GENESIS 35:1-15 CALLED TO THE HOUSE OF GOD2015 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Genesis 35:1-15 Called To The House Of God

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2015. This morning I titled the message, Called to the House of God.

And I selected this picture because it has this stone pillar that is set up. And at the end of our passage today, we'll see that Jacob set up a stone pillar to remember this occasion and remember that God had spoken to him. And as we close the service this morning, we're going to partake of communion together. And I want to prepare you now and encourage you now to begin to prepare your heart that

that you would be open and receptive to what God would speak to your heart this morning so that at the end of the message, as you partake of communion, that for you it can be like this stone pillar. It can be this memorial that you would allow God to work in you in such a way, well, that you would remember this day, that you would remember what God has spoken, and that you would go forward in the relationship with God that he has called you to do.

Now, as we talk about this passage this morning and being called to the house of God, the name Bethel that we're seeing in this account means house of God. And so we see here God calling Jacob to the house of God. Now, that was not the name that God gave it necessarily. It was the name that Jacob gave it because it's where he first encountered God back in Genesis chapter 28. And

And he's been away from there for a while. He's gone up north and spent 20 years there getting a family and then coming back. And he's gotten to some trouble as he's been back into the promised land. And now God is calling him back to the house of God, back to the place where he had spoken to him, because God is desiring to do a new work in his heart.

And I believe that God wants to do a new work in our hearts as well. And some he's calling back, not in the sense that you've run from God and you've been living in sin, but he's calling you to his house that he could do a new season in your life, that he could work in a unique way in your heart. And so I want to encourage all of us to respond to the call of God and go to the house of God to have this kind of encounter with God that we see in Jacob.

Now, to help us understand what we are to do as God is calling us and speaking to our hearts, I'm going to look at four things from the life of Jacob, four examples that he sets for us. Jacob is not always a good example, but here in this chapter, we see some really good things for us to follow as he responds to the call of God.

Let's look at the first one in verses 1 through 4, and the point is to get rid of idols. When God is tugging at your heart, and when He's calling you to His house or to this walk with Him, then the first thing we need to do is to get rid of those things that compete with our devotion and passion for God.

Looking again at verse 1, it says, Now as we begin this account and looking at what happened in Jacob's life, we see first of all that God is the one who initiates this whole exchange.

This isn't Jacob's idea. This isn't, you know, that he wakes up one morning and he decides, you know, I'm going to go to church or I'm going to get right with God today.

God is the initiator of this encounter and every encounter. And I'll come back and talk about that a little bit later on in the passage. But just to point out here, God begins this. He speaks to Jacob and he says, all right, here's what I want you to do, Jacob. Go to Bethel and dwell there. You want to set up camp there and stay there at the house of God. Make an altar and there's going to be something special that I have in store for you.

And so as God speaks this to Jacob's heart, we see his response in the following verses. Check out verse 2. It says, And as God speaks to Jacob and calls Jacob to the house of God, to this encounter with God,

Jacob responds by speaking to his household, and he gives them this instruction. Put away the foreign gods, the false gods. They had accumulated over time idols, idols,

Gods that the peoples around them worshipped. In fact, when Jacob was leaving Haran, where he was for 20 years, and that's where he got married twice and had his 12 sons, as he was leaving, he kind of snuck away, you might remember, in the previous chapters, and Laban, his father-in-law, chased after him.

And as he chased after him, one of the reasons was because he found out, Laban found out that his household idols were missing.

And Jacob didn't know, but Rachel had taken them so that they would be with them on the journey. And so there was this idolatry that was going on. There was these false gods that they had in their midst. And it seems that it wasn't just those household gods from Laban, but they had accumulated some things that were not of God, some false deities as they were going back and forth over the past few years.

And so the first thing that Jacob calls his family to do as he's heading back to Bethel is to put away these foreign gods.

Now, as we consider these things for ourselves today, it's not very common for us as Americans in our society and our culture to bow down before literal statues as, you know, what was taking place in those days. But we often talk about idolatry, and I'd like to remind you about idolatry, and that is that idolatry doesn't have to take that shape only, right?

