BELIEVERS NEVER TRAVEL ALONE (Outline)
GENESIS 28:10-17 - February 20, 2005 - LENT 2
INTRO: Our society is a very mobile society. We travel a lot – both locally and globally. Often we put on many more miles in one day than the people of the Bible would be able to travel in a couple of months. In recent times travel has changed. There is a raised awareness and alert because of terrorism. Some-times this heightened security may cause us concern. We might wonder how safe we are. Traveling alone we may even feel alone. Today’s text vividly reminds us that as believers we never travel alone. Israel was ready to enter the Promised Land and Moses was about to die. Joshua would be the next leader of this large nation (more than one million people). Joshua did not know if he was up to such a daunting task. Moses reminded Joshua that he was not alone, nor should he try to lead as if he was alone. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified...for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" (DEUTERONOMY 31:6). As we look at the example of Jacob in our text God’s word clearly reveals: BELIEVERS NEVER TRAVEL ALONE. I. This is our Lord’s prom-ise and II. This is our Lord’s blessing.
I. THIS IS OUR LORD’S PROMISE
A. We will want to remember what happened before our verses that caused Jacob to leave.
1. Jacob had an older brother, Esau. Jacob deceived his father, Isaac, in getting Esau’s blessing.
2. Esau was angry enough to kill Jacob. Rebekah sent Jacob to her relatives to the north.
B. In verse 10 Jacob leaves by himself. He is going to travel and would feel alone. But not for long.
1. Verse 11. Jacob stops for the night. His pillow is a stone. He left with only his staff.
2. Verse 12. Jacob dreams of the angels of God. The Lord was also there. Verse 13a.
C. Jacob was not alone. The Lord reminded Jacob of the promises He had made to his forefathers.
1. Verse 15. Jacob would never be alone. The Lord God almighty promised to be with him.
2. The Lord God almighty promised to guide, direct, protect Jacob until his word was fulfilled.
D. God’s promise is the same for believers in their earthly pilgrimage today. Believers are promise that they will never travel alone. But did you know that at least ¼ quarter (25%) of people in our country suf-fer from loneliness and feelings of being forgotten and forsaken. They have disconnected with society around them. Worse, many in this world have disconnected from God’s eternal presence. Today people want to be so self-sufficient that they do not feel they need God or that he can help all that much. How does this happen? "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts" (EPHESIANS 4:18).
E. It becomes all the more important in our lives that we do not forget God’s closeness to us in our lives. When we look to the Lord we realize how faithful he has been and always will be. God is faithful even in the midst of our unfaithfulness. Our Lord does not forsake us even in times when we may turn our backs on him. As Joshua led the people into the Promised Land he reminded the Israelites of God’s faithful-ness. "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses" (1 KINGS 8:56). We agree!
F. God’s great promise to us this morning is the fact that believers never travel alone. This same God who made the heavens and the earth, all creation by his powerful word, this Lord almighty still cares for each one of us as individuals. His promise to each of us is his divine assurance to care and provide for us. Our loving Lord’s divine assurance is not just for this short earthly life but also, especially, for eternity. "…He (God) has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (2 PETER 1:4)
TRANS: BELIEVERS NEVER TRAVEL ALONE. We celebrate this promise of our Lord. We know
II. THIS IS OUR LORD’S BLESSING
A. Remember Jacob, he is on a journey by himself to see relatives he has never met before.
1. Jacob is already 40 years old and the journey to Haran is 500 miles, a very long trip.
2. He is fleeing to save his life, alone. God reminds Jacob he is not alone and promises blessings.
B. Verse 13b. Jacob would be blessed with descendants though he is not even married yet.
1. Verse 14a. The number of his descendants would be too many to number. What a blessing!
2. But this blessing was not for Jacob alone. Verse 14b. All nations to be blessed by the Savior.
C. Yes, the Savior of and for mankind would come from the descendants of Jacob.
1. Verse 16. Jacob realized that though on this journey by himself, he was never alone.
2. Verse 17. Jacob saw in his lot in life the hand of God and the very presence of the Lord.
D. Jacob was by himself in the wilderness when he exclaimed, how awesome is this place! God is al-ways near. The creator of the heavens and the earth and everything in it uses the glorious testimony of creation to testify and reveal that he is the Lord. In Athens, Paul used this point of the God’s glorious creation to point out to those who did not believe that the unknown god was the only true God. "God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us" (ACTS 17:27). The believer never travels is a great blessing from our Lord.
E. In the midst of the trials of this life we are not alone, not ever, never. This is one of the many great blessings that you and I and every believer possess simply by God’s abundant grace. God, in his grace, has revealed to us his faithfulness in his promises and blessings. What a blessing to know that no matter what trials or tribulations we are facing or may face the Lord is always with us. "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze" (ISAIAH 43:2).
F. Today we remember our Lord’s loving concern for our earthly welfare. The Lord watches over each of us with the most infinite of care. He even knows the number of hairs that are on our heads. Thankfully the Lord’s concern goes beyond the trivial things of this life. Our Lord’s loving concern and blessing ex-tends right into heaven itself. Our Lord is concerned and has blessed us with eternal blessings. "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand" (JOHN 10:27,28). John 10 is the Good Shepherd chapter.
CONCL: In a world that is mobile we are reminded that we never travel alone. In a world where 1 in 4 feels forgotten we are reminded that our Lord never forgets us. We are on an earthly pilgrimage with the hand of God directing us. Our loving Lord has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Our Lord has blessed us with the divine comfort of knowing his promises are always true. By grace our sins are for-given and heaven is God’s eternal blessing for every believer. Paul describes how all of this is possible. "For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord" (ROMANS 14:7,8). This is also another promised blessing our Lord – we belong to Him, in life and in death. In other words – believers never travel alone. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
LENT 2 readings (ILCW – A): GENESIS 12:1-8; ROMANS 4:1-5, 13-17; JOHN 4:5-26
