January 15
Gen 31:17-32:12 | PS 13 | Prov 3:16-18 | Matt 10:24-11:6
In many ways we are ruled by our five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. From when we are very young, our experiences through these senses make up our reality. We experience both happiness and fear based on what we experience through them. Jesus calls us to a different, a higher reality. Jesus moves us from the temporal, fleshly reality to an eternal reality in which the Holy Spirit offers so much more than the limitations of our five senses. He speaks of a different reality in Matthew 10:26, "But don’t be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all." With that new reality He realigns our outlook in 10:28, "Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell." The question is which direction will each of us choose, for following Jesus is indeed a choice, as we read in 10:32-33, “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven." Even good things on earth are of lesser value than having a relationship with the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, as we read in 10:37-39, "If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it."
In the life of Jacob, we see this struggle. He has had true encounters with God, yet he all too often relies on his flesh to get him through and out of situations. From Joshua 24:2, we realize that Abraham and his family were all idol worshippers. It was only Abraham who left idol worship and placed his hope and trust in the One True God, passing that down to his son, Isaac. Laban worshipped idols and we see Rachel stealing them in Genesis 31:19. Trusting in his five senses Jacob takes a strong stance, even making a rash vow in 31:32 that whoever stole them should die (we will soon see Rachel die in childbirth). But after his interaction with Laban, and before his interaction with Esau we finally see Jacob seek God rather than his own ability to manipulate. He saw his situation desperate which brought him back to the promises of God, as we read in 32:9-12, "Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”
The only way to make God and the things of God our reality is to spend time with Him daily. If you don't spend time in His Word, if you rarely go to church, how can you think that when your earthly life faces difficulties that you will rely on God who you don't really know instead of your own strength and intellect, in your own ability to manipulate and control situations. Even fellowship with other Christians unless it is centered on God's Word is worldly friendship, not much more. Through His Word, God has lavished upon us multiple promises. When Jacob literally found himself between a rock (Mizpah) and a hard place (Esau), Jacob reminded himself of God's promises. We read in Galatians 5:16-17 that our flesh and Spirit will always be in conflict. The question is which side are you feeding and strengthening? This is what your default will be. We get to focus on God through His Word and share this hope with others. Every other hope will eventually be seen for the weakness that it is.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: