Becoming A Jacob Generation
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaamIIqonZU
What is a Jacob Generation, and why is it important? Well, it has to do with what David talked about in Psalm 24.
“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” (Psalm 24:3-5 NKJV)
The Lord is describing something we all want, that is to stand before the Lord, to be before His presence. But there’s a condition attached, and that is, we need to be forgiven, that is, to have clean hands and a pure heart, and to repent, that is, not bowing down to false gods nor being deceitful.
And the end of such actions and such a life is God’s blessings and righteousness, not to mention the greatest of all gifts, salvation. And this is available to every generation and to all people who come to belief in Jesus Christ, as their Savior and Lord.
And Jesus said that there is no other way. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 NKJV)
And so, if we want to stand before the Lord God Almighty and be in His presence, to have our sins forgiven and repent thereof, all this is available in and through Jesus Christ alone.
But I love what David went on to say about all these generations who have taken this path, that they are a part of the Jacob generation, a generation that seeks after God, thus making the Lord our first priority.
“This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face.” (Psalm 24:6 NKJV)
So, why use Jacob to describe such a generation, because when we think about Jacob, this is really the last things we think about.
Jacob was the second child born to Isaac and Rebekah. Actually, he and his brother, Esau, were twins. Esau came out first, but not without a fight. The Bible tells how they both wrestled in Rebekah’s womb, and they were still wrestling as they came out because Jacob was trying to pull Esau back in. As Esau came out, Jacob’s hand was holding onto his heal.
That is actually the meaning behind Jacob’s name. Jacob in the Hebrew means, “heal catcher,” or “supplanter,” meaning someone who wrongfully or illegally seizes the place of another.
This was who Jacob was; he was a liar and a deceiver. He got Esau to sell him his birthright, and then he deceived his father into giving him Esau’s covenant blessing. Thus, he fulfilled what he tried to accomplish in the womb, and that is to wrestle away God’s blessings from Esau. So instead of being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Esau, it’s the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
But is that the Jacob generation that we are to be like? If it is, then our society certainly has done its part. We live in a generation that lies and cheats. We live in a generation that deceives and connives to get what it wants. This generation is definitely a Jacob generation as it regards this part of Jacob’s life.
But this is not the type of generation God wants us to be. God wants us to be a generation marked by a new beginning like it was for Jacob when God changed his name to Israel.
So, what happened to Jacob, and how did a deceiver become a seeker?
As Jacob was coming back to the land of his father with his family and flocks, he gets a report that his brother Esau was coming with 400 men to wipe him out.
So, Jacob left his family and flocks on one side of the River Jabbok and passed over to the other side to seek God. There he met God and wrestled with Him throughout the night. It was then God changed his name from Jacob, or “heal catcher,” to Israel, “one who prevails with God.”
It is this part of Jacob’s life that God wants this and every generation to be. God wants us to be a generation, like Jacob, who seeks earnestly after the Lord.
And I believe it is such a generation that will see revival break out. But why is revival so important, especially seeing the immanency of Christ’s return. If this is true, then shouldn’t we just be watching and waiting? And the answer is yes, but what we also need to know is that the Lord God wishes none to perish, but for everyone to come to salvation, for everyone to be a part of this Jacob generation, a generation that seeks after God.
But thinking about this even further, how can a church so fragmented even expect such an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. What we are seeing is that the church itself is in a state of decline, not only in numbers but in devotion to God and His word, which it has compromised the heck out of. How can it be raised, how can it come back, how can it be revived?
There are two major things that I see, that are then supported by three things that we need to spend a lot more time in. That is, these first two things are only the result of prolonged time in the last three things.
Now, that is what you might call being as clear as mud. So, let me clear it all up.
1. Prepare Our Hearts
Through the prophet Hosea, the Lord said, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” (Hosea 10:12 NKJV)
Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said, “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.” (Jeremiah 4:3 NKJV)
“Fallow ground,” is ground that has been ignored and left alone, unplanted for a period of time and is now more of a field of weeds, than it is a field that produces anything worthwhile.
