Identity - wk 3 - In The Middle of Nowhere
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In The Middle of Nowhere
In The Middle of Nowhere
The title of the message today is “In the Middle of Nowhere”. It makes me think about a story about a guy who went on a hiking trip in the mountains on his vacation…
Before heading into the wilderness, he stops at a small town general store to get some supplies. After picking out provisions, he approaches old guy behind the counter.
“I’m going hiking up in the mountains, and was wondering–do you have any bears around here?”
“Yup,” replies the store owner.
“What kind?” asks the hiker.
“Well, we got black bears and we got grizzlies,” he replies.
“I see,” says the hiker. “Do you have any of those bear bells?”
“Say what?”
“You know,” explains the hiker, “those little tinkle-bells that hikers wear in bear country to warn the bears that they are coming, so the bears aren’t surprised and attack them.”
“Oh, yeah. Back there,” he says, pointing to a dusty shelf on the other side of the store.
The hiker selects some bells and returns to the counter to pay for them. “Another thing,” the hiker inquires, “how can I tell when I’m hiking in bear country anyway?”
“By the scat,” the old fellow replies, ringing up the hiker’s purchases.
“Well, uh, how can I tell if it’s grizzly country or black bear country?” the hiker asks.
“By the scat,” the store owner replies.
“Well, what’s the difference?” asks the hiker. “I mean, what’s difference between grizzly scat and black bear scat?”
“The stuff that’s in it.”
Frustrated, the hiker persists, “Okay, so what’s in grizzly bear scat that isn’t in black bear scat?” he asks, an impatient tone in his voice.
“Bear bells,” replies the old man as he hands the hiker his purchases.
When I was a kid, I went on a couple of hiking trips. The last one was about 24 years ago with several other people to New Mexico. That year we decided to go to a different mountain than the one we hiked the year before. It was a beautiful day as the sun shined through the thick canopy of trees lighting up the trail as it climbed the mountain side. It would just be a quick 5 mile hike to base camp where we would set up our gear and relax as we prepared for the next few days of day hikes and relaxing splash baths in 35 degree river water. At least, that’s what we thought. After hiking about 8 miles I encountered a few of the leaders of our group coming back down the trail who had hiked about 10 miles and failed to find the base camp. “We’re going back to the vehicles!” they said as they jogged by.
If you have even hiked at higher altitudes, like those in New Mexico or Colorado, then you know some of the frustrations you have to adapt to. First off is the air. It is thinner, making breathing a little more difficult. I wouldn’t say that it is HARD to breathe, but your heart rate will ramp up quickly. Second is the mountain weather. In a 15 minute span you may see warm weather, then cold weather, then rain, then snow and sleet, then warm weather again. Especially the further up you go. We saw all of this today. By the time we started coming back down it was getting later in the afternoon and the air was beginning to get cooler. Even though coming back down the mountain is easier and faster, you aren’t working as hard so your body is already staying a little cooler to begin with.
While we were hiking I managed to find the perfect hiking stick to carry up the mountain. Coming back down I started getting so cold that the only hand I could even use was the one holding the walking stick. I couldn’t even switch hands because my left hand wouldn’t hold on to it. When you are tired and cold like that, a simple thought such as, “I wonder if we got lost.” becomes “Oh my goodness, WE’RE LOST! I can’t believe we got lost!” You feel like you are in the middle of nowhere.
Today we are continuing the Identity series where we are following the life of Jacob. We kicked off this series by getting a general idea about who Jacob is, he is a heel grabber, a wrestler, a bit crafty. We saw how Jacob had a bit of an identity problem. Wrestling with who he is, who he wants to be and who God want’s him to be. Last week we saw his brother Esau sacrifice his own identity for a bowl of beans. This week we are going to see what God teaches Jacob as he is traveling in the middle of nowhere.
Have you ever gotten lost when you were on a trip? Maybe you were going on vacation and you were in an unfamiliar place? Or you were just on your way home from work and weren’t paying attention and ended up on a new road? Before smart phones were a thing, this was a much bigger deal. Today you can just pull out your phone and see exactly where you are and how to get back to where you want to be. 10-15 years ago you had to have a GPS. 15-20 years ago you had to have an Atlas or road map!
