Celebrating Easter's Significance - John 20:1-18 and I Corinthians 15:1-28

Every time spring follows the cold winter days, trees start budding and the Jonquils are in bloom we know that Easter is just ahead. It has come very early this year, and the weather is not as warm as it usually is, but the opening buds always remind me of the open tomb in the Holly Land. My days of travel have come and gone leaving me with one desire unfulfilled. I have always wanted to make a trip to the land where Jesus was born, lived, died and was buried; but most of all I would enjoy walking from the open tomb to the mount from which He ascended. I have faith to believe that just as the apostles watched him go up into Heaven so I might be there at the moment of fulfillment of his prophesy. “So as you see me go, I will come again.”

I want you to look specifically at the seventh verse of John 20, and read it carefully examining each word and thought. Read also the corresponding passages in the other gospels. Christ moved out of his burial clothing, leaving them uncluttered as further witness that some outsider did not remove the body. A thief would probably have taken the clothing along with the body. But if the thief had removed the body, he would not have taken the time to replace the garments to their exact position.

In a movie based on the series of books “Left Behind” there is a scene on a plane that shows clothing from those who were “taken up into heaven” left on the seat of the plane in the position that indicated that the person wearing the clothing had evaporated from the scene and left all the clothing as it would appear un-touched. The shoes were there on the floor, in them were the socks, and then the pant legs dangling from the seat above, with the belt still hooked in the pant loops, and the shirt tail on top of the pants with the neck up and the shirt still buttoned. The scene indicated that the person became a spirit and moved out of the clothing leaving nothing disturbed. I believe this to be a man-made picture of how Christ’s burial clothing appeared Peter and the other apostle first looked in the open tomb. However, but…

There was one thing different. The napkin had been folded and lay conspicuously to one side. Why? According to Jewish history, all of the high archery, especially kings and lords of great honor all lived in luxury and enjoyed the service of maids and servants. It was their custom to eat in privacy and when they left the table they used their napkin as a signal to the servants. First, if the king had finished his meal with no intention of returning to the table he simply wadded the napkin and left it on his plate. But if he was not finished, and if he planned to RETURN to the table to complete his meal, he FOLDED the napkin and placed it at the side of his plate. The folded napkin was a message plain and clear to the servants; BE ALERT AND AWARE…FOR I WILL RETURN to the table.

Why did Jesus fold his burial napkin? [Only the napkin was folded and not the grave clothes.] Christ had left one more sign, one more proof, that told his disciples not to worry because he WOULD RETURN TO THEM. He did return to them as he walked in unannounced and through the walls…he needed no door. The eleven apostles and Paul the twelfth apostle saw him, touched him, talked and ate with him, and the Bible says that there were at least five hundred eyewitnesses that attested to his return.

We all realize the importance of the cross and the blood shed thereon, because without the shedding of blood there is no salvation—there is no remission of sin. After salvation, obedience is just as important because it proves that we LOVE our master. He told us that “If you LOVE me you will keep my commandments” and that simply means ‘you will obey me.’

I also submit to you the fact that the resurrection is just as important to all who are born again as was the crucifixion because it established the fact that we have life after death. Christians die and are buried and we would spend eternity in that grave if Christ had not been resurrected. It is because he was resurrected and returned to heaven, that we too will be resurrected and will ascend into heaven.

I grieve with passion when anyone indicates that they do not believe in the resurrection of our Lord—but would never condemn them. They are human just as Peter and John, who had walked with Him, talked and broke bread with him, and had heard him say that he would die and be resurrected, I am amazed that neither of these men really believed in the resurrection until they saw the empty tomb and the conditions of his clothing. John says that they finally believed—as they remembered what he had told them would happen.

Dear friends, when you are able to accept the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead—then, and only then, have you found the key to Christian faith. He arose as he promised he would, and this is our proof that he will keep every single promise that he has made regarding our life, death, resurrection and ascendance. His resurrection proves that he was not a false profit. No other of the many gods worshipped my man has accomplished this fete. Ours is a LIVING SAVIOR; still at work and carrying out the plan of His Father our God.

