REMEMBER THE ROCK? REMEMBER THE LADDER TO GOD?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
THE ODDS ARE AGAINST US… HOW CAN I MAKE IT? GOD HAS A PLAN AND A PURPOSE. WE MUST REMEMBER GOD MAKES A WAY THROUGH IMPOSSIBLE ODDS.
Genesis 27:41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
We need to know the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac --- the God of Jacob… but is Godour God. Do we accept God’s promises as personal?
Genesis 28:15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
WILL WE REMEMBER THAT ONE NIGHT AT BETHEL? JACOB RECOGNIZED GOD AS EL-SHADDAI--- THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
Jacob set up a stone of remembrance to MARK THE SPOT WHERE HE FOUND DIVINE GRACE and a fullness of El-Shaddai. Bethel is the place where Jacob encountered God. The first encounter was about a ladder that carried angels to and from heaven.
I WILL COME AGAIN. REMEMBER FROM WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN, WHERE YOU ARE AND WHERE GOD WANTS YOU TO BE.
Jacob was fleeing Esau his brother. God visited Jacob in his terrible dark night. Jacob recognizes God’s touch and builds an altar. Jacob learned a new depth of the fullness of a mighty God
Genesis 28:10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:
22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
WE MUST TURN DOWN MEMORY LANE AND RECALL THE VISITATION OF GOD. THERE WAS A SPECIAL PLACE IN THE HEART OF JACOB THAT HE WOULD NEVER FORGET. MANY TIMES JACOB/ISRAEL WILL RECALL AND REMEMBER GOD AND GOD’S PROMISES.
Genesis 35:1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. 2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: 3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. 4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. 5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. 7 And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
8 But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth. 9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. 11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. 13 And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him. 14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon. 15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.
REMEMBER YOU HAVE BEEN CHANGED. JACOB NEEDED TO REMEMBER THAT GOD CHOSE HIM. GOD CALLED JACOB. AND IN THOSE DANGEROUS YEARS GOD PROTECTED HIM. JACOB NEEDED TO REMEMBER THAT GOD WOULD BRING HIM BACK.
JACOB REMEMBERED WRESTLING WITH THE ANGE. FOREVER JACOB’S NAME CHANGE: ISRAEL, PRINCE WITH MAN AND GOD. ISRAEL WAS A NEW MAN.
REMEMBER YOUR FAMILY HISTORY WILL FOREVER CHANGE.
REMEMBER GOD WANTS US TO BE HOLY. WE MUST COME FOR A PURGING: CALLED BACK TO CLEAN UP OUR ACT, BE PURIFIED AND LIVE PLEASING TO GOD.
MY FRIENDS, WE MUST REMEMBER GOD’S PROMISES AND CLAIM THEM.
REMEMBER WE ARE NOT THE SAME, REMEMBER WE HAVE A NEW HEART AND A NEW MIND.WE MAY NOT HAVE AN OFFIICAL NAME CHANGE --- BUT GOD’S PLANS ARE FOR A NEW MIND.
COME BACK TO REMEMBER THE PROMISES, GOD HAS GIVEN YOU THE LAND.
COME BACK TO WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH. HIS NEW HEART WAS A HEART OF GIVING.
LET US COME CLAIMING OUR DIVINE THE PLACE OF THE BLESSINGS OF GOD. God promises Jacob that he would be with him.
JACOB MAKES A COMMITMENT TO GOD AFTER HE DREAMS A NEW. JACOB VOWS TO MAKE THE LORD HIS GOD IF GOD WILL LEAD, GUIDE, GUARD AND PROTECT HIM. JACOB ASKS GOD TO PROVIDE FOR HIM AND ONE DAY HELP HIM RETURN HOME. HIM
Genesis 28:20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
NOT ONLY DOES JACOB MAKE A COMMITMENT TO GOD, GOD MAKES A NEW COMMITMENT TO JACOB. WE MUST GO BACK TO THE STONE OF REMEMBRANCE… TO CLEAN UP, TO TOTAL TRUST GOD AND TO KNOW GOD IN A PERSONAL WAY. WE MUST TRUST GOD AND MOVE FORWARD.
CONCLUSION: THE DREAM COST THE REST OF HIS DAYS. JACOB’S DREAM WAS THE DREAM WE MUST REMEMBER IS TO THE CHURCH TODAY. Remember the angels ascend and descend sure… BUT GOD IS AT THE TOP OF THE LADDER. Will we remember to meet God at Bethel? Let us remember the STONE AT BETHEL. Bethel means the HOUSE OF GOD. Beth is house, EL is God. ELOHIM, THE MIGHTY ONE. Bethel is about 10 miles north of Jerusalem. Bethel is the place of peace, joy and hope. We can find safety in times of crisis at God’s house. Jacob will forever be crippled in the hip… the price he paid.
Genesis 32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
We must have faith in God in our good times and in our bad times. We must forever remember God is God when we have nothing. God is God when he blesses us. Remember Jacob the deceiver and sub-planter was forever changed at the rock. God bless Jacob at the rock, Good blesses with a new wind and a second visitation. We need to return and remember the rock.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