What about in your spiritual life? have you ever felt like you were in the middle of nowhere? Like something was super important to you so you started running towards it. Then one day you pause and realize that you have been so focused on your job, your house, your debt, your family, that you have no idea how you have ended up so far away from God. Maybe instead of running towards something you have been running away from something. Or maybe you have just been distracted or busy, and you have found yourself just going through the motions. “We bless the food, we go to church, but there is just no real substance.”
If you have your bibles and want to follow along, today we are going start off in Genesis 28. While you turn there let me refresh your memories about what has already happened to this point. Isaac and Rebekah get married, but she was unable to have children. So Isaac pleaded with God for her and He answered Isaac’s prayer with not one, but 2 children. She was going to have twins, Jacob and Esau. Speaking from experience, 2 boys in one house equals lots of fights! Unfortunately for her, these 2 fought a lot before they were even born.
One day, after they are a little older, Jacob tricks Esau into selling his birthright to him. The birthright belonged to Esau as a result of technically being the first one to be born. It gave him the right to a double share of his father’s inheritance. Later, Isaac was losing his eyesight and concerned that he would die soon so he wanted to go ahead and pronounce the blessing over his firstborn son, Esau. So Jacob tricks his father by dressing up like Esau and bringing him his favorite food. Thinking that he was blessing Esau, Isaac blesses actually blesses Jacob.
You can imagine, at this point Esau is angry. Last week we talked about his nick-name, “Red”. Now he has another red to add to the list, “Red-hot”. He is angry. His blood is boiling. So Esau starts planning kill Jacob. Their mom, Rebekah, hears him plotting so she makes a plan of her own. She has to get Jacob out of here. So she goes to Isaac and says, “Listen. We can’t have Jacob marrying any of this local riff-raff. We need to keep it in the family! So send him to my brother’s house to find a wife.”
So they send him off to find a wife. How far did you travel to find your spouse? Jacob is going to travel well over 600 miles to find someone to bring home to mom and dad. Here is a map of the trip he took. Jacob may not be lost, but he is definitely running from something. He is trying to get away from his brother, Esau. He is running for his life. About 50 miles into his trip he finds a rest stop, and that’s where we will pick up the story in verse 10...
10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
As the dream continues he encounters YAHWEH! In this dream, God makes several promises to Jacob. He promises to give him this land that he is laying on. He promises to give him descendants that are too numerous to count. He promises to bless other people through them. He promises to go with Jacob wherever he goes and protect him. Then he also promises to bring Jacob back to this land. Then Jacob suddenly wakes up and says, “Wow! God is here and I didn’t even know it!”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”
Jacob was so amazed by this experience that he named the place “Bethel”, which means house of God. He was in the middle of nowhere when he had this encounter with God. He wasn’t expecting to meet God here, this was just a rest stop. Not only was he in the middle of nowhere, but he was also asleep. This encounter with God caused him to WAKE UP. It changed his life. I believe God wants to have an encounter like this with each one of us. If you will let Him, some of the greatest things God will do in your life happen when you are in liminal space. When you’re life is transitioning from one thing to another. When you are in the middle of nowhere. Whether you are running from something, to something, or just riding the lazy river, God want’s to wake you up, get your attention, and change your life in amazing ways.
Speaking of being woke up, I have another hiking story for you…
Once there was a group of hikers traveling through the deep woods in the Pacific Northwest. The group leader gave the hikers a very stern warning: “If, by chance you see Bigfoot, run. But whatever you do, don’t touch Bigfoot!”
That night, after the group had set up camp, one hiker was in his tent, when Bigfoot appeared. The huge creature stood in the doorway of the tent. The hiker was so scared, he ran screaming out of the tent, but on his way, he touched Bigfoot. Bigfoot ran after him. The guy ran as fast as he could through the dark forest, Bigfoot was in hot pursuit.
