULD CONTINUE THROUGH HIM. <br> <br>

      THE SECOND THING THAT WE NOTICE HERE IS IN VERSE 21 WHERE, NOW AS THE FATHER OF THE TRIBE OF ISRAEL - JACOB, WHO ALSO EVENTUALLY IS CALLED ISRAEL - IS SAID HERE, “BY FAITH JACOB, WHEN HE WAS DYING, BLESSED EACH OF HIS SONS OR THE SONS OF JOSEPH, AND WORSHIPED, LEANING ON THE TOP OF HIS STAFF.” CERTAINLY THERE IN VERSE 21 THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS THAT WE CAN LEARN - JACOB WAS NEAR THE END OF LIFE - NEAR DEATH - LEANING ON HIS STAFF, OLD OF AGE AND HERE BLESSING HIS SONS. WE KNOW THAT, NOT ONLY DOES HE BLESS THE SONS OF JOSEPH AS IS INDICATED HERE, BUT THAT HE EVENTUALLY BLESSES THERE IN GENESIS 50 ALL OF HIS SONS OR AT LEAST GIVES THEM A PROCLAMATION OF THEIR GENERATIONS OF THOSE THINGS WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE. <br> <br>

      NOW WITH THAT IN MIND, I WANT YOU TO THINK FOR JUST A MOMENT AGAIN HERE WHAT HE IS SAYING ABOUT THE SONS OF JOSEPH. YOU RECALL WITH ME THAT JOSEPH WAS THE SON WHO EVENTUALLY GOES TO EGYPT AND AFTER CERTAINLY GREAT TRIALS GOD BRINGS HIM THROUGH TO EVENTUALLY BE PLACED AS A PHARAOH OVER EGYPT, ONLY SECOND-IN-COMMAND TO THE TRUE OR REAL PHARAOH OF EGYPT. AND BECAUSE OF THAT WE KNOW THAT JOSEPH MADE A FAMILY WITH A WOMAN WHO WAS OF EGYPT AN EGYPTIAN, HAD CHILDREN AS WELL. THE SONS THERE - EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH - AND IT WAS THEN GOING TO BE THE SONS EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH WHICH WERE TAKEN BY JACOB AS SONS IN THE STEAD OF JOSEPH. SO IN OTHER WORDS, JOSEPH WOULDN'T BE CONTINUING ON IN HIS LINEAGE BECAUSE OF THE CONNECTION HE HAD TO EGYPT AND THE FACT THAT HE WAS AS A SON OF EGYPT OR A PHARAOH OF EGYPT. BUT RATHER WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IS THAT HIS TWO SONS WHICH SHARE IN THE INHERITANCE OF CANAAN, EPHRAIM, AND MANASSEH. AND SO EVENTUALLY AS THE 12 TRIBES RECEIVED THEIR INHERITANCE WE KNOW THAT EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH TAKE THE PLACE OF JOSEPH AND WE STILL GET TO 12 BECAUSE ALSO LEVI DOESN'T RECEIVE HIS OWN INHERITANCE. BUT RATHER RECEIVES CITIES WITHIN EACH OF THE POSSESSIONS WHICH THE OTHER 12 TRIBES WERE GIVEN BY GOD. <br> <br>

      NOW WITH THAT IN MIND, I WANT YOU TO BACK UP WITH ME TO THE STORY THAT IS FOUND IN GENESIS. AND IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT THE STORY WE HAVE TO BEGIN WHERE IT ALL STARTS IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS AND SPECIFICALLY THERE IN CHAPTER 25. BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT EVENTUALLY ISAAC, HAVING HIS WIFE WITH HIM, IS ABLE TO BEAR A CHILD THROUGH REBEKAH. REBEKAH WHOM HE LOVES. REBEKAH WHO CERTAINLY COMFORTED HIM AFTER THE GREAT LOSS OF HIS MOTHER WHO HE WAS VERY CLOSE TO. BUT HERE WITHIN THE TEXT WE FIND THAT REBEKAH EVENTUALLY IS BLESSED WITH TWINS. AND IN THE TEXT WE ALSO SEE THAT SHE HEARS FROM THE LORD ,EVEN BEFORE THEY ARE BORN, THAT THE YOUNGER WILL SOMEDAY BE SERVED BY THE OLDER BROTHER. SO SHE ALREADY KNOWS PROPHETICALLY THAT GOD IS GOING TO CARRY ON THE BLOODLINE THROUGH JACOB AND NOT THROUGH THE ELDER BROTHER, ESAU.<br> <br> 

