Youth Worship 12th February 2022 : "How awesome is this place”

Text: Genesis 28:10-22
12 February 2022

 

INTRODUCTION

1. Where all human efforts have failed

a) Mistakes were still being made
b) Sins were not dealt with
c) The family becomes dysfunctional

2. Divine Help is necessary

a) God graciously steps in
b) He reveals Himself
c) A new beginning is available

JACOB’S CIRCUMSTANCES

1. Alone and far from home Genesis 28:10

a) He could not go back
b) He was not sure what lay ahead
c) No mother to advise or comfort him

2. He did not know where he was
“A certain place” Genesis 28:11a

a) It was night
b) A stone was his pillow Genesis 28:11b

GOD REACHES OUT TO JACOB

1. God gave Jacob a dream

a) Often called “Jacob’s Ladder”
b) A ladder that led all the way to heaven Genesis 28:12a
c) Angels were ascending and descending Genesis 28:12b

2. God speaks to Jacob

13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.
14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
Genesis 28:13-15

a) The LORD God
i) Of Abraham
ii) Of Isaac
b) The land
i) This will be given
ii) Many descendants
iii) In his seed all the families will be blessed
c) The Presence of God
i) I am with you
ii) And will keep you wherever you go
iii) I will bring you back to this land
iv) I will not leave you
Until I have done what I have spoken to you

THE FIRST RESPONSE OF JACOB

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

Genesis 28:16-17

1. This is the initial response

2. It was an appropriate response

a) Ignorance addressed
b) New knowledge obtained
c) A sense of fear arose
i) How awesome is this place
ii) This is none other than the house of God
iii) This is the gate of heaven

THE SECOND RESPONSE OF JACOB

18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.
19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,
21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.
22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Genesis 28:18-22

1. Calling the place “Bethel” Genesis 28:19

2. Making a vow to God

a) IF
i) God will be with me
ii) And keep me
iii) And give me bread to eat
iv) And clothing to put on
v) So that I come back to my father’s house in peace
b) THEN
i) The LORD shall be my God
ii) And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house
iii) And of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You

CONCLUSION

1. Our Need for God

a) This is obvious
b) His Help is vital

2. Our Response to God

a) Genuine
b) Meaningful
c) True and faithful