He made it back to the trailhead, jumped in his car and sped home. A few days later, Bigfoot showed up at his back door. Panicked, the guy starts running as fast as he can, Bigfoot right behind. Finally, exhausted, he trips and falls. Bigfoot catches up to him, plants his huge feet right next him.
Shaking, the guy gets to his feet and shouts, “What do you want?!”
Bigfoot reaches out to him and says, “Tag, you’re it.”
For the remainder of our time this morning let’s talk about a few ways that Bethel made a huge impact on Jacob and how Bethel can have a huge impact on our lives today. If you are taking notes, the first thing that happens to Jacob, and I believe the first thing that God want’s to happen to us, is that Bethel became a place of Revelation. In other words...
BETHEL REVEALS TRUE IDENTITY.
BETHEL REVEALS TRUE IDENTITY.
In Jacob’s experience, God revealed Himself to Jacob. There was a revelation and Jacob had an awakening. He had no idea God was with him, but when God revealed Himself, Jacob woke up to the reality of God’s presence with him. In the same way, God wants you and me to realize that He is always present with us. It may seem like He just shows up in the middle of nowhere, but what He wants us to realize is that He didn’t just show up, He’s always been here. To God, you aren’t in the middle of nowhere, its just that now you are over here.
When God opens our eyes to this truth He changes our NOWHERE to NOW HERE. He is right here with us. He’s been here all along. He doesn’t wait until we’ve finished something, accomplished something, or made it somewhere to bless us. What is the “nowhere” in your life? What area of your spiritual life or relationship with God do you feel like you are just standing out in the middle of nowhere all alone?
Bethel is also a revelation of your true identity in Christ. According to Peter Jesus is the cornerstone of God’s temple and you and I fit in there somewhere…
4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. 5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
In other words, Bethel (“house of God”) is not just a place, it’s a person. Jesus died for us and gave us the Holy Spirit who is alive in us. That means that God’s presence is in us wherever we go. Paul echoes this thought in his letter to the Corinthians...
16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 17 God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
How cool is that! Jacob encountered God on the side of the road and called the place “Bethel” because of it. When you encountered Jesus on your journey through life you became Bethel, God’s temple. Jesus revealed your true identity.
After this revelation, Jacob continues his trip. When he gets there he immediately falls in love with Rachel, but then he becomes a part of this biblical soap opera and ends up marrying both Rachel and her sister, Leah. Then he has a bunch of children, starts accumulating animals and wealth, and then packs up his family and everything he owned and starts travelling back home to Canaan. Before leaving, Jacob encountered God again and He reminds Jacob about Bethel and the vow that he made to Him. God specifically mentioned Bethel, and I believe it’s because Bethel...
BETHEL REMINDS US OF OUR TRUE IDENTITY.
BETHEL REMINDS US OF OUR TRUE IDENTITY.
Life had changed a lot for Jacob since he had been to Bethel. A lot can happen in 20 years! It’s easy to forget about something that happened 20 years ago. But God shows up and reminds Jacob about Bethel and on the way home Jacob even recounts the experience in a prayer. He was starting to get nervous about what his brother would do to him so he starts praying a prayer of remembrance to God...
9 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.’ 10 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! 11 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. 12 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 first thing Jacob does is remember how God has blessed him. He remembers how God is true to his word. He’s also hoping to remind God. “Remember how you said you would be good to me? Well, my brother wants to kill me, so...”
No matter where we are in life, we all have at least one Bethel. At least one place where we weren’t sure about something, didn’t know what was going to happen, not sure how we got here, stuck in the middle of nowhere, but in the middle of the night God showed up. Whether we are in the middle of great success like Jacob or facing major trouble… also like Jacob, we need to continually, consistently, and frequently return to Bethel to remember the times that God did it when no one else could have. To remember all of the hope He has promised us, all of the mercy He has lovingly poured out on us, all of the good things He has given us.