      AND SO WE SEE THAT TAKING PLACE AND WE LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT THE TWO MEN - THEY GROW UP AND ESAU SEEMS TO BE ALMOST A WILD MAN OF THE WOODS, A HUNTER, SOMEONE WHO KIND OF IS UNSTABLE IN A LOT OF WAYS AND PRETTY SELFISH AND JUST DOING WHAT HE WANTS TO DO AND REALLY NOT MAYBE FOLLOWING ALL THE RULES JUST REALLY WELL. BUT JACOB WAS ONE WHO WAS MILD-MANNERED DWELLING IN TENTS. PERHAPS STAYING MOST OF THE TIME AROUND HIS MOTHER AND BEING RAISED BY HER AND MAYBE NOT AS MUCH OF AN OUTDOORSMAN IN THE SENSE AT LEAST OF WHAT ESAU, THE ROUGH AND TOUGH MAN, WAS. WHO REALLY LIKED BEING OUTDOORS AND BASICALLY LIVING OUTDOORS. WELL, WHEN WE LOOK HERE THERE'S ANOTHER THING TOLD TO US IN CHAPTER 25. IT TELLS US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF ESAU AND THE CHARACTER OF ESAU IS, I THINK BEST SEEN, IN THE FACT THAT HE WAS WILLING TO SELL HIS BIRTHRIGHT FOR A BOWL OF STEW OR LENTIL BEANS. AND IF YOU'LL NOTICE THERE THAT'S WHAT JACOB ASKED OF HIM. JACOB SAYS IF YOU'RE HUNGRY SELL ME YOUR BIRTHRIGHT AND I'LL GIVE YOU THIS FOOD TO EAT. AND WHAT IS IT THAT THAT ESAU SAYS IN VERSE 32? LOOK, I'M ABOUT TO DIE. WHAT'S A BIRTHRIGHT TO ME? NOW, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO BELIEVE HE WAS SO HUNGRY THAT HE WAS LITERALLY GOING TO DIE. YOU AND I KNOW PEOPLE CAN GO FOR, NOT ONLY A COUPLE OF DAYS AND WEEKS, SOMETIMES MANY WEEKS WITHOUT EATING AS LONG AS THEY HAVE WATER. AND SO WAS HE REALLY ABOUT TO DIE OR WAS HE AGAIN JUST THE KIND OF A PERSON OR CHARACTER WHO SAYS I LIVE IN THE HERE AND NOW AND I WANT SOMETHING TO EAT AND I'M WILLING TO DO WHAT.....YOU SEE, MAYBE HIS ATTITUDE WASN'T RIGHT. <br> <br>