This account tells us that Mary tarried at the tomb and that Christ appeared to her yet she did not recognize him. There may be more reasons than the two that I will mention here. She was a woman in sorrow and shedding tears at the time. Tears are blinding and could have prevented her immediate recognition. However, the one that seems more likely is that she was looking in the door of an empty grave. She was looking in the wrong place. He was not in the tomb. This explanation reminds me of sinful man who for all time have looked in the wrong places to find Him. He is always where you do not expect him to be.

Now we will go to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians 15: 1-28 where we will find that his followers were having trouble believing in the resurrection. Paul was not one of the original twelve chosen apostles and was not involved in the event that took place over this three day week-end. However, Paul places a heavy emphasis on the fact that he met God face to face and experienced a very special kind of conversion that caused him to dedicate his life more completely than any other disciple and compelled him to work harder than any of the others to advance the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Let us stop and start again right here; if you refuse to believe that the Holy Bible is the word of God, written by inspired authors, that contains truth and nothing but the truth—then there is no way that any number of witnesses can convince you that Christ arose and that you also will arise to meet your judgment. If you truly believe God’s word, then the more witnesses you have who are authorities regarding his word, the easier it is to totally believe. There is no greater witness in this Bible than Paul the Apostle.

Next to Christ, Paul was the greatest teacher, he was the most outstanding evangelist and he worked with more people, and in more churches than any other man. His audience was made up primarily of Jews and Gentiles, and the Greek people had their own philosophy which they were always trying to impose on anyone connected to his missionary work. According to the Greek philosophers—the soul was the real person—and the soul was imprisoned in a physical body—and at death the soul was released from the body. They did not believe in the immorality of the body and only the soul would enter into an eternal state. This part of the letter to Corinth was to combat the Greek philosophy, and in so doing it confirms the resurrection story. Christianity, by contrast, teaches that the body and soul will be united after the resurrection and that both the soul and body will be caught up to meet Christ in the sky.

The Christian church at Corinth was located in the center of this Greek culture. Converted Greek people had a difficult time believing in a bodily resurrection. Paul wrote this part of this letter to clear up the confusion that had arisen. However, his writing pertains just as much to Christians in the 21st century and we are using it today as solid proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us that the resurrection of Christ is the center of Christian faith. Christ arose as he had promised. Because he arose we know that he is God, and we know that he represents each one of us to his Father.

Paul is so emphatic in his belief and teaching that he told them and us that if Christ did not arise from the dead, then all of his preaching was in vain, and that men were still in their sin, and that there is no other way out. All that we claim from the promises of God hinges on this one fact. To nail it down hard and fast, Paul told us that if Christians will not arise from the grave—then God did not raise his Son from the dead. How then, can there be any doubt in our minds when we are compassed about over five hundred eye-witnesses that have proclaimed this mortal truth.

Unbelieving archeologist will continue to scratch, dig and search for the bones of Christ in some undiscovered tomb somewhere around the Holy City…but they will not succeed! Some body needs to tell them that HE AROSE! AND BECAUSE HE DID—WE WILL.

Look at the title of this lesson again. Why should we CELEBRATE EASTERS SIGNIFICANCE? Because it simply tells us that one day soon we will conquer death, hell and the grave and enjoy the rest of all life [eternity] in heaven.

Growing Spiritually Through Crises - Genesis 32 - 33

The assurance we have that we can always depend upon God never changes; God has never changed and he has never failed to keep his promises. The human conception of a crises changes almost as frequently as we have birthdays. If the bottle is not ready when a new born gets hungry he is in crises. When mom retrieves a glass candle holder from a toddler and places it back on the shelf out of his reach he is in crises. When the wheel falls off of the tri-cycle that is being ridden by a four year old he is in crises. When a mother tells her nine year old daughter that she can’t wear lip-stick to school she is in crises. When she is fourteen and is told that she can’t wear short-shorts to school she is in crises again. When the first boy-girl friend breakup happens, both are in crises. So they all think; but none of them know the meaning of the word crisis. However, if properly taught in each of these circumstances they can learn from their experiences. When we are Christian adults it is much better for us to learn from the crises that were experienced by the biblical characters as recorded in the Bible than it is to learn the hard way—through our own crisis.

Age may vary from the day anyone acknowledges accountability to twenty-one [adult age] when one starts understanding the true meaning of a crisis. Webster says that a crisis occurs “When there is an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person’s life. It can be at a decisive moment in life.” A crisis occurs when “Any situation has reached a critical phase; it can be when any unstable situation with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome occurs.” If any one expects to grow spiritually through their crisis, they must first have a personal spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ. Without having the personal guidance of the Holy Spirit, no one can expect any kind of positive growth in their life.