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That is, if you're more devoted to anything else than you are devoted to God, then, well, that becomes an idol. And your devotion to that thing is idolatry, your commitment to that thing. If there's anything in your life that you're more passionate about than you are about God, well, that thing that you're so passionate about has become an idol, and your passion towards that is idolatry.

And so we have in our lives, oftentimes, these things that kind of creep in, kind of like Jacob and his family. These false gods start to kind of accumulate in our lives. And we don't necessarily determine, you know, to go and worship these other gods and have these devotions to things that are not of God.

But a lot of times these things will begin to creep into our hearts and creep into our lives. And sometimes it's not till a long time later that we recognize that there's this thing that we've become so devoted to that it has exceeded our devotion to God. We're so passionate about it, it's exceeded our passion for God. And it becomes more important in our lives than our relationship with God.

And so for us, we have the opportunity as we look at the example of Jacob to follow this example. As he spoke to his family and said, get rid of the foreign gods, those false gods, those idols. It's an opportunity for us to reflect. Is there some competing passions in our hearts? Things that compete for the attention that God deserves and that God requires.

Now, I like what Warren Wiersbe has to say about this. He says, a change in geography does not guarantee a change in life. So Jacob told the whole family to bury the past and get rid of their heathen charms and idols. They're moving from where they are in Shechem now, and they're moving to Bethel. But Wiersbe points out, changing location doesn't really solve the issue.

If the issue is going to be solved, well, it's going to need to be more than just a change of location. The heart has to be dealt with. And that's why these idols must be put away. You know, a lot of times as we are struggling with issues, as we have problems in our lives, as we're dealing with things in the workplace perhaps or within our family, there's a lot of times that we can take on this idea that, well, if I change location,

then things will be better, right? I'm having a real hard time in this job. It's real hard for me to be a man of God or a woman of God and represent God well in this job. And so if I could get another job, well, then I'll be okay. Then that would be better. Or I'm really struggling in this neighborhood because these guys down the street are involved in those kinds of things. And so if I could get to a different neighborhood, then things would be okay. We kind of adopt a

The whole mentality of the world that man is basically good, and it's his environment that corrupts him. And that's why we have all these problems, because of this environment. But, you know, basically we're good. And although we know that's not true, it's kind of our natural tendency to begin to think that way. And if I could move, if I could change direction, if I could do this, well, then, well, things will be better. Right?

But dealing with our idols is actually much more effective at changing us, at affecting this change in our lives, at dealing with these issues that we have. Because if you take those same idols that you have to another location, you're going to have the same problems at the other location. And so Wiersbe is saying the change of geography doesn't matter, but they need to bury the past. They need to bury those idols now.

so that there will be a real change in their lives. Well, as Jacob is continuing to instruct his family, he says in verse 3, And so he's telling his family, put away, let's put everything away that's not of God.

Purify yourself. Change your garments. I mean, let's start fresh, clean slate, and let's get back to a right relationship with God. Let's go back to Bethel. Let's go back to the house of God where God met me, where God answered my prayer, where God ministered to me, and he's been faithful. And so I'm going to go back to God because he has been faithful.

Well, as Jacob gave this instruction to his family, they respond in verse 4 and do the things that he asked them to do. In verse 4 it says, So they're leaving Shechem, and as they're heading to Bethel,

They unload all those foreign gods and they bury them. They get rid of them. They remove them from their possession. They remove them from their sight. They make sure these are not going to be part of our lives any longer. And I like what Dave Guzik points out about that. He says, Jacob's family only got right with God after Jacob himself did. God speaks to Jacob and says, Jacob, go back to Bethel.

Now, Jacob has heard from God before, but he's also been a deceiver. He's been running from God. He's been involved in things that are not very good. He's been wrestling with God. He's been wrestling with man. He's had kind of a bumpy history. But at this point, as God speaks to him, Jacob is responding to God, and he calls his family to join with him. And Guzik is finding out if Jacob...

had not responded to God, then his family would not have either. But because Jacob is responding to God, his whole family is going to be affected. Guzik goes on to say, a man resisting God will see the same effect in his children. And a man who gets right with God will see the effect in his family also. It's a great exhortation for us as members of our family

whether you are called to be the head of the home or whether you are part of the family and just a member of the family, we have the opportunity to make an impact. And as we hear God tugging on our hearts, as you hear God calling you back to Bethel, back to this place where he wants to speak to you, I would encourage you to not just deal with your own idols, but

But have a discussion with the people around you, the people in your life, and invite them to join with you in getting rid of idols and getting right with God, being called to the house of God. And so the first thing that we need to do as God tugs on your heart, as God speaks to you. Now, it might be that you've been away from God and God's calling you back to right relationship with him.