      GOD KNEW THESE THINGS. GOD KNEW THESE THINGS AS HE HAD TOLD REBEKAH: IT WON'T BE ESAU THAT CARRIES ON THE PROMISE IN THE BLOODLINE. IT WILL BE JACOB BECAUSE JACOB IS GOING TO BE A MUCH MORE MILD-MANNERED MAN, SOMEONE WHO IS WILLING EVENTUALLY TO SUBMIT TO THE THINGS THAT GOD ASKED HIM TO DO. WHERE IT SEEMS TO ME, AT LEAST BY THE CHARACTER DEMONSTRATED OF ESAU, HE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A MAN WILLING TO SUBMIT TO THE THINGS OF GOD IN THE SAME WAY THAT JACOB EVENTUALLY DOES. AS WE MOVE OVER INTO THE STORY, WE KNOW AS IT GOES ON, THAT EVENTUALLY THE DAYS TRANSPIRE AND WE KNOW THAT THE BROTHER ESAU IS EVENTUALLY BROUGHT BEFORE HIS FATHER AND JACOB IS BROUGHT BEFORE HIS FATHER. BUT WE REMEMBER THE STORY HOW THAT RACHEL OR RATHER HOW REBEKAH AND HER SON JACOB DECEIVE THE FATHER INTO THINKING THAT HE WAS ESAU. AND SO IF YOU'LL REMEMBER WITH ME THAT ISAAC ACTUALLY GAVE JACOB THE PROMISE. SO HE GAVE HIM THE PROMISE OF THE CARRIED ON BLOODLINE, AS WELL AS THE BIRTHRIGHT AND THE FACT THAT HE WOULD BE BLESSED AND THAT HIS BROTHER WOULD SERVE HIM. AND YOU REMEMBER THE STORIES WITH ME - ESAU COMING BACK FROM THE FIELD WAS SO ANGRY AND UPSET WITH THE THINGS THAT HAD TRANSPIRED? THAT BASICALLY IN HIS MIND ESAU SAID TO HIMSELF - AS SOON AS MY FATHER DIES I'M GOING TO KILL JACOB. NOW EVENTUALLY REBEKAH HEARS ABOUT THIS AND JACOB FLEES.<br> <br> 

      NOW, WE REALLY WANT TO FOCUS NOW ABOUT JACOB. WE HAD TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHERE HE WAS AND THE FACT THAT HE DID BUY INTO HIS MOTHER'S DECEPTION AND HE ALSO DECEIVED HIS FATHER - AND CERTAINLY HE DIDN'T GET OFF TO A REAL GOOD START IN RELATIONSHIP TO SHOWING A REAL FAITH IN GOD OR A COMMITMENT TO THE WAY THAT GOD WOULD HAVE SOMEONE TO ACT. BUT AS HE FINALLY IS SENT BY HIS FATHER AND MOTHER TO PADANARAM, WHICH IS THE AREA OF HERRAN OR HERON IN ORDER THAT HE MIGHT GO UP TO HER FAMILY AND FIND A WIFE. YOU MIGHT RECALL WITH ME THERE IN GENESIS 28:10 BEGINNING THAT AS HE WAS GOING HE COMES TO A PLACE AND HE HAS A DREAM. AND GOD COMES AND SPEAKS WITH HIM IN THAT DREAM AND HE STOOD ABOVE HIM AND HE PROCLAIMED HIMSELF TO BE THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND NOW HE WAS GOING TO BE THE GOD OF JACOB...AND THAT HE WAS GOING TO BLESS HIM AND KEEP HIM WHEREVER HE WENT IF HE WOULD OBEY HIS WILL. NOW, I REALLY LIKE JACOB'S REACTION. JACOB AGAIN A GUY WITH NOT THE GREATEST OF TRACK RECORDS, I THINK WE WOULD ALL AGREE. BUT A YOUNG MAN THERE IN VERSE 16 WHO WAKES UP FROM HIS SLEEP AND SAYS, SURELY THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE THE LORD IS AND I DID NOT KNOW IT. CERTAINLY GOD IS HERE. AND THEN HE GOES ON AND SAYS, I AM AFRAID. AND HE SAYS THIS IS AN AWESOME PLACE AND THIS IS NONE OTHER THAN THE HOUSE OF GOD AND THIS IS THE GATE OR THE DOOR OF HEAVEN. HE SAYS MAN, I'VE BEEN IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. I'VE BEEN TO THE DOOR OF HEAVEN. I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE, IN A SENSE, THE CREATOR OR HEAR FROM THE CREATOR AND TO KNOW THAT HE IS WITH ME AND OH WHAT A PLACE! AND SO HE SETS UP A STONE AND HE MAKES THIS A SPECIAL, SACRED PLACE WHERE HE HAS FIRST MET GOD. <br> <br>