Study the nature of crisis in the life of any adult and you will better understand why Jacob could not come up with a plan to control his life and manipulate people and things to his advantage. It seems plain to me that although he was a member of a chosen and blessed family, he had not reached the place where he was wholly dependent upon God to guide him in his personal decisions and dealings with others. Then one day he met God, an angel, or just a man sent by god as a messenger to him. Jacob wanted God’s guidance and his blessing so badly that he took hold of the angel and refused to let go until he received the answer he wanted.

I believe that God has sent me to be your witness and I can attest that I have been in the same situation that Jacob was in. I only wish that I could truthfully tell you that I grabbed hold of God and refused to let go until all of my answers came. Here in lies the difference in me and Jacob. He held on and refused to let go. I have let some kind of weakness, lack of faith, or maybe times of unconcern break the personal relationship that is required for total success. I ask you: How sincere are you in your search for spiritual answers to your concerns? Are you dedicated in your search for truth? I have been close enough that I can attest to the fact that there will always be crises in our lives and I believe that one of the purposes of these testers is just that…a test to see if we really believe that God will keep his promises.

As you start reading the scripture recorded for our study today in chapter 32, please remember that Jacob has been living with Laban for the last twenty years and it has been a life of one crisis after another. It will appear that he has finally found a way to grow spiritually through his crises. That simply means that he has learned how to depend on God day by day as he lives through the good and bad times.

Laban finished his unsuccessful search for his gods that his daughter Rachel had stolen, kissed his daughters and grand-children, blessed them and returned to his home. Joseph also went on his way toward his old home land, knowing that he would soon meet his brother Esau and dreading the consequences of this first encounter in twenty years. The last time he saw his brother, Esau was mad and threatening to kill him for stealing his rightful blessing.

Insert your life into this situation; how would you feel and what would you do if you knew that you were about to meet up with someone you had done wrong? Would you attempt to meet the person face to face wishing to apologize and be accepted? Or, would you have changed directions and moved on to another place. Jacob probably would have preferred to dodge his brother, but he felt that God had directed him to go home and so that was his destination; even if it meant that he would fail again. The first verse tells us that Jacob saw angels approaching his way. The book does not say who they were nor from whence they came. This is not an unusual happening and needs no explanation. However it is important that we see that the incident caused Jacob to KNOW that God was with him. His faith had grown to the point that he was willing to trust God to make things right.

Jacob instructed his messengers to go forward and find Esau and tell him that he had been working for their uncle Laban for the last twenty years. Tell them that I have acquired a family, wealth, flocks and herds and have need of nothing except his friendship. The mission was accomplished and they returned with only this scary message. “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you; he has four hundred men that are coming with him.

Jacob made two moves that would be remarkable in the life of any man. First he divided his people and wealth into two groups, thinking that if one group was attacked by Esau, the other group would be able to escape. The second was that he went to the Lord in prayer. This was no ordinary prayer. It recognized his heavenly Father as the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac. Then he reminded God of a promise He had made. God, you are the one who told me to go back to my country and my relatives, and you said that you would make me prosper. This was a humble prayer. He acknowledged that he did not deserve the kindness and faithfulness of God’s blessings. He named one great improvement by remembering that he left his father with only his staff, broke and on foot, and now he has enough to divide into two groups, each with numbers and wealth enough to succeed.

His prayer could be compared to the one Jesus prayed in the garden before his betrayal. He was praying as though he had a cup to bear…meeting his distraught brother…But that if it was God’s will the bitter part of the meeting did not have to be, however he was willing to do God’s will either way.

Jacob then designed his plan, divided his people and holdings and determined who would lead the way. He gave all necessary instructions for the meeting with Esau, and made ready to start early the next day. Night fell, and this is the night and place that he encountered the man, an Angel or God that wrestled with him all night. As I have said before, Jacob did not let go of the hold he had on divine power. I believe that this was a physical encounter because Jacob was crippled in the morning and walked with a limp. I know that it was a spiritual encounter, because God intervened in the meeting with Esau and in this case Jacob’s cup had been removed. One other example stands out to prove that God was pleased with Jacob. His name was changed to Israel. We all know that God changed the names of several of his chosen ones only to recognize them as his faithful and obedient followers—to show that he had changed their lives. This was a great name-change improvement for Jacob [which means the ambitious deceiver] who is now Israel [one who struggles with God and overcomes] a man that is pleasing to God.

In chapter thirty-three the two brothers Israel and Esau meet for the first time in twenty years and it was as it should have been with out animosity and anger. It appears to me that the attitude of prayer and repentance on the part of Jacob/Israel must have had wings or created an angel that brought a change of heart to Esau as well. Now, I ask you to enter this situation in a personal way and think of yourself as being Esau. He had suffered greatly at the hands of his mother and brother, and had lost a birthright that was never regained—if this had happened to you—would you have been as forgiving? Have you ever suffered a wrong that cost you both money and prestige? Have you forgiven your enemy? If the answer is yes; let me ask you this—have you gone to him/her and hugged them closely and said to them personally…”I forgive you?” Israel did and his brother Esau forgave him and both shed tears of joy and happiness over their reconciliation.

At the time of their reunion Esau had already forgiven his brother, and had forgotten the past because he ask Israel why he had sent all of the droves of animals ahead as a gift. Jacob told him that they were given to him in order to find favor in his sight. Esau refused the gift and said that he already had plenty and did not to need to take anything from his brother. Jacob persisted by saying that now since you [Esau] have forgiven me it is as if I am seeing God’s faithfulness—and then Esau accepted the gift and suggested that they join each other and go their way.

Life can deal us a blow and place us in some terrible situations and it is human nature for us to be distraught and even angry as Esau was, but we do not have to remain in that frame of mind. Do not ever forget that our sins nailed Christ to the cross but he forgave sinful man, and gave his life for me and you. These two chapters teach—revival and reconciliation between two people; however in the church reconciliation often brings on a revival. If you desire joy in your life, you must learn the art of reconciliation. Never let the sun go down on your wrath!

Learning About God's Faithfulness - Genesis 29:1 - 31:55

Having spent my life in the field of public education, I have heard the term ‘slow-learner’ used many times and I have been able to help identify students so classified. Usually there is a test available from the many different sources in the field of special education that will locate the source of the problem and sometimes materials are available that will correct the problem. Thinking back over the cases that I can remember, I do not remember ever dealing with a case as severe as the one Jacob had; and I certainly never got one as early in life—which was during the few minutes that he was being born. Jacob held on to his brother’s heal and let him help drag him into this world, instead of depending on the faithfulness of his mother and God for a normal and natural child birth.

Jacob’s name tagged him as a cheating deceiver but he was a slow learner, and soon was caught using a bowl of soup to cheat Esau out of his birthright. With his mother’s help he used the same tactic to deceive his blind father into giving him the blessing that should have gone to his brother. He still had not learned that God would not bless his means of getting the things from life that he wanted for himself. He finally did realize that Esau was mad enough to kill him if he didn’t get out of town, so to speak; and he did.

With all of his belongings in a nap-sack on a shoulder pole and no money in his pocket he slipped away during the night, on foot, and with no dowry with which to buy his wife. [It was a custom in those days for a man to pay a father a sum of money, jewels or live stock for the right to marry his daughter.] Jacob found Rachel at the well, watering her father’s herd and it was love at first sight, even though she was a young girl, maybe 12 at most. He greeted her, told her that he was her kin folk, and invited himself to go home with her. He had no wealth with which to pay the dowry, so he agreed to work seven years for hand in marriage.

Seven years of work on the farm passed, and it was time for him to receive his new bride, Rachel whom he loved very much. He went to Laban and claimed the fulfillment of his contract. Now this young man, who had practiced the deception upon his old, blind father, has a deception practiced on him. The wedding party was planned to be at night. Remember there were no electric lights; buildings were usually dim to dark inside after sun down. The formal way for the father to give his daughter in marriage was to veil the girl and in a formal way she was simply presented to the new husband and that ended the ceremony. So ended this ceremony and Jacob accepted the woman and slept with her that night, only to arise in the morning to find that Laban had deceived him into accepting Leah and not Rachel. Jacob was very indignant at the cheating perpetrated upon him, for he had worked seven years and was still in love with Rachel and not Leah.