It might be that you've been walking with God just fine, but now God is taking you into a new season. He wants to use you, perhaps, in a unique way. He wants to take you deeper in your relationship with him. He wants to send you off somewhere. He wants to do this new work in your life, perhaps. And as you hear, you and I, we know what it's like as God speaks to us, as he tugs on our hearts.

And we can't always articulate it. And we can't always know for sure what is God actually saying. But we have this general sense. God's saying something. He's speaking to me. He wants something from me. He wants to do something in my life. And if you have that sense, even if you can't articulate what it is and you don't know what it means, here's step number one. Get rid of idols.

Consider and evaluate your priorities, your passions, your commitments, your time. What's most important? And does God have that place of being the most important person, the most important thing, the thing which your life is centered around? Everything revolves around your relationship with God. Is that true? And if there's anything that interferes with that,

Well, now's the time as God is tugging on your heart to lay those things down and to get rid of those idols, to put God back in his rightful place. Well, the second thing to do as you experience this call from God to enter into this encounter with him, we follow the example of Jacob in verse five and six, and we draw near to God. The next thing we do is to draw near. In verse five, it tells us, and they journeyed.

And the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. Jacob literally, physically packs up his family and begins the journey. He gets up and he goes. He draws near to God in a very literal, physical sense as he moves from Shechem to Bethel.

Now, as he's going, it tells us here in verse 5, it tells us that the terror of God was upon the cities all around them. And so they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. Now, God is pointing this out at this point because of the events that transpired in Genesis chapter 34.

And if you're reading through the Bible in three years with us, you remember Genesis chapter 34. It's kind of hard to forget. It's one of those chapters that when you get to it and you start reading the first couple of verses and you go, oh yeah, this is that chapter. Like, I don't really want to read this that much. It's not a pretty chapter. God's not mentioned at all in Genesis chapter 34. And all that's mentioned is mostly just gross atrocities.

as Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, is violated forcibly by one of the men of Shechem. And so there's this event that happens, and it's a bad situation. It's not pretty. And then it gets worse because, well, then the brothers of Dinah take matters into their own hands, and they want to pay back this guy for what he did. And so as they pay back this guy, what they do is they convince the town of

to become circumcised, deceiving them, saying, hey, if you guys get circumcised, then we'll deal with you guys and you'll benefit, you'll be wealthy as a result of our wealth and it's gonna be great. And so they convince them to do that. And so the guys of the town do it. But while they're recovering, while they're in great pain and unable to help themselves, then the brothers of Dinah go through and they slaughter all the men of the town. They slaughter everybody

Because they were angry over what happened to Dinah. It's ugly. It's not a pretty picture. Now, as a result of this incident, the towns around them, where they were, would have also been upset about this. And they would look out for each other. And so the towns around them would likely pay them back for what they did to these guys and the slaughter that took place.

But here we see that God intervenes and the terror of God is upon the cities. And so they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. And I point all of that out to say a couple of things. First of all, notice they're in this dark situation, this sordid ordeal, this ugly thing. And that is when in Genesis chapter 35, verse one, God calls out to Jacob. Oftentimes it's in our dark valleys, right?

that we hear God calling out to us. And I would suggest to you, it's not that God wasn't trying to speak to Jacob before this, or that God isn't calling out to us except for in those dark valleys, but isn't it true that oftentimes in those places of trouble, in those places, the deepest parts of our lives, the worst parts of our lives, those difficult things, that's often when we're finally in a place where we're willing and ready to listen to God.

