Monuments of Grace - Sermon One - The Monument of Relationship- Gen 28:10-22
Intro. A monument is a stone or a building that is set up to remember a person or an event. On July 3, 1775, he took on what was thought to be an impossible task. He became the commander of an army of rag-tag volunteers that were so determined to throw off the British yoke, that they were willing to war against the mightiest empire of the 1700s. - He is remembered by the tallest structure in Washington D.C. - The Washington Monument - We think of General Washington, on a frigid Christmas night in 1776, along with 2,400 men and 18 cannons, rowing across the freezing Delaware River. The daring offensive took the Hessian mercenaries serving with the British completely by surprise. A British loyalist tried to alert the Hessians, but their drunken commander refused to interrupt a card game to receive the message. More than one hundred Hessians were killed or wounded, and nearly one thousand taken prisoner. Not a single American life was lost. Monuments are built to remember significant events and people.
In the Bible there are some times that stones are set, monuments if you will, of things to be remembered.
Here we see a Heavenly Pathway to an Earthly heart - it is always that way!
I. The Departure - vs. 10-11
A. The Depraved Sinner - (traveled about 48 miles) Jacob fled from the scene of his deception of his brother and his father. But do not be too hard on Jacob:
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Galatians 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
1. Not a decently honest man, but a trickster, a cheat, a shrewd deceiver
2. Not a seeker of God, but rather a fugitive from justice. - That is good!
Mat 9:13 for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
No, you were not born a Christian! No, you were not raised a Christian!
No, you did not marry into Christianity! No, you did not join Christianity!
No, you were not immersed into Christianity!
If you are a Christian you became one through faith in Jesus Christ!
B. The Dangerous Seclusion - Jacob went alone. We see no one with him
He was a fugitive running from His own errors and actions.
- He was in danger from the Aggressor - Esau
- He was in danger from an Assailant - Thief
- He was in danger from an Attack - wild animals
Without Christ, we are alone and in danger of destruction. Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
C. The Discomfort of Sin
1. Darkness - the sun was set, and he could go no farther - Without Jesus, you only have darkness and depression! Sin may last for a season, but you will always come to the end of the day empty and alone.
2. Dejected Soul - Miserable - Pillows made of stone
We find Jacob far from home, in an open field, on a back road journey - a fugitive
Here was a very unlikely place to have a confrontation with heaven! He was the son of a rich man, but found himself in an uncomfortable situation.
The life of a sinner may bring temporary ease, like that of Jacob thinking he had out run his brother. But now he was alone and uncomfortable.
II. The Discovery - A Visit from God - vs. 12-17 (Oh that we would desire, beg for, seek, and crave a visit from God in our own lives. It may not be in the form of a dream, but God can still visit West Jacksonville Baptist Church)
Here in the midst of the darkness, God cam shining through! 2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
A. The Scene - Heaven opened to the Earth - Jacob was alone and friendless, yet heaven was interested in him! Here a glorious staircase descended to earth.
1. We see God - None would be saved if not for the Work of God!
2. Guilt - The Philippian jailer- Acts 16:27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
- The Prodigal, a fugitive away from home - Luke 15:15-18 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee
Holy Ghost Conviction is a good thing! Until we repent, we will not be saved.
It is dreadful for men to know that their hope lies outside themselves. That self preservation is a myth and that after all the best laid plans and schemes of the natural mind there is still only one Way to Heaven.
B. The Savior - The LORD Stood above it, Jacob did not climb the ladder, but rather saw the work of the Lord. He saw that ACCESS was available!
John 1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
- Jesus is the Ability by which we ASCEND to the Father.
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
- It is by His power that we come to the Father - John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
- It is by His power that we have HIM - vs. 15 “I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of” -
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
III. The Decision - vs. 16- 17
A. The Delight - vs. 16 - GOD IS HERE! - Psalms 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
How often have we taken the Lord’s presence for granted!
B. The Dread - vs. 17a (Conviction)
Psalms 119:120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.
Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Jacob did not run, he submitted and stood in awe! “dreadful” - that which causes awe, reverence or fear.
1. Dread For the Sinner - It is dreadful for men to know that their hope lies outside themselves. That self preservation is a myth and that after all the best laid plans and schemes of the natural mind there is still only one Way to Heaven.
2. Dread For the Saved - I am afraid that we no longer stand in awe of God - We live in a day that man does what is right in his own eyes.
Jacob submitted to God, and the relationship began at Bethel.
C. The Door (gate) - - vs. 17b -The house of God has a gate- Jo 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
IV. The Display - vs. 18-22 - Put a stone there! Put a stone where you met the Lord! Here a monument of Grace was DISPLAYED.
He called the place Bethel - the house of God - That is where He met God!
He put up the stone and anointed it with oil - Work of the Spirit of God!
A. He Acknowledged His Conversion - vs. 21 - "then shall the Lord be my God" (Picture of salvation) (Like Saul, later Pau)
Acts 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
B. He Acknowledged a Change - Jacob had been one to see what was in it for him - but now a new attitude toward his property vs. 22- “and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”
When someone is saved, there will be a definite change - Jacob’s greed turned to generosity. This is before the law, and the crook vowed to tithe!
There was a change in Jacob - And he put a monument there, a monument of grace
Concl. Do you have a monument of grace of being delivered? Do you know Jesus?
If you are saved, is there a monument, a definite display in your life that reminds you to whom you belong?
In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the great discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion destroying a word that had been part of Spain’s motto for centuries. Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth. Thus their motto was "No More Beyond." The word being torn away by the lion is "no," that makes it read, if translated, “More Beyond” The world could never be understood the same. In the same way, Christ proved the was “more beyond” and life can never be understood the same. Because of Jesus there is MORE BEYOND - do you know Jesus? There is a hell to shun and a heaven to gain.
For the saved - do we believe Jesus saves? What better monument than that of a soul? D.L. Moody- The monument I want after I am dead is a monument with two legs going around the world—a saved sinner telling about the salvation of Jesus Christ.
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