Laban forced the evil of polygamy upon Jacob by refusing to undo the evil already perpetrated. He told Jacob that he must work seven more years in order to receive Rachel. After one week had passed, Laban presented Rachel to Jacob on credit—that is he was to work seven more years for his right to her. In the wedding agreement, Laban gave each of the girls their personal maid servants to take with them into the new family. There were problems in this marriage from the beginning, jealousy between the two sisters [wives] and both gave their maid servants to Jacob to be his concubines.

Fourteen years at hard labor have passed and Jacob is still broke. All he has at this point is four wives and thirteen children…twelve boys that became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel, and one daughter. Think about this—fourteen years of labor and still as broken as a glass jug on a rock pile.

Jacob was the descendent of Abraham, servants of God, and worthy or not, he was heir to the birthright and blessings of is father. Laban and all his family were religious but worshipped other gods. It is my contention that after fourteen years and nothing to show for it, Jacob must have started thinking about getting God involved in his life. As is the lesson title, he had to start realizing that God is faithful and will at the proper time intervene in our lives.

Jacob agreed to continue working for Laban, but insisted that he be allowed to share in the increase of the flocks. God proved faithful and helped Jacob devise a plan that would be profitable to him. Jacob must have finally committed his life to the Holy God, because the plan worked and after six more years of labor, Jacob had compiled considerable wealth. The agreement was that Laban would keep the solid colored animals, and Jacob would own all that were striped or speckled probably from mixed breeding. At the beginning of the bargain the flock was predominantly pure bred. In the six years that followed, the majority of the new born were off-color and belonged to Jacob. Laban and his boys were growing suspicious of Jacob as they watched most of their wealth strangely crossing over into Jacob’s pasture. Jacob realized the tension was rising and decided that it was time for him to take his family and flock and go back to the country of his father. The bible says in Genesis 31:3 that The Lord told Jacob to “Go back to the land of your fathers and your relatives and I will be with you.” This is another example of God speaking to man and it does not say how or what means God used.

There is one reference in this scripture that says that Jacob had a dream and an angel told him to observe that all of the male goats breeding at his water troughs were not solid color, and for this reason in just one season over half of the heard became multi-colored and belonged to Jacob as per their agreement. Jacob gave God the credit for making him rich…Laban and his boys accused Jacob of intentionally breeding the solid colors out of the flock. Some where is these six years Jacob, repented of his deceptive past and started giving God the Glory. He finally learned that GOD WAS FAITHFUL.

Jacob waited until Laban and his sons left home to go to their other holdings to care for their flocks there. He knew they were to be gone three days and this gave him the time needed to prepare his family and flock to travel, and he left Laban and headed home. Visualize this caravan of travelers, Jacob, his four wives and thirteen children and a vast heard of animals to be fed, watered and protected against any enemy they would meet.

When Laban returned home and found that Jacob and his daughters had fled and he was angry and prepared immediately to pursue them. He took all of his men relatives with him, without women or any other hindrances and riding on swift dromedaries [1-hump camels] seven days later he caught them near the mountains of Gilead. During the night before he caught them Laban had a vision unlike he had ever experienced. Not his god, but Almighty God came to him in a vision and warned him not to speak either evil or good of Jacob—but “Keep your hands off of him.” No doubt that this vision is the reason why the encounter did not include Jacobs’s murder.

The argument began with charges and counter-charges and all seemed to be going in Jacob’s favor until Laban accused them of stealing his “Idols of Worship from his house.” Rachel had gone back to the house and hid the idols in her clothing without anyone else knowing she had done this. Jacob surely did not know because he invited Laban to search everyone and see if they had his gods. Rachel was able to hide the idols in her underclothing and Laban could not prove that they had stolen them.

Both parties built an alter upon which they entered a treaty agreeing that there would be no more contention between them. Laban bade his daughters and grandchildren farewell, and returned to his home.

Very seldom do I enter a discussion involving the stories of the OT that someone does not wonder out loud, ‘why do we study this? What meaning does it have for me? I will answer by saying that four thousand years has not changed the heart of man and how people should respect each other and thee are some lessons for us all wrapped up in the life of Jacob up to the day that Laban turned away and left him to follow his God.

We need to learn what each person in this story experienced, and we should use this knowledge to prevent making the same mistakes.