And so God has been speaking to Jacob, I would say. But now after this incident, he's listening to God. But isn't it amazing, the grace of God, that he would still speak to Jacob even after all these things have transpired. It would have been fair if God would have allowed those surrounding cities to pursue and hunt down and bring vengeance upon the sons of Jacob. It would have been fair. It

It was not right what they did. But God in his grace protects them. He delivers them from some of the consequences of that deception and that slaughter that took place. And so it's encouraging to see, number one, in our dark times, God still speaks. And then secondly, as he speaks, he often withholds some of those consequences. Now, it's up to him how much he withholds. We don't get away with stuff, right?

We usually experience consequences from our actions, but many times God will withhold as we respond to his call. Well, in verse six, it goes on to say that Jacob came to Luz, that is Bethel, which is the land of Canaan, he and all the people who are with him. So back to the point here of drawing near to God, Jacob physically got up and went to

He literally packed his bags, he physically got up, and he moved from Shechem to Bethel. And this is an important example for us because, well, Jacob drew near to God in a very literal way. And his response to God was visible.

And a lot of times as believers, we talk about the Christian faith, we talk about the Christian life, and of course, a lot of that is happening within the heart. But sometimes we use that as kind of an excuse to not let our heart be changed and to not let our heart be in alignment with God in the way that it should be. And I want to encourage you and remind you that what happens in the heart is also going to be demonstrated by our actions.

Whatever happens in our heart is going to be visible in the things that we do. What we believe is going to impact our behavior. Sometimes we can deceive ourselves by all of our good intentions. We deceive ourselves because, well, we think real highly of the intentions that we have without paying much attention to the actual behavior that we're engaging in.

Remember that Jesus said, out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. What's happening in the heart is going to pour over out of your mouth. And also, I would say, what's happening in your heart is going to pour over in your actions. And so I want to encourage you to draw near to God, but not just in the spiritual sense, like nobody could tell really what's happening. Nobody can tell that you're really drawing near to God.

draw near to God for real because as it's happening in your heart, it's going to be lived out in your actions, in your life. Sometimes we'll say things like, well, you know, reading the Bible is really important to me. I just can't do it very much. I just can't do it very often. But we think very highly of our intentions. We think very highly of it's really important to me. And so we give ourselves lots of credit for that. But then we don't actually do it.

And so what I'm suggesting to you is draw near to God. That is, don't just convince yourself that you think God is really important and that you need to be spending time with him, but actually spend time with God. Actually open up your Bible and read. Actually set aside some time and pray. Do some real things in response to this call of God and actually draw near.

We might say things like, you know, church is really important to me. I just can't go very often. But our actions demonstrates what's really going on in our hearts. And we'll say, yeah, serving is so important. I know, I know. It's really important. But actually do something. Just like Jacob packed up his family. It was physical. It was visible. There was real action involved. Drawing near to God is not just some internal thing.

It starts there, and that has to be going on, because you can go to church all you want if the drawing near to God in your heart's not there, it doesn't do anything. But it starts in your heart, but then it's demonstrated by the life that you live. And so it's a personal relationship with God. It happens in our heart, but it's demonstrated by our life. Also, I would encourage you to not keep it private, to not try to keep it quiet, to not

Sometimes we talk about, or often we talk about our personal relationship with God. But don't confuse personal and private. I talked about this before. I don't know if it was on a Sunday or Wednesday. But personal means you have your own encounter with God. But notice what it says here in verse 6. As Jacob comes to Luz, that's Bethel in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. He didn't say, hey guys, I'm going to Bethel. I'll see you later.

Or even, hey guys, I'm going to Bethel. Come if you want to. But he brought them to Bethel. He brought them with him to the house of God. He brought his family there. And so I want to encourage you to follow this example. Draw near to God in ways that are real. Take real action and do something to encounter God, to spend time with God, to walk with God.

But also, as you have opportunity, as you have authority, then reach around to those people around you and bring them with you. Help them to join in on this drawing near to God. God's promise in James 4, verse 8, is that when we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. And we'll see that God fulfills that in Jacob's life in just a couple verses. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

And so I want to encourage you, draw near to God. Get into the word of God as he prompts your heart. Get involved in what the Lord is doing in this place. I encouraged the body on Sunday evening at our family meeting. One of the exhortations that I shared that I believe is really important, I'll share it again. Attend, not just Sunday morning, but attend also Sunday evening or Wednesday evening. I would really encourage you.