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. 3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. 4 He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. 5 He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
Jacob’s life has been full of ups and downs. God has always been there with him, no matter what he faced. Jacob and Esau actually end up making peace and Jacob buys some land and settles down. A short time later Jacob’s sons end up killing a lot of people in the near by town and Jacob is forced to pack everyone up and move again. This time God tells Jacob to move to Bethel. God originally brought Jacob to Bethel to reveal His truth to Jacob. Later God uses Bethel to remind him of His promises. Now God wants Jacob to return to Bethel...
BETHEL RETURNS US TO OUR TRUE IDENTITY.
BETHEL RETURNS US TO OUR TRUE IDENTITY.
It is a fulfillment of God’s promises. Jacob had that amazing experience with God 20 years ago, but now he finds himself in this horrible situation. That’s when God shows up again and tells him to go back to Bethel. But this time, don’t just remember it. Don’t just hear the promises and move on. Go back to who you are supposed to be and stay there...
1 Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”
When I was on the hiking trip I mentioned earlier and was coming back down the mountain I will never forget how I felt the last 30 minutes or so of the hike. Wet, freezing cold, hoping I wasn’t lost. Each corner I turned I hoped I would be able to see the parking lot. The closer and closer I got and the more of the terrain I felt like I recognized, the more energized I felt. There isn’t many feelings that compare to the feeling I had when the vehicles finally came into view. This wasn’t even that scary of a trip, but your mind and body can drag you down when you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere and are not where you should be.
It’s time to return to Bethel. MOVE there. SETTLE there. Build an altar there. God had started His purpose in Jacob’s life and He would be faithful to finish it. It’s easy to get discouraged. It’s easy to feel buried beneath the rubble of the broken relationships. To get pulled down into the depths of depression. To simply become dissatisfied with life as we see it. The amazing thing about God is that he leaves the door to His temple open so that we can come in any time. God wants us to return to Bethel. He wants us to remember the places where he has spoken to us.
Jesus’ arms are always wide open. He is always with us. He is constantly reminding us that He is right beside us. He wants us to turn to Him and let Him fulfill His promises to us. This brings us to our final thought…
BETHEL IS A PLACE OF RESPONSE.
BETHEL IS A PLACE OF RESPONSE.
The first time Jacob encountered God at Bethel he made a conditional oath to God. I would call it a “half commitment.” He said, “God if you will do your part, I will do mine.” But after going through all of his struggles he finally returns and builds an altar. An altar is a place of sacrifice. Before, Jacob built a memorial and made a contract with God. Now Jacob is finally ready to stop negotiating his relationship with God and he is laying down his life before God. Here is how he responded the first time...
20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”
IF God does this, THEN I will come and worship Him and bring Him gifts. In computer programming that is called an “IF-THEN” statement. IF this happens, THEN this other thing happens, otherwise nothing happens. Has anyone in here ever approached God like a computer. “God, if you will give me this job, I will tell my co-workers about you!” “If you will let me win the lottery, I will give you HALF of it!” “If you will make this problem go away, I will never do it again.” “UGH! If you let me make it home first, I will never eat that much Mexican food again!”
Jacob’s problem was that God kept blessing him, but selfishness kept getting in the way. He ended up with a wife, but he wanted a different one. They had kids, but it was never enough. He was very blessed, but he wrestled for more. He was promised Bethel, but he always wanted something else. So this is what God tells Jacob...
1 Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”
God asks for Jacob to give more than just a contract agreement and a memorial. He wants Jacob to do more than just remember what it was like to be in His presence. He wants Jacob to LIVE in His presence. To move in and settle in God’s presence. To build an altar. Don’t just promise to worship God after He fulfills His promises, devote yourself to Him. Realize that you need Him in every area of you life. Respond by laying down your life as a living sacrifice to God. A sacrifice that says, “God, my life is YOURS. My heart is YOURS.”
And that’s exactly what he did. He rounded everyone up and they got rid of all of their pagan idols and everything that pulled them away from God. Then they went to Bethel.
When God reveals Himself to you, how will you respond? When He reminds you of who you truly are, how will you respond? When He calls you to return to Him, how will you respond?