1. Jacob finally learned that his practice of deception on his father and brother would not go without him paying a price for his sins. Why should we make the same mistake when we already know it will cost.
2. Leah must have learned that it would have been better for her if she had refused to be a part of Laban’s deception of Jacob.
3. Rachel learned that the false gods are not to be condoned, they bring problems and trouble.
4. Laban learned that the God of Jacob was able to bring wealth to Jacob that would have been shared with him if he had been honest.
5. The four wives learned the problems that come from mixed marriages.
6. We all have learned that God can bring good out of the worst of circumstances.
7. One of the main lessons here is that we have found that God keeps his promises for the leaders of the twelve tribes were born during these confusing days.
8. The greatest lesson probably of all is that Rachel became the mother of Joseph the greatest of the twelve boys. God kept his promise to Abraham that through him the world would be blessed and his family would be many on earth.
9. We have all learned more about GODS FAITHFULNESS.

Responding to God with Faith - Genesis 28

March second, today marks the beginning of our spring session that will cover the second half of the book of Genesis. The prime focus of this study will deal with two contrasting personalities—Jacob and Joseph, father and son. The name 'Jacob' means 'cheater' and it is one that fit him well and was earned early in life when he cheated his brother Esau out of his birth right with a bowl of red stew and later cheated Esau out the blessing from his father by using a disguise that fooled their ageing blind dad into thinking he was blessing Esau when it was really Jacob in disguise.

Jacob spent much of his life in conflict with his father and brother, then with his Uncle Laban and ultimately in conflict with God that terminated in a wrestling match with God that lasted all night ending, as you would expect, with God the winner [Gen. 32:24]. Jacobs life gives us a picture of things we should not do if we are truly Christian and it tells us that we can always be successful at the end if we learn the lesson well that we must yield our will and accept God’s plan and purpose for our lives. Jacob finally learned.

Joseph [which means ‘to add’] was the youngest of Jacob and Rachel’s sons; and he was a blessing that God added to this family in old age. ‘To add’ also means to accumulate and his life amounted to one that grew from near nothing to a man of great wealth and power with both man and God. This man stands as a stalwart of faithfulness surpassed by few if any including Abraham and Isaac. Moses was despised by his twelve brothers because of the favoritism shown to him by his father. The coat of many colors marked him as dad’s favorite, and served as the blood soaked proof that he had been killed by a wild beast; the truth was that his brothers sold him to and Egyptian trader to be his slave and made up the story of his death. Joseph never lost sight of God, and persevered through many trials before he was finally recognized as a great leader, became wealthy and was chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage and during their forty year journey in the wilderness on the way to the land of Milk and Honey.

These men are gone; as are all other patriarchs and even the writers and disciples of the New Testament. Some of you may enjoy reading history but that is not whey we are studying men who are recorded in the Bible. We study prominent men of God in order to find what God would have us do in our journey through life. Stop now; and ask “Where am I in my spiritual journey?” Which of these men do you best identify with? Have you learned the hard way, like Jacob, cheating and failing until you finally realized that you can only succeed by yielding your life to God and letting him lead you? Or have you kept the faith and remained persistent, honest and trustworthy through difficult and even unfair circumstances as Moses did? God wants us to learn what we should and should not do by giving us examples of strong and weak, winners and losers, God and Godless people. Do not waste good council! You must study God’s word to show thyself approved. We learn from our own mistakes; but it is less painful and much more profitable when we are able to learn from the mistakes that others make. It is never wise to replicate the mistakes of others; and foolish to do so expecting better or even different results. Many of the examples of failure come from disobedient Christians and this should not cause our faith to waver because we are all sinners, saved by grace, and at times we come short of God’s expectations.

Do you respond to God with faith? Some are even prone to doubt the need for faith. Some will even argue that faith is not a true entity because it is an abstract term that can not be identified, seen, smelled or cable of being touched or felt. Regarding this argument, I would like to ask each of you—have you been able to specifically identify wind, do you see it? No! But we know that wind is present because of the effect it has on leaves, trees, and even houses as they are blown away. Faith is the evidence of things unseen, just as moving leaves is the evidence of wind unseen but definitely present.