      BUT I WANT YOU TO NOTICE THAT AFTER GOD GIVES HIM THE CHALLENGE OF BEING ONE WHO WILL KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS - WHO WILL DO WHAT HE HAS ASKED - AND THEREFORE HE WILL BLESS HIM IF HE DOES WHAT IS RIGHT. NOTICE WHAT JACOB SAYS. NOTICE THE VOW THAT HE MAKES AS HE SETS THIS PLACE UP AS THE HOUSE OF GOD OF THE DOOR OF HEAVEN AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO REMEMBER A NEW COVENANT THAT HE PERSONALLY NOW MAKES WITH GOD IN WHICH GOD IS ALSO MADE WITH HIS FATHER'S. THERE IN VERSE 20 JACOB SAYS, “IF GOD WILL BE WITH ME, AND KEEP ME IN THIS WAY THAT I AM GOING, AND GIVE ME BREAD TO EAT AND CLOTHING TO PUT ON, SO THAT I COME BACK TO MY FATHER'S HOUSE IN PEACE, THEN THE LORD SHALL BE MY GOD. AND THIS STONE WHICH I HAVE SET AS A PILLAR SHALL BE GOD'S HOUSE, AND OF ALL THAT YOU GIVE ME I WILL SURELY GIVE A TENTH TO YOU.” OH, DO YOU SEE THE COMMITMENT OF JACOB? A MAN, A YOUNG MAN WHO SAYS I'VE BEEN IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. I AM AT THE HOUSE OF GOD - THE DOOR OF HEAVEN - AND IF GOD WILL DO WHAT HE HAS SAID THEN I WILL DO WHAT HE REQUIRES. I WILL SERVE HIM. AND THE WORDING THAT I LOVE THERE, “THEN THE LORD SHALL BE MY GOD.” OH WHAT FAITH. OH WHAT FAITH - A YOUNG MAN WHO JUST KIND OF GOT RUN OUT OF HIS OWN HOUSE BECAUSE OF SOME MISTAKES THAT HE HAS MADE AND THINGS THAT HE HAS DONE. A YOUNG MAN WHO REALLY HASN'T ALWAYS PROVEN HIMSELF TO BE RIGHT BUT YET A YOUNG MAN WHO NOW HAS THE BLESSING WHEN GOD COMES TO HIM. <br> <br>

      DO YOU THINK GOD KNEW HIS HEART? DO YOU THINK GOD KNEW THAT HE WAS ABLE TO REACT IN A PROPER WAY? DO YOU THINK GOD, CERTAINLY THE ONE WHO KNOWS ALL THINGS AND CAN SEE THE INSIDE OF MAN JUST NOT THE OUTSIDE OF MAN, DO YOU THINK HE REALIZED THAT THIS MAN, JACOB, WAS JUST THAT SORT OF MAN? THAT WHEN HE WOULD BE APPROACHED BY GOD AND HE WOULD KNOW WHO GOD WAS AND WOULD HEAR THE PROMISES OF GOD, HE WOULD SOFTEN HIS HEART AND COMMIT TO GOD? I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE SEE IN THE FAITH OF THIS GOOD MAN JACOB, WHO EVENTUALLY THEN GOES ON UP AS PLANNED TO PADANARAM. HE MEETS HIS FATHER-IN-LAW NOT TO BE LABAN. HE MEETS HIS WIFE TO BE - RACHEL - WHOM HE LOVES. AND HE MEETS ALSO THOSE OTHERS OF THE FAMILY - SUCH AS BETHUEL AND OTHERS OF THE FAMILY THAT HE EVENTUALLY WILL BEFRIEND. FOR HE WILL STAY IN THAT AREA FOR AROUND 20 PLUS YEARS IN ORDER TO AGAIN ACCOMPLISH THE TASK THAT GOD NEEDS OF HIM. AND IN ALL OF THAT TIME, GUESS WHAT? HE'S A FAITHFUL MAN. HE'S A FAITHFUL MAN OF GOD WHO STANDS AND FULFILLS THE VOW THAT HE HAD MADE BY FAITH. <br> <br>

