Tag Archives: Jacob

Kingdom Awareness

29 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Kingdom of God, Luke

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Bride Not Harem

The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.  Luke 17:20-21

Jesus said people miss out on what God is doing in and around them because they fail to detect or discern what the Lord desires to accomplish in them personally.   In this verse Jesus calls His followers to become Kingdom Aware.

So are you Kingdom Aware?  Are you looking for the Lord to work outside you or inside?  When we are looking for the Lord’s action some other place rather than inside ourselves, we will probably miss the Lord’s movements.  I wear glasses.  Occasionally, I misplace them and go searching for them.  In desperation, I will finally ask my wife… “Have you see my glasses?”  She will give me one of those looks and say… “They are on top of your head!”  It is embarrassing.  It must have been embarrassing for Jesus’ followers to hear Him say, “Stop looking and expecting the Kingdom of God to arrive with physical signs…The Kingdom of God is within you.”   Jesus could have said, “Hey, stupid… the Kingdom is starring you in the face… can you feel me now?”  Jesus is, was, and will continue to be a perfect gentleman.

The major focus for Jesus was the Kingdom of God. It still is! The power of Rome and its occupying force was hardly a blip on the radar for Jesus, even though it was foremost in the minds of almost everyone else.  Jesus wasn’t concerned with the power of Herod, the Jewish leaders or even Pilate.  In fact, when Jesus was being questioned by Pilate at His trial, Pilate said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19:10-11).

Jesus’ focus was not on the power of the government, but on the power of God. He stood before Pilate in complete confidence. What was it that freed Jesus from fear and gave Him such confidence? It was the constant awareness of the presence of the kingdom of God. The same Kingdom that ruled and reigned in Jesus’ heart and life should be ruling and reigning in ours as well.

Unfortunately, we miss Kingdom’s movements all the time.  Most of our favorite Bible characters did too.  It started in the garden with Adam and Eve. God told the first couple they could do anything they wanted and eat anything they wanted except for one small item.  As soon as they thought God was off somewhere snoozing, they proceeded to make a dinner of the forbidden fruit.  They acted as if God didn’t exist anymore.  Because God was absent, His presence didn’t seem to appear as important. Bottom-line, the first couple didn’t value the Presence of God or His Kingdom.

God broke into the world of both Abraham and his son.  He made special promises to both generations.   Apart from these special visitations, they seem to be unaware that the Lord was continually with them.  It was mainly during down times of testings and trials in which they doubted God’s word and forgot His promises.

Abraham’s grandson, Jacob was on the run when God spoke to him in a dramatic way.  While he was sleeping, the Lord revealed to him that earth and heaven were not two separate places, but connected. Jacob saw a ladder connecting heaven and earth with angels traversing in between. Jacob called the place “Bethel”, which means “house of God.”  He was partly correct.  God did live there, but He also lived everywhere.  This dream was not a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence…. it was an eternal truth about the Presence and Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God is always waiting to be discovered by seekers.  Bethel was not an unusual experience for one man way back in history, but a reality for every person, in every place, in every time. How many of us have had times when God’s presence broke through into our everyday lives?  These experiences should have made us want more of God and His Kingdom.

I have had Bethel type experiences in prayer or when reading the Scripture, and I have had them when I least expected it. The point is, God is always trying to break through our world, if we will only be aware of Him. I believe God had been attempting to speak to Jacob many times earlier in his life, but he was not ready to experience Him.  It was only until Jacob became desperate enough and needed the Lord that the Lord was able to capture his heart.

At first Moses tried to force the Kingdom of God into action and killed a man in the process. It was not until Moses had spent a long time away from Egypt, and came to the point of desperation that he was ready for God to speak to him.

The Bible says, “There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up… When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’ ‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:2-5).

I believe that every place can be holy ground, and the only thing that keeps us from experiencing God is our willingness and readiness to experience Him.

Elijah may offer the best example of how the Kingdom of God should move in our life.  Elijah knew and experienced the power of God. He had witnessed God consume the sacrifice on Mount Carmel.  Immediately following this great victory, Queen Jezebel sought to kill him.  Feeling dejected and depressed Elijah ran. At this point he desperately needed a word but couldn’t get one from the Lord.

  • God sent a great a powerful cyclone, but the Lord voice couldn’t be heard in the cyclone.
  • God sent a great earthquake, but God’s voice was absent here as well.
  • Then the Lord sent a consuming fire that ravaged the area, but God was not in the fire.

NOTE: This is why it is never a good idea to attempt to discern God’s will right after a natural disaster.  Yet, you hear people all the time attempting to do so.  If you find it difficult to hear God in peaceful quiet times, how much more difficult do you think it will be to discern His voice when melee ensues.

Finally, Elijah heard God’s voice in a gentle whisper (small voice).  This gentle, small voice was so holy and full of the presence of God, it made Elijah pull his cloak over his head, cover his face and fall on his knees.

Maybe you have been in this place?  You desperately needed a word from the Lord, but couldn’t hear.  You sought for the Lord to speak in a big way, but heard nothing.  Later, God spoke in a still small voice.  Why does God move in this way?  Because the Kingdom of God will not arrive with signs to be observed… the Kingdom of God is within you.

The Good News is the Kingdom of God is coming!  The better news is even though God’s Kingdom arrives in small ways… it doesn’t have to stay small.  Jesus confirms to us that God’s Kingdom will grow if we water, nourish, and allow it to grow within us.  It is a mistake to believe that just because the Lord is quiet at times, He is not with us.  Our job is to be constantly Kingdom aware. We bless the Lord when we value His presence whether we sense it or not.  Keep Seeking!

Blessings – From God’s Incubator,

Pastor

Building Altars to Worship

26 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Abraham: Life of Faith

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I don’t know if you have picked up on this fact before from reading through Genesis, but Abraham was an altar builder.  Isaac dug wells; Jacob made monuments; but Abraham built altars to worship the Lord.

Why were altars so important? If altars were so important to God in the Old Testament, then why don’t we build and worship at altars today? I’m glad you asked that question.  Some of you are probably thinking, “We consider the altar to be the front of our church.”  Yet, this is not really the same type of altar in which Abraham worshipped. I ask those questions to draw a parallel between the altars of the Old and the altars of the New Testament.

 

~ Altars Are About Worship ~

 

True worship takes place in the context of our obedience to God (see Genesis 12:1-5). Abraham was in the process of obeying God’s prompting to go to the land of Canaan. We cannot truly worship God unless we are in the place of obedience.

How many of you have discovered it is difficult, if not impossible, to worship God on Sundays when your living in known disobedience? The only effective way to truly worship the Lord in body, soul, and spirit is to be obedient throughout the week. It is your obedience that gives you excitement, passion, and fervor to worship the Lord. Disobedience breeds apathy, coldness of heart, neglect, and boredom in worship. It was only after Abraham became truly obedient to God that his real worship of God began.

 

~ Abraham Built Altars to Worship Effectively ~

Wherever Abraham went (cities, countryside & villages) he built altars to the Lord God. There he worshipped the Lord.

 

The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. Genesis 12:7

8Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.  Genesis 12:8

Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.  Genesis 13:18

Abraham was a trailblazer.  We know now that God prescribed and commanded the children of Israel to build and worship Him on altars. Abraham didn’t have all this information.  He blazed a trail.  He was simply a lover of God.  He was just discovering the art of worshiping God on altars.

We live in the New Testament era of grace, so where are our worship altars?  Are all the altars gone or are they present here today?  Why ask?  In order to gain forgiveness, acceptance, and access to God, altars were needed.  Sacrifices were made on altars.  Blood was spilled on altars.  This was done that sin might be removed and the worshiper cleansed.

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat (Hebrews 13:10) which is in Christ! Through His blood we have access any time to the throne of God. In Christ we have everything we need that “pertains to life and godliness.”  So today we no longer have need of “altars” in the Old Testament sense.  But we do need altars in our lives in another way.

 

~ The Altar Represents True Worship ~

The altar represents true worship and involves: SURRENDER, SACRIFICE, and SERVICE.  Abraham would have used raw stones (not touched by man’s strength and skill) to represent a yielding to God’s strength and not trusting in his own strength.  (Exodus 20:25).  We cannot worship or offer God anything that is not tainted in some way by the world.  Therefore we are to take things God gives us (Jesus Christ) and worship the Father.  It is important that you understand this point because most people do not.  They want to worship God in their own way or fashion.  When God rejects them by not gracing them with His presence they are offended.   It is imperative we worship God as He requires through Jesus Christ and Him alone.  He is our altar.  We are to approach God in and through Him.   In Abraham’s life we can see the need for altar worship.  It is gives a keen sense of who Jesus is and our need for Him.