We do services a little bit differently on Sunday evening and Wednesday evening, and we give opportunity to minister to one another. And as we are called by God, and we're called to the house of God, and we're drawing near to God, and even as Jacob did bringing others, well, there's a unique work that God wants to do in us as we minister to one another. And there's opportunity to do that both on Wednesday evening and Sunday evening.

And I know a lot of people I could talk with, and you could say, well, yeah, it's really important, but it's really important, and I want to, and I need to, and God wants me to. Listen, if God doesn't want you here on Sunday evening or Wednesday evening, well, then you don't have to worry about my exhortation, and you listen to the Lord. But if you're wrestling with, I think God wants me there, I really want to be there,

But I don't know. And you're wrestling with those things. Well, then let me encourage you. Live it out. Make it real. Demonstrate it by how you live. And draw near to God. What's happening in your heart is going to be lived out in your actions. And so as God calls you to his house, as he calls out to you and he's tugging at your heart, he's speaking to you, and maybe you still don't even know what he's saying yet. That was the case with Jacob. He didn't know what God wanted to say, but

But he heard God's call. And so he, first of all, got rid of the idols. Then he began to draw near to God. He physically got up and moved. Thirdly, as we follow the example of Jacob, give yourself to God. As God is calling out to you and you respond, the proper response is to give yourself to God. Verse 7, it says, and he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel.

Because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother. The place is called Bethel, which means house of God, because there God met with him. Back in Genesis chapter 28, as he was fleeing from Esau, because, well, he had deceived his father and received the blessing instead of Esau, so he had to run for his life. But as he's running, God meets with him at Bethel.

And so now he comes back there to this place called El Bethel, God of the house of God. And it tells us there he built an altar. Now...

Altars are interesting, especially in this era, because this is happening before God has given the law of Moses, the Levitical system, the sacrifices. As we think about altars and sacrifices, typically we're thinking about the temple. We're thinking about the tabernacle. These are things that God established later on in history.

We don't know exactly what kind of instruction God has given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regarding altars. Here's what we do know. Altars were used for two things. They were used for sacrifices for sin,

but they were also used for burnt offerings. And it's very likely that Jacob here, as he builds this altar, he's engaging in a burnt offering type of sacrifice. That is, a burnt offering is where the entire animal is placed on the altar and completely consumed in the fire. It's an offering of dedication. It's also included in the Levitical system that God gives to Moses.

And this burnt offering is a representation. It's the person who's putting the animal on the altar saying, I want to give myself completely to God in that way. Wholly, completely consumed by God and by the things of God.

And so as Jacob builds this altar, especially as he had just had his family put away the false gods, it's an act of devotion. It's an act of worship, but not just kind of a casual worship, or we're going to worship this God amongst many gods, but that we're going to devote ourselves to the true and living God. We're going to dedicate ourselves. We're going to give ourselves completely to God.

This idea is also carried forward into the New Testament. Paul talks about it in Romans chapter 12, a verse you're probably familiar with. In Romans chapter 12, verse 1, Paul says, Paul says,

Put yourself on the altar. That is, give yourself to God completely. And he says, this is your reasonable service. When you consider what God has done for us, what Christ has done for us in dying upon the cross for our sin, the only reasonable thing is for us to give ourselves entirely to God. This is talking about absolute surrender.

As God is speaking to your heart, as he's tugging on your heart, he's calling you to the house of God. And you're getting rid of idols. You're drawing near to God. You also want to come to this place of absolute surrender where you say, Lord, I'm yours completely. Whatever you want, that's what I'll give. Wherever you send me, that's where I'll go. Whatever you say, that's what I'll listen to. Whatever you command, that's what I'll obey.

that I'm going to put myself, I know it's the reasonable service, it's the only reasonable thing to do in light of what you've done for me. I'm going to be a living sacrifice. I'm going to give myself entirely over to you and allow you to be king and Lord in my life. Now, as we see this unfold here, as Jacob is responding to the call of God, we've been looking at Jacob's response. And

It's a good example for us to follow. But I also want to point out, Jacob's not the only one in action here. In fact, God is at work, and what he's doing is pretty amazing. And so I want to reflect a little bit about what God does before we finish up with the last thing that Jacob does. So here's what God does. First of all, in verse 1, we saw God calls you. Just like God calls Jacob in verse 1 and says, Arise and go to Bethel.

God is calling you, and he is the one who tugs at our heart. He is the one who speaks to us, and this is really important because, again, as I shared before, God is always the initiator. Always, always, always. Every case without exception. We do nothing in relationship to God that is not in response to God.

John tells us in 1 John 4, verse 19, that we love him because he first loved us. If we love God, it's only because we're responding to his love. If we get up and go to church in the morning, it's only because God has already been speaking to us and calling us. If we want to serve God more, it's only because God's been calling us to serve him more.

And on and on and on we could go. Everything in our life in relationship to God is initiated by God. Now that's really important because it speaks to us and it tells us of his great love for us. He's initiating. He wants relationship with you. He wants to work in your life.

He wants to minister to you, to bless you, to lead you, to guide you. And because he desires it so much, he's initiating constantly, continually. He's always the one doing the first move because he loves you. It also speaks to us of his grace.

God's the initiator, even when we've had our Genesis chapter 34, our darkest valleys, our worst mistakes, our terrible situations, God's still the one who initiates. He doesn't go stand off in a corner and like, well, if you really want to talk to me, then come talk to me. He's calling out. He's inviting us back. He's the one who's initiating, even after our failures, even when we've run away.

And so this is the first thing that God does, and it's very important. God calls you. Secondly, as you respond, as we see Jacob responded, and he set aside those idols, he drew near to God, and he devoted himself to God. Well, then the next thing we see in verse 9 is that God reveals himself. In verse 9, it says, God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan Aram and blessed him. So first, God spoke to Jacob and said, get up and go to Bethel.

Jacob heard the Lord. He didn't know what God wanted to say. He didn't know what God wanted to do. But as God was tugging on his heart, he responded. And now God reveals himself. God gives some more clarity. God speaks to him to a greater degree. He appears to Jacob now. This is probably an appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament. He appears to Jacob and then later on he'll ascend back into heaven.

When God calls you, when he's calling you to the house of God, when he's calling you to himself, and as you cast out the idols and as you purify yourself, listen, God reveals himself. He speaks in a greater way. He works in a unique way. He reveals himself to you. I'm not suggesting that every one of us are going to have like a physical encounter with the Lord. But you know, when we have those times with the Lord where he meets with us and reveals himself to

It's just as real. He is real and he wants to work and he does reveal himself to his children. And so God calls you and God will reveal himself to you as you respond. Then we see in verse 10 that God changes you. In verse 10, it says, God said to him, your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name. So he called his name Israel.

Here God changes Jacob's name. But it's more than just the name that is being changed here. In these Old Testament times, God was working really kind of in a unique way in that most of the time, the names were seriously attached to the person as far as who they were, their character, or the situation that was going on. For example, you have Jacob.

Jacob and Esau, these twin boys who were born. Now, Esau is given the name Esau because literally the word Esau means hairy. So Esau is born and he's really hairy. And so they call his name Esau. Be interesting if we named our kids based on how they looked when they first came out, right? We'd have a lot of people walking around being called chubby. Hey, chubby.

He's called Esau. Later on, he's called Edom, which literally means red because, well, he exchanged his birthright with Jacob. He exchanged his birthright for a bowl of red beans, this red stew. And so later on, they called his name Edom. And his descendants become the nation of Edom.

But notice the name is significant because it's attached to this event. It's attached to what happened and what kind of man he was. Now, Jacob, his name means heel catcher or supplanter. Now, when Jacob was born, again, these are twins, Jacob and Esau. Esau comes out and Jacob is holding on to Esau's heel. And so he comes out with Esau, but grasping onto his heel. And so they called him Jacob, heel catcher.

But there was more going on than just that because, well, it was actually a good description of the character of Jacob. He was a deceiver. He was a supplanter. In Genesis chapter 27, verse 36, Esau points this out when he's really upset after Jacob tricks Isaac into giving him the blessing instead of Esau.