      AND SO AS WE CONTINUE ON EVENTUALLY WE SEE THAT JACOB IS READY TO LEAVE AND TO RETURN AS GOD HAD PROMISED HIM. AND AS HE HAD ALSO ASKED OF GOD THAT HE MIGHT RETURN TO THAT PLACE. AND SO AFTER THESE THINGS TAKE PLACE EVENTUALLY HE DOES LEAVE AND HE DOES COME TO A PLACE WHERE HIS FATHER-IN-LAW LABAN CHASES AFTER HIM, AS IF HE HAS STOLEN THINGS FROM HIM. AND THE STORY IS QUITE DETAILED BUT IT REALLY DOESN'T DEMONSTRATE JUST A LOT ABOUT THE SPECIFIC FAITH OF JACOB - OTHER THAN THE FACT HE KEEPS DOING THE WILL OF GOD AND GOD KEEPS BLESSING HIM WITH MORE AND MORE LIVESTOCK BECAUSE OF HIS FAITH. WELL, AS HE IS TRAVELING BACK THERE IS SOMETHING IN CHAPTER 32 THAT I THINK IS INTERESTING. WE SEE HERE THAT ALTHOUGH AS HE HAS NOW LEFT HIS FATHER-IN-LAW AND HE NOW IS ARRIVING BACK INTO THE AREA WHERE HE IS FROM AND HE KNOWS THAT HIS BROTHER ESAU WANTED HIM DEAD WHEN HE LEFT THAT LAND, HE STARTS GETTING A BIT AFRAID. AND HE BEGINS TO, IN A SENSE, TO CALL ON GOD AND I THINK LOOK TO GOD FOR HELP AND HOPE. <br> <br>

      AND IT'S THERE BEGINNING IN CHAPTER 32 AND VERSE 22 THAT WE HEAR ABOUT ANOTHER VISION OR DREAM OR SITUATION THAT HE IS ENGAGED IN AT NIGHT WHERE HE WRESTLES WITH GOD. AND GOD IT SEEMS GIVES HIM THE VICTORY TO PREVAIL OVER HIM. AND HE ALLOWS HIM TO PREVAIL, AT LEAST IN MY ESTIMATION, THAT JACOB MIGHT UNDERSTAND - NUMBER ONE: THAT GOD IS WITH HIM. NUMBER TWO: THAT HE CAN DO ALL THINGS WITH GOD. AND NUMBER THREE: THAT HE WAS GOING TO OVERCOME THIS SITUATION, THIS PROBLEM. BY FAITH HE WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO SEE HIS BROTHER AGAIN AND THINGS WERE GOING TO BE OKAY. BY FAITH HE WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO SEE HIS FATHER AGAIN, ISAAC, AND EVEN EVENTUALLY AS WE SEE LATER IN THE STORY, HE WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO BURY HIS FATHER. BY FAITH HE WAS GOING TO BE ABLE, AS HERE IN THIS SITUATION, TO BE CALLED ISRAEL AND TO BE THE FATHER OF A GREAT NATION - THE ISRAELITES - AND HE WAS GOING TO HAVE 12 SONS WHICH BORE THE NAMES OF THE 12 TRIBES. BY FAITH HE WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO DIE AND TO GO BACK AND BE WITH HIS FATHER'S AND TO BE BURIED IN THE CAVE OF MACHPELAH AND TO FIND PEACE FROM THIS EARTH AND ETERNAL LIFE WITH GOD. OH WHAT FAITH! WHAT FAITH WE SEE FROM A YOUNG MAN WHO STARTED OUT IN A ROCKY WAY, WHICH AGAIN GIVES HOPE TO US. <br> <br>