Are you ready to examine the three types of altars Abraham erected and discover the deeper meaning of what it means to worship at God’s altar?  I will discuss these later this week.

Blessings,

Pastor 

How Did We Get Into Egypt?

17 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Our Journey Into The Promised Land

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– Most Are Born In Egypt –

Exodus 1:1 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came each one with his household:

These seventy plus people after 400 years exploded into a mighty nation of people, each BORN and remaining there.  They did not do anything to get into Egypt; they were born in Egypt.  Since Adam and Eve, everyone born into this world is born into sin.  There no exemptions.  The Book of Romans reminds us “for all have sinned.”

 

– Egypt Is Also Born In Us –

 

Unfortunately, no one is born with the capacity to do good in and of himself.  “The heart is deceitfully wicked and there is no good in it.”  You do not have to worry about finding Egypt, it is born in your heart. From the earliest of ages of development Sin/Egypt longs to express itself in us.

The world would have us to believe that man’s nature is basically “good” and will evolve into something better.  Christianity teaches that man is evil and will progressively express more of his evil nature.

We all start in Egypt with Egypt in our hearts.  As life moves on, we can move further into her midst and live in bondage or be delivered.  No one is born out of the influences of Egypt.  Some are just a little less closer to the border than others.

PRAISE THE LORD!  This is exactly why Jesus came.  He came to set us free from the bondage of sin and deliver us into the realm of God His Father.

 

– Unfortunately, Some Keep Egypt As A Source –

 

A familiar occurrence happens in the lives of all three patriarchs in Genesis. (Abraham, Issac and Jacob)  FAMINE! 

 

Abraham, while living in the Promised Land, turned to Egypt as his source during famine.  (Genesis 12:10)  OK, lets give Abraham the benefit… he overshot the goal of the Promised Land and wound up in Egypt.  Maybe he just wasn’t sure about the boundaries.

But what Abraham didn’t understand before, he clearly understood afterward.  God’s provisions couldn’t be found wandering in Egypt.  The whole ordeal nearly cost him his life, wife, and future family.

Isaac too, while living in the Promised Land, turned to Egypt as his source during a time of famine.  (Genesis 26:1-2)   Now Isaac didn’t quite make it into Egypt.  If the Lord had not told him to stop, he would have gone into Egypt like his father, Abraham.

Isaac stopped in the future land of the Philistines, Gerar.  It is worth noting that the same problem that plagued his father, plagued him.  The king wanted to take Isaac’s wife for himself.  Isaac offered up the same fleshly response…he tried lying his way out of the situation.

Ultimately, because he stayed in Gerar, God blessed Isaac.  During famine Isaac sowed and reaped 100 fold.  That’s almost impossible during the best of times.

Jacob – Is an interesting story.  Here is a family man during a time of famine who desperately did not want to go down to Egypt.  But ultimately, he did turn to Egypt for provisions.  It took over 400 years before the Lord moved them out.

For each generation Egypt (worldliness) remained a temptation and source as it does for us today.  When we finally cleanse our system of Egypt, we are able to enter into the Promised Land of God.   But when we turn to the world as a source, we will experience times of dryness and periods of circumstantial lack.  Just because everyone else is turning to Egypt for their supplies doesn’t mean the believer has to go there!

 

     A man was watching the news one night when it was reported that a car was going the wrong direction on the freeway. The man knew his wife was on that freeway and became very concerned so he called her on her cell phone. She answered and he said, “Dear, there’s one car going in the wrong direction on the freeway.”

     She exclaimed, “One car! There’s hundreds of them!”

 

You would think as many people as we have seen trapped by Egypt’s snare…we all would know better.  But the pressures, both within us and without, cause us to look longingly upon the resources of Egypt.  Remember Egypt is nothing more than human/worldly solutions to a spiritual problem.

 

      Your problems and my problems are ultimately spiritual and can only be solved by God.  We have to approach Him and trust in His resources.

 

 There was a man who was standing in front of a church and someone walked by and said, “What are you doing.” The man said he was thinking about asking God why his life was such a mess.