But breaking it up isn’t easy, because not only is if filled with weeds and thorn bushes, but it has gotten hardened over the years. And so, if they wanted something to grow, they had to break up the harden top layer, plow up the ground underneath, and then remove all that was there, so that they could then plant something new.
Charles Spurgeon, Baptist pastor and preacher back in the late 1800’s talked about this sort of heart preparation saying, “Where the plough does not go, and the seed is not sown, the weeds are quite sure to multiply; and if children are left untutored and untrained, all sorts of evils will spring up in their hearts and lives.”
Jesus talked about this ground in His parable of the soils. He said that the seed of God’s word, when it fell amongst the weeds and thorns, represented how the cares of this world choke out the seed of God’s word and thus kill the transformation that’s necessary to produce a great harvest (Matthew 13:1-23).
The principle is what Jeremiah alluded to when the Lord said in chapter 31:28. “I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant.”
That is, before God can do a new work, He has to completely remove the old, and sin which is offensive in His sight. Only then can He then plant and build His people into that church He has called for them to be.
We see this in an unusual way in God’s pronouncement against Israel through the prophet Amos. Twice God said that He would bring judgment, first by locust, then by fire, but each time Amos interceded, and God relented. But the third time God showed Amos just how much Israel was out of line to God’s will and way, and then judgment came (Amos 7:1-9).
But what we always need to remember is that God’s judgment isn’t for their or for our destruction, rather it is His way of getting us back in line with Him so that He can bless. At the end of Amos’s prophecies, God said that He would restore; that He would repair what had been broken and rebuild it to the way it was (Amos 9:11-15).
Now, to prepare our hearts and break up this fallow ground of our hearts will take confession and repentance. King David understood this when he cried out to God, “Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” (Psalm 51:1b-3 NKJV)
And then he ended with these words, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart-- These, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17 NKJV)
And so, to be than Jacob generation, one who seeks after God, we need to plow up the fallow ground of our hearts through confession and repentance.
2. Filled with the Spirit
Looking at the first church and what it was able to accomplish, the filling of the Holy Spirit was essential.
Jesus told His disciple after His resurrection and just prior to His accession that they were to seek after the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
“I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49 NKJV)
Later, Jesus commanded them to wait in Jerusalem for this promise saying, “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." (Acts 1:5 NKJV)
And so it was, on the feast of Pentecost, that which we celebrated last week, that the Holy Spirit came in power upon the disciples and the church was formed. The second chapter of Acts confirms what happened.
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV)
How important is the Holy Spirit in the life of the church and of believers?
· He guides us into all truth,
· He gives Spiritual gifts,
· He empowers us to proclaim the gospel,
· And He seals us guaranteeing our redemption and inheritance of heaven.
And so, again to be that Generation of Jacob that seeks after God, we need to be empowered by no one less than the 3rd person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.
Now, before I move on, let me make this one observation, an observation that has plagued the church for a long time in this area. So many are seeking the experience of Pentecost, that they are not seeking what Pentecost truly represents.
“Don’t seek the experience of the Holy Spirit, but rather seek the Holy Spirit’s life changing reality.”
Now, as I mention at the outset, these two things, that is, the preparation of our heart to hear God’s word, and being filled with the Holy Spirit gain traction in our lives and in the church as a result of prolonged time in three areas, Prayer, Scriptures, and Worship.
a. Prayer
Now, I don’t think that this is new to anyone. Without prayer, we’re missing one of most powerful spiritual weapons we possess. In fact, there has never been a mighty move of God where there hasn’t been prolonged prayer, that is, God’s people praying for God to move, and this has always preceded revivals.
As the Apostle Paul was giving the Christian those weapons needed in the Spiritual battle we face, prayer was one of the offensive weapons that we have.
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 6:18 NKJV)
The Apostle Paul’s advice was to pray always with all the prayer we can muster, and make sure it’s fueled and directed by the Holy Spirit.