Esau says, isn't he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright and now look, he's taken away my blessing. And so his name, Jacob, represented his actions, his behavior, who he was. He was a deceiver. And God says, your name is Jacob. And it's accurate. It represents who you are. But Jacob, I'm changing your name. That's not going to be who you are any longer.

Now, we're going to call you Israel. And the name Israel means to be governed by God. And Jacob, I don't want you to be working out things on your own, deceiving and scheming, but instead be governed by me. And so it's more than just a change of the name. You know, my name is Gerald, but most people call me Jerry. It's a nickname. This isn't just a nickname for Jacob. Hey, your name's Jacob, but I'm going to call you Israel. It's a nickname. No, no, no. God's saying, I'm changing you.

And that's what God does. Now listen, you and I, we can try really hard to change our lives. We can try really hard to break habits. We can try really hard to stop those behaviors that we know destroy. And oftentimes we try really hard, but the reality is we have no strength when it comes to changing our heart. It's only God who can do that.

But the good news is that as God calls to you and you respond and put away those idols and draw near to him and devote yourself to him, God changes you. And that's why Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Behold, the old things have gone and all things become new. God does a new work in those who respond to him.

Well, finally, verses 11 and 12, God promises blessing. In verse 11, he says, Here we see the promise that God gave to Abraham.

God then passed that on to Isaac, Abraham's son. And God gave that same promise to Isaac. And then now God gives this same promise to Jacob. And so the promise of blessing has been passed on from father to son to father to son. He's received the promise that was given to his fathers. And as we consider these things for our own hearts, listen, as you respond to God, God

God is the one who initiates. He calls you. He reveals himself. He changes you. But he also promises you blessing. And we get the promise, not of our biological father, but we get the promise of Jesus passed on to us.

That is when you believe in Jesus Christ and receive what he accomplished upon the cross for you, when you receive that and say, yeah, I believe you, I'm turning from my sin to follow you, then you become part of Christ and you're permanently, eternally attached to him and you get to share everything that Jesus has, you get to be part of. And so while Jesus is resurrected,

And that means you also get to be part of the resurrection. Jesus, well, he has a place of glory for the rest of eternity. And that means you also get to be with Jesus for the rest of eternity as you believe in Jesus. You're permanently attached. His faith is yours when you believe in him. The promise of Jesus is passed on to you as you respond to God's call.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 20, all the promises of God in Jesus are yes, and in him, amen to the glory of God through us. All the promises of God to Jesus, they're in us as we believe in Jesus. We get to rule and reign with him. We get to experience the glory that God has in store for him. So God does great things, but there's

Both parties involved here. God is calling and Jacob is responding. And that is our responsibility as well. Listen, God's initiating. He's speaking. He wants to do a work in your life. And he's going to reveal himself. He's going to change you. He's going to promise great blessing. Our job is to respond. And again, looking at the example of Jacob.

First, that starts with us getting rid of idols, removing those things that compete for attention and devotion and passion that belong to God. Secondly, we draw near to God. That is not just an internal thing, but something we actually do. Live it out and get near to God. Open up your Bible. Get into the Word of God. Spend time in prayer. Reach out and pray for others around you. Get to service. Whatever it is that God is prompting in your heart,

Actually do it. Make it happen. But then as you go, give yourself to God. It's an absolute, complete surrender, a devotion to God. Whatever he wants, you're going to give it.

Now, as Jacob has this encounter, I like verse 14 because he has this amazing encounter with God where God reveals himself and speaks to him. And then verse 14 tells us, Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. So what did Jacob do? He set up a stone. The idea of setting up a stone is setting up a memorial. It's setting up a reminder.

So that he sees that stone and he remembers, I had an encounter with God. God spoke to me. He promised me things. He revealed himself to me. He gave me instruction. He changed my name. And every time he would see that stone, he would be reminded of what God had done. And I want to encourage you to set a reminder for yourself. I don't know where you're at and what God's doing in your heart.

whether it's you've been away from God and God's calling you back to right relationship, or you've been walking with God, but God wants to do a new work and reveal himself in a new way. Whatever it is, as God is speaking to your heart, I would encourage you, and we even see God give instruction for this to the children of Israel throughout their history, to set up reminders. And in fact, Jesus himself set up a reminder for us.