     The passerby said, “Well why don’t you ask?” and the man shook his head and answered with a sigh, “I’m afraid he’ll ask me the same question.”  

 

The opportunity to turn back to Egypt will always be present in our lives.  We must understand that bondage always accompanies going back to those old places.  Like the patriarchs, who sojourned in those places, we can be restored…but the journey will be costly.

 

 

    There was a family that lived in the Northeast part of the country. In the bitterly cold part of winter their car had become especially dirty, what with road salts, frozen slush, and other wintry deposits. Conscious of the condition of their car, this family was driving down the road and came across an unusual sight. Water was gushing into the air from a broken pipe, beneath the surface of the road.  A work crew had arrived and was just getting set up. Simultaneously, the family concluded that this was the perfect occasion for a car wash. They pulled the car far enough forward to park under the shower of water. The road crew watched, somewhat puzzled, and a little amused.

 Since it was still bitterly cold, they left the engine running, and kept the heater going as well. In a short time, a rather unpleasant odor began to dominate. It was about this same time that the family noticed that the water which was running down the windshield was not clear, not clear at all.  Finally they understood the problem—they were not parked under the shower of a broken water main, they were under the shower of a broken sewer main. Quickly. they departed, watching the filthy matter freeze to their car in the bitter cold of that day.

 

Do you really want to go back to Egypt?  Do you really want to take the easy road instead of trusting in God’s provisions?  When you go back Egypt gets on you and in you, just like sewer water. 

Stay free!

 

Blessings,

Pastor

Be Good to Yourself – Build Integrity

02 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Our Spiritual Process

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       A couple was speeding down the highway when a State Trooper pulled them over. He asked the man to step out of the car and show him his license. The trooper asked, “Did you realize you were going 85 miles an hour back there?”

       The man said, “Officer that would be impossible. I’m the most law-abiding driver you’ve ever seen. I never exceed the speed limit, no matter my circumstances.”

The policeman leaned into the window of the car and asked the wife “Is that true?”

       “No Officer, it’s not, he drives like a maniac, he speeds wherever he goes, his driving scares me to death.”

The policeman wrote out a ticket. Then he said, “I also noticed you didn’t have your seat belt on, which is against the law in this state.”

       “Officer,” the man said, “with all due respect, I value life too highly. Buckle up, that’s my motto.“

The policeman asked the wife, “Is that true? “

       “Are you kidding? I’ve never seen him wear the thing, you’d probably find cobwebs in his seat belt.”

The policeman began to write him another ticket. About that time, the man leaned in the window and screamed, “Woman, what are you trying to do to me? Keep your big fat nose out of my business!“

The officer said, “Ma’am, does he always talk to you like that?”

       She replied, “Only when he’s drunk.”

We laugh at stories like this.  Part of God’s will for you is to create authentic integrity.  Others walked this path and so will you, if you enter into His process.

   Did you know that several of the Bible’s greatest “heroes of the faith” were liars?

  • Abraham lied to the Egyptian Pharaoh saying that his wife Sarah was actually his sister….then did it again with another king.
  • Jacob lied to his father Isaac saying that he was actually his brother Esau, so he could receive the blessing meant for the eldest son.
  • Peter lied to the servants and soldiers surrounding the fire outside the trial room where Jesus-Peter’s friend, teacher and Lord-was being tried, convicted and sentenced to the cross, saying, “I tell you I never knew the man!”
  • Paul, after his own fashion, was so blinded by his own arrogance that he sought to suppress the Truth of Jesus Christ.

 

      However, the Holy Spirit can work miracles and change a liar into a person of integrity

  • Abraham came to a point and place in his life when he was able to trust God for everything, even the life of his beloved son Isaac.
  • Jacob, after a night of wrestling with God, was able to trust God with everything he had, and so he returned to face his brother Esau whom he had cheated and betrayed.
  • Peter was able to trust God before the same crowd that had called for Jesus’ crucifixion when he stood up at Pentecost to proclaim the same name he had denied a mere 50 days before.
  • Paul, who called himself “abnormally born” because he persecuted the Church, eventually wrote: “I preach Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

Allow the Lord to so move in your life in 2012 that integrity becomes the foundational cornerstone of your life!   What He has done for others, He will do for you. 

Blessings,

Pastor