Praying in the Spirit has long been debated in the church but let me give you an all-inclusive answer. Its prayer directed and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
In Romans 8:26 the Apostle Paul said, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26 NKJV)
Now, while we will look at the weapon God gives us for our hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. Praying in the Spirit, as I see it, is our long-range artillery. It pounds the enemy’s position behind the lines and weakens his attacks, because the Holy Spirit knows exactly where to aim to do the most damage.
So, when we don’t know what to pray, let’s give ourselves over to the Holy Spirit, and allow Him to intercede.
b. God’s Word
God’s word, or the Bible, is our short range, hand-to-hand weapon that God has given to us. The Apostle Paul refers to it as the Sword of the Spirit in his letter to the Ephesians.
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17 NKJV)
God doesn’t reveal His will through emotions, nor communicates it through the changing philosophies of man. God reveals His will through His word, the Bible. What we might say is that the Bible is God’s instruction manual for life.
The Apostle Paul said, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV)
“Given by inspiration of God,” literally means that the Lord breathed out the Bible. The Apostle Peter says prophecy didn’t come by the will of man, but through holy men separated by God for His work who spoke and wrote the words as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).
Further, calling it profitable means that it is useful, beneficial, and advantageous for our lives in teaching what is true, reproving what isn’t, along with correcting and instructing us on how to get and stay right with God.
I like what the Lord said about His word to the prophet Jeremiah.
“‘Is not My word like a fire?’ says the Lord, ‘And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?’” (Jeremiah 23:29 NKJV)
The writer of Hebrews provides an analogy that shows us how useful and powerful God’s word is when it comes to keeping us on the straight and narrow.
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV)
God’s word is living and powerful. Like a scalpel in the hands of a skillful surgeon, it’s cuts through the philosophies and thoughts of man that are filled with contradictions and lies. It gets to the heart and the spirit of God’s will and way.
Literally it’s alive and will pierce our hearts and touch our souls to change the course of our lives.
But taking prolonged time in God’s word also includes not only reading and studying it, but hearing it taught as well, and it goes to the heart of the third thing that is needed in becoming a Jacob generation.
c. The Gathering Factor
Speaking of humanity’s creation, the Lord said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18 NKJV)
When God saw Adam alone, He realized that it wasn’t a good thing, so He made Eve. We need relationship with others to fully be what God has called for us to be. The writer of Hebrews again expands on this theme in our need to come together in what is known as church.
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV)
John Wesley said, “The Bible knows nothing of a solitary religion.”
Notice the writer of Hebrews says, “As is the manner of some.” Even back then distractions were winning out, but what he brings out is that community is important, that fellowship amongst believers is important and shouldn’t be ignored or overlooked.
So, instead of being absent from church, we need to come together to encourage one another and build each other up in the Lord, especially seeing that the Day of the Lord isn’t far away.
And so, when we come together, we do so, not only to encourage each other, but to worship and give praise to God, and then hear His word being taught. This was an integral part of the growth of the church.
“They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:42 NKJV)
Conclusion
As I was looking at this message, what first came to mind is of our need and the church’s need to be awakened. In fact, I thought of naming it, “A Spiritual Awaking.” And my whole point was that I think it’s time for the church to stop trying to be “woke,” and start becoming awakened.
We need to stop all this nonsense about having to be culturally and politically sensitive and stop playing around with what the world says we should do and say, and start being sensitive to God, His word, and the moving of the Holy Spirit.
Paul said that it’s high time for us to wake up from the sleep we’ve allowed to overtake us, because salvation is closer than we believe (Romans 13:11). He also said that we need to stop sleeping and begin to watch and be sober minded (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6).
And to the church in Ephesus, Paul says, “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” (Ephesians 5:14 NKJV)
So, let’s start waking up and start being that Jacob Generation, that generation that seeks after God and Him alone, especially seeing that the time is running short.