And we're going to participate in that this morning. We're going to partake of communion together. It's a reminder. Jesus said, here's the elements, the bread and the cup. This represents my body, which is broken for you. This represents my blood, which is shed for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Remember me. Remember what I've done. Remember what I've said. Remember the work that I've accomplished. And so we do that today.

in remembrance of Jesus, looking back to the cross, looking back at the victory that he accomplished for us. But in addition to that, I would encourage you this morning, listen, if God's speaking to your heart through this passage and through this message, then I would encourage you to set up a reminder. And maybe that takes the form of writing something in your Bible. Maybe you need to take a communion selfie before you partake. Amen.

Hey, it's a little bit silly. I know some people will be offended by that. But hey, if it helps you remember what God has done for you and what God is speaking to you. Because you know what it's like. It's not really that different than New Year's resolutions, right? We're at the, well, we're now at the beginning of February. And probably 90% of all the New Year's resolutions, they've gone by the wayside. And we've had that same experience where you've heard from God. God's spoken to you. And then several weeks later, you're like,

You've forgotten. It's long gone. Set yourself up a reminder to try to help you continue to respond as God is speaking to you. To continue to not go dig up those idols, but to let them be buried. That you would continue in the path that God has set you. And I would encourage you to really take this seriously and to do it literally.

I remember when I was about 15 years old, it was the encounter with God that I look at as the time God really got a hold of my life. I was at a youth retreat. God spoke to me. We were at the youth retreat, and the theme was BBC, which stood for Bedroom Bible College. And the exhortation of that retreat was, get in your bedroom. You don't have to go to Bible college. Get in your bedroom and study your Bible.

And that impacted my life. It changed my life. And I still have the workbook that they gave me. I still have the Bible that they gave me. It's something that I look back, I pull out from time to time, and I remember that work that God did. But it doesn't have to be that kind of a retreat. I remember also sitting in service at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa on a Monday night, probably about 12, 13 years ago now.

And God spoke to my heart as Joey Buran was giving the illustration of a car. And he was saying that the hardest thing to do with a car is turn it when it's not moving. But if it's moving, then it's easy for it to be turned and the direction to be changed. And I've shared that illustration many times since.

And I remember that. I wrote it down in my Bible, and that was God spoke to me to not just sit there, but to get going. And even if I'm not going exactly the right direction, he's going to redirect me as I look to him. We need to have those memorials, those reminders, that we don't lose sight of what God has said and what God has done. And so I would encourage you, as God speaks to your heart, set up a reminder. Post it on the fridge or the mirror. Set an alert on your phone.

whatever, to help you remember what God has said that you would continue to respond to his call. Amen? I'm going to invite the worship team to come up and lead us in a couple songs. And we're going to do communion a little bit differently today. Instead of having the ushers pass out the bread and the cup, we want to ask you to get up and come get communion for yourselves. Just as Jacob had to like pack up his family and physically move from Shechem to Bethel,

In the same way, I would ask that you would approach communion this morning with that heart, that this is not just some ritual that we do, but that it's real. And what's happening in your heart as God is speaking to you, it's going to be demonstrated by you getting out of your chair, coming and grabbing the elements, and you partaking between you and God. Respond to God as he's calling out to you. They're going to lead us in two songs, one

And what I would ask is, just so we kind of have a flow of traffic, if people just come from the middle and go this way and then exit along the wall there so that we don't have collisions, we all kind of go the same direction. But as they lead us in these two songs, you respond as God is speaking. And if there's some idols that God has identified as you've been sitting here this morning, it's probably not something you have to search for or really analyze or agonize over.

Maybe you're agonizing over you know what God's saying and you don't really want to let it go. But it's time to let it go. It's time to set those things aside. Get rid of those foreign gods and draw near to God. And so as you come and partake of communion, let it be you declaring to God that you're drawing near, that you're giving yourself entirely to him, and that you're going to walk with him. Your name is going to be changed because of what he's done for you.

And so during these two songs, you're welcome to come up at any time and partake of communion as you do business with God and allow him to reveal himself to you, to change your name, and to do the work that he wants to do. Let's worship him together. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.