Title: Four Great Promises
Text: Genesis 28: 15
Date: March 11, 2012
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
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.
Here we have the unregenerate sinner in his lost condition.
· Because of his own sin, Jacob is separated from his father’s house—sin separates the sinner from God
· In the wilderness halted between two places alone—in Luz—separation.
· He lighted upon a certain place—to Jacob it was as good a place as the next
· The sun was set—he is in the dark
· He took stones of that place for his pillows
· Lay down in that place to sleep—a picture of spiritual death
But God is about to appear to him and reveal his great mercy to Jacob in Christ. What had Jacob done to deserve mercy? Nothing
Here is the point: If ever God comes to you dear sinner, this is where he will find you—asleep in your sin and rebellion—brought down in the dust of your own darkness. Here is the one reason God came to Jacob:
Romans 9: 11: (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 12: It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13: As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Genesis 28: 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.
This ladder is a picture of Christ Jesus the Son of God. The Lord Jesus said of himself:
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.
The Lord stood above it, but the ladder reached down to Jacob. Christ became a Man but he never ceased being God.
John 1: 18: No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Christ is the Ladder who brings God and his children together in One—the angels ascended and descended upon the ladder. We have transgressed his law. Christ is the Way God can be just and the Justifier of all who believe in Jesus. Christ who is God and Man in One, brings together God and men in One.
Romans 3: 24: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26: To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Genesis 28: 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.
Christ is the Seed in whom God blesses each of his elect with the same riches of his grace. Listen.
This is the same Seed promised to Abraham and Issac—Paul said and that Seed is Christ. Be sure to get this: the word of God declares to his child of grace as the apostle Paul said,
2 Corinthians 1: 18: But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. 19: For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. 20: For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Proposition: Our text gives us four promises full of comfort for God’s believing children. These promises to you who believe are not yea and nay—they are yea and Amen in Christ Jesus.
Divisions: Genesis 28: 15: [1] And, behold, I am with thee, and [2] will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and [3] will bring thee again into this land; [4] for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
I. FIRST, PROMIISE--I AM WITH THEE
I AM--This is a double portion to rejoice in. Not only that he is with us, but who it is that it is with us—THE LORD God. The great I AM. He said to Moses, tell them I AM hath sent you to them. The soldiers fell back when the Lord Jesus said, “I AM.” (Ps 9: 3) Moses concern, “If thy presence go not with us…”
I am WITH THEE. Let’s ask this question, “Who am I?” Have you ever asked this question of yourself, “Who am I?” When God the Holy Spirit makes honest about “who am I”, that is when we are rejoice that the great “I AM” promises, “I AM WITH THEE.”
Genesis 18: 27: And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
Exodus 3: 11: And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
David said, 1 Chronicles 29: 14: But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
Paul answers what we think of ourselves--Ephesians 3: 8: Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Who am I?”—dust, the least of the least. But my Savior is God the great I AM! He is All—“I am with thee.” When our God is with us no harm can come to us
Genesis 39: 21: But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Gideon’s strength was Judges 6: 16: And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
Isaiah 8: 10: Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
II. Second promise, I WILL KEEP THEE in all places whither thou goest,
He keeps us by going before us and He keeps us by going behind us—rereward. Remember how the cloud removed and went between the Lord’s people and the Egyptians at the Red Sea.
Exodus 14: 20: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
I will keep thee in all places whither thou goest.
Most importantly he keeps us eternally.
John 6: 37: All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38: For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39: And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40: And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
My brothers and sisters, do you become faint and weary in your mind at times? We do find ourselves troubled—afflicted, no strength in ourselves. We do find ourselves perplexed--sometimes we know not what to do, which way to take.
2 Corinthians 4: 8: We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Why not?
1 Peter 1: 5: Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6: Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
The Lord Jesus said to his disciples:
John 14: 1: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2: In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
That is the very next promise in our text.
III. I WILL BRING THEE--again into this land
The land of Canaan pictures the great promised land—heaven’s glory with our great Shepherd.
Jacob was in that land at this time—but he had to leave it and it would be many years before he would see it again. In the will and purpose of God, every elect child of God has been with God in that heavenly land of promise from the very beginning. We have to wander in this land of exile for many years. But God promises, I will bring thee again into the land I promised you.
Did he bring him there? Yes. God exercised great patience toward Jacob who was slow of heart to believe. Through all Jacobs ups and downs, God’s love changed not. God showed Jacob faithfulness which no unfaithfulness on Jacob’s part could change. In the end, God brought into the land and the worm Jacob was turned into Israel the prince of God.
Psalm 17: 15: As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
IV. THE LORD GOD BROUGHT IT ALL TO PASS BECAUSE HE PROMISED JACOB HE WOULD--Genesis 28: 15:…for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
Salvation begins, continues and ends with this one thing: the Word of God!
You know what happened to Jacob when this revelation of Christ came, when God spoke this word in his heart? You can read the rest of this out later I will just give you a summary. V16: He woke up—wouldn’t it be amazing if that happened today for some unconverted sinner here!
He found in himself in the house of God—the presence of God. He went from being in the land of separation—Luz—to being separated from the world of unbelief and rebellion—into the house of God, Bethel.
He began really worshipping God at Christ our Altar.
Consecrated to God and willing to serve him with all God had given him.
I wish we could just believe the word of God.
Matthew 24: 35: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Hebrews 13: 5: Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6: So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
1 Thessalonians 5: 24: Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
Amen!