      DO WE MAKE MISTAKES? CERTAINLY. CAN SOME OF US LOOK BACK INTO OUR PAST AND SEE TIMES WHEN IT WAS KIND OF ROCKY AND WE REALLY WEREN'T FOCUSED AND REALLY WEREN'T GIVING GOD HIS DUE IN WHAT WE SHOULD? CERTAINLY MANY OF US, IF NOT ALL OF US, CAN SEE THOSE DAYS - THOSE YEARS EVEN BEFORE WE BECAME A CHRISTIAN OR AFTER WE WERE A CHRISTIAN. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM JACOB? WHEN GOD COMES AND SPEAKS WITH US - WHEN GOD TELLS US WHAT HE WANTS - WHEN GOD OFFERS US THE PROMISES - WE HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITY THAT JACOB DID. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO RESPOND WITH A VOW, A COMMITMENT TO GOD, KNOWING THAT HE WILL BE OUR GOD AND THAT WE SHALL BE HIS PEOPLE. AND MY BRETHREN, MY FRIENDS, WHEN THAT'S THE CASE - WHEN GOD IS OUR GOD AND WHEN WE ARE HIS PEOPLE, WHAT COULD BE MORE PERFECT? WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN HAVING GOD AS A GOD AND KNOWER OF ALL THINGS - AN ALL POWERFUL GOD - A PROVIDER OF ALL THINGS - A GOD WHO HAS SAID HE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH US - WHAT COULD BE GREATER THAN SUCH A GOD AS THAT? A GOD WHO ULTIMATELY, NOT ONLY PROMISES US THINGS IN THIS LIFE, BUT THE LIFE TO COME. JACOB KNEW THAT. HE HAD BEEN TAUGHT THAT BY HIS FATHER ISAAC. HE HAD BEEN TAUGHT THAT FROM HIS GRANDFATHER ABRAHAM. HE HAD LEARNED THAT TO BE FAITHFUL TO GOD HAS MANY BENEFITS, NOT ONLY IN THIS LIFE BUT THE LIFE TO COME. <br> <br>

      HOPEFULLY WE CAN LEARN THE SAME LESSON AND WE CAN KNOW THAT WHEN WE BY FAITH DO WHAT GOD HAS SAID, WE WILL NOT ONLY SEE THAT GOD IS WITH US IN OUR DAILY WALK FOR HIM, BUT THAT GOD WILL BE WITH US EVEN IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH AND WE'LL FEAR NO EVIL. FOR GOD IS ALWAYS WITH US AND WE'LL RECEIVE THE REWARD THAT HAS BEEN PREPARED IN HEAVEN. ARE YOU READY FOR THAT MANSION? ARE YOU READY TO SEE THOSE STREETS OF GOLD? ARE YOU READY TO GO THROUGH THOSE PEARLY GATES? GOD HAS PREPARED A PLACE FOR THE FAITHFUL - OF WHICH YOU AND I NEED TO BE AMONG.<br> <br>



CLOSING COMMENTS<br> <br>

      LET ME THANK YOU AGAIN FOR CHOOSING TO BE WITH US TODAY, IN THIS OFFERING TO GOD.  I HOPE OUR TIME TOGETHER HAS BEEN AN ENCOURAGEMENT AND BLESSING TO ALL OF US.  WE INVITE YOU BACK EVERY SUNDAY MORNING AT 7:30, AS WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO THIS WORSHIP TO GOD! <br> <br> 

      BUT FOR NOW LET ME ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT TODAY’S LESSON?  MAYBE, YOU WOULD LIKE A FREE TRANSCRIPT OR A CASSETTE TAPE OF THIS PROGRAM?  POSSIBLY, WE COULD ASSIST YOU WITH FREE BIBLE MATERIALS OR CORRESPONDENCE COURSES?  NO MATTER WHAT YOUR NEED IS, PLEASE CONTACT US AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS:  <br> <br>

The Living Word

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      WHAT A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE WE HAVE IN THE PATRIARCH JACOB;  THE FATHER OF ISRAEL, GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE.  MAY WE ALWAYS LEARN WHAT GOD WANTS OF US FROM THE GREAT STORIES OF THE BIBLE, THEN MAY WE APPLY HIS GREAT TRUTHS IN OUR DAILY LIVES.  

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