Jacob's Dream

Written by Ed Allen
Sunday, 21 February 2010 09:00

Uber Encounters

Sermon Notes

Ever gotten a phone call when you could tell they didn’t think they would really get you?

What happens when we try to “go vertical” and we actually run into something? A long time ago I heard a pastor say that people who don’t believe in God don’t pray because they’re afraid that there is something there; and people who do believe don’t pray because they’re afraid that there isn’t. I don’t know if he was right, but I do know that almost every time human beings encounter the real, unadulterated deal, we are shocked, rattled, blown away, and often down-right afraid, but we are always changed and we always feel the need to respond.

Off and on over the next few months we’re gonna look at uber encounters with God – we’ll be looking at instances where people encountered the presence of God very real, very personal ways. We’ll look to see what we can learn about our own encounters with God.

This morning, we’re gonna look at Jacob’s dream. And I think you’ll see that when Jacob encountered God he was changed, so much so that he needed to respond. And he did.

Genesis 28:10-22

I believe this is Jacob’s first real encounter with God’s presence.

• (see especially end of verse 21)
• Also this has been remembered over generations as part of the Jacob story – must have been significant
• If so then this is when the faith becomes his. It becomes very personal. God becomes Jacob’s God.
• So up to this point Jacob had been living on borrowed faith, but through this encounter his faith in God becomes his, which is the same as saying it becomes real.
• This has to happen for all of us. We too encounter God in a life-altering way, otherwise our faith isn’t real. Faith is not an intellectual exercise. Faith grips our hearts, our minds, and our wills. It affects our choices, our mindset, our way of doing life.
• I suspect some of us are living on a borrowed/inherited faith. It has to become personal for it to be real. We have to encounter God – the real and personal presence of God.

When we do encounter God we are changed! Not everything changes, and it doesn’t happen all at once, but it does happen.

• You can’t experience a death of a close loved-one, or survive a dramatic car crash, or get married, or win the lottery or lose 150 pounds without being changed. Meeting God, the real unadulterated deal, is even more dramatic than any of those experiences.
• An encounter with God is different than gathering information about God. An encounter with God affects and rearranges us. Look at how it changes Jacob:
  • Jacob has a different awareness (16b)
  • He has a new kind of fear (17)
  • He has a new kind of spiritual sensitivity (17b)
  • When we experience a real encounter with the real God we are changed.
• Why am I beating this point to death?
  • For some of us, this should serve as a reminder. Change at times can be uncomfortable. So we should not be surprised at some discomfort in our relationship with God?
  • For others of us, we have held a vague notion about God at arms distance for years – and we’ve convinced ourselves that this is good enough.

Let’s look at what God communicates to Jacob here.

• God introduces Himself as the He is. (Yahweh = LORD)
• And He introduces Himself as God of Abraham and Isaac
  • Don’t think this an accident. During this point in history, connection to community and tribe were essential to these people’s identity in a way which has been mostly lost to us. So God roots Himself in Jacob’s story by naming Himself as the God of Jacob’s tribe, of his family.
  • This is something we see consistently as we look at uber encounters: God always accommodates Himself to us. He always communicates to us so that it makes sense to us.
• Then promises the land to his descendants
  • He has already promised this to Abraham and Isaac
• Then promises that his descendants will be numerous
  • Already promised to Abe and Ike
• Promises that all peoples will be blessed through them
  • Already promised
• Then promises that He will be with Jacob

Notice: there’s really nothing new in this message. (Already shared this message with Abraham and Isaac. Surely Isaac had shared with Jacob what God had said to him [see Gen 26] – essentially the same thing.)

• What rattles, animates and ultimately changes Jacob is not the information; it’s the personal encounter.
  • Imagine having electricity explained to you. Imagine the explanation including the impact that electricity has on our bodies. Still, when you grab hold of a current, you are dramatically impacted by the real thing.
  • In this case, the real thing confronts Jacob and tells him that He will be with him.

And as a result of the change that is bubbling up in Jacob – he needs to respond!

• In my opinion, he seems to get some things wrong in his response.
  • He dedicates the place and changes its name because he thinks there is something special about the place.
  • And he even seems to be bargaining with God in his response. One commentator got it right when he said, “Jacob’s response is not bargaining: it is as thorough a response and he knew how to give.” And we have every indication that it was good enough for God.
  • You see it doesn’t matter that Jacob didn’t get it exactly right.
  • That’s good news for people like us. We don’t have to get it exactly right. But we have to respond.
• We have to commemorate the movement of God within us and among us
• Jacob builds an altar
• Then he makes a vow
• How will you respond?

WHEN WE ENCOUNTER GOD, WE ARE CHANGED AND WE NEED TO RESPOND

Let me add three take-aways:

1. As I’ve been looking at these uber encounters with God my vision of God has expanded. God is very, very big.
   • I think this is why communication with God can be so difficult at times. TAPESTRY ILLUSTRATION
   • It’s not about us doing some greater work for God. It is about God doing a greater work in us.
   • Our part is simply to respond. He does all the heavy lifting.
2. Encountering God does not depend on our state of mind or heart or where we are. We do not have to do anything to encounter God other than seek Him.
   • This is good news for people like us. We don’t have to work to be in the right state of mind or spirit. God has mercy on whom He has mercy.
   • Listen: we want to know what we can do to be blessed by God. We are blessed by God – not because of what we can do but because of who He is and because of what He’s done. What we have to figure out is how to get ourselves out of the way enough to receive His blessing!
   • This is Jesus point in the Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the merciful¸ the peacemakers, the pure in heart.
   • In fact, his first command “rejoice and be glad.”
   • It may be that if we could spend more time in our lives rejoicing, we’d experience more of God.
3. God dictates the terms of our encounters with Him. He always does.
   • Dangers to avoid:
     • On the one hand ouji-God
     • On the other hand we don’t reach out and seek

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."

18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."