You will not find the word faith used as a verb in the English version of the gospel. In the translation from Greek and Hebrew the verb ‘faith’ is usually translated to mean ‘believe.’ When we believe in a fact known to us—it is a mental agreement or acknowledging something as truth. However it is more than mental agreement and requires action. For example, you may believe that a boat is safe but the truth of your faith in the boat is not proven until you are willing to get in the boat and thereby you trust it to do what you have believed [faithed] it to do. You may say that you have ‘faith’ in God, but is not faith until you have trusted him to do what He has promised. He has told us that his grace will save us…therefore we are saved by his grace through our faith. Read the 28th chapter of Genesis.

Jacob was saved in the same way that you and I are saved, and we now come to the most important event in this man’s life which includes his conversion experience and is explained by Moses beginning with the tenth verse of this chapter. When Eliezer went back to the homeland to find a wife for Isaac, he left with camels to ride and with a bundle of riches and escorts to help him succeed. He located Rebekah, Jacob’s mother. His leaving home is much different from old Eliezer and he goes to Paddan Aram to find his own wife. He has to slip away on foot, under cover to hide from his mad brother Esau and he was broke and alone in his search. He stopped at night to rest, using a stone for a pillow, and during the night God made his first appearance to him through one of the best known dreams recorded in the Bible. We often refer it to Jacob’s ladder. In the mind and heart of men of all ages there has been a longing for some kind of connection between heaven and earth. Not long ago we studied about the nation that built the tower of Babel by which they expected to ascend into heaven and trust their own gods. There is one vast difference between the tower of Babel and Jacob’s ladder and that is this; the tower was built on earth reaching up toward heaven—while the ladder originated in heaven and was reaching down to earth. That should be a lesson for us to remember. Any time you read about God reaching down—or you view a picture of God’s arm reaching down toward man—the author or artist has true knowledge and understanding of God’s nature.

I have wondered about the meaning of dreams like this…one thing for sure they are not just some strange stories that are usually explained somewhere in God’s word. This was the beginning of Jacob’s conversion and the ladder he saw was God’s way of communicating with him. John teaches us in his gospel that this ladder represented Christ—He is the connection between heaven and earth and through him angels are able to ascend and descend between heaven and earth. Angels are God’s helpers or witnesses that are mentioned in both the OT and the NT and their function as His helpers are much akin to the work that the Holly Spirit does for us.

In Jacob’s dream, if we will accept it as a picture of one way that God communicates with man—it ceases to be a mystery and becomes a grand reality for any Christian believer. You must remember that earth and heaven had been separated by sin that was committed in the Garden of Eden and every inhabitant of earth including you and I are conceived, born and live under that curse—man was separated from God—and there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that we can do for ourselves to earn salvation. It was only by God’s grace that the chasm was spanned by the coming of Jesus Christ our redeemer. He is our bridge across the chasm! He is our ladder, and He is the only means by which we can climb up into heaven. Christ said: “No man can enter heaven except by me.”

In John 1, Jesus said: “Hereafter you shall see the angels of heaven ascending and descending upon the Son of man,” showing that The Son of man [another name for Christ] fulfilled the type of Jacob’s ladder. When Jacob awoke from his dreaming sleep, he said: “Surely Jehovah is in this place,” and he called the name of the place Bethel. “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying if God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and Jehovah shall be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” Listen carefully dear student—this is the statement of evidence that proves that Jacob had repented of his sinful life. Herein lays the evidence of his conversion. Until this time in his life, he had been interested in cheating his way to the top. It was a bowl of red soup for his brother’s birthright; or appearing in disguise, wearing his brothers clothing to cheat his brother out of his blessing; and there surely was never any thought of returning anything for his gain.

I have been asked to explain the difference in Esau’s “birthright” which he sold—and his “blessing” that Jacob stole from him by deceiving their father. In all of Israelis history the oldest son always inherited all of the father’s wealth and also any special blessing, power, or covenant that God had extended to the father. In this case God made a covenant with Abram [Abraham] assuring him that he would be renowned as the father of many nations—that his family would expand until they would out number the sands of the sea or the stars in the sky. {This simply means that they would be in great numbers, too many to count.} Abraham was ‘blessed by God.’ This was his special blessing. Abraham’s son, Isaac inherited Abraham’s wealth and blessing. He took his fathers place in history. Abraham had never owned land…he even had to buy a burial plot for his wife. However, he was able to mass a great amount of wealth including animals while living in Egypt. Isaac inherited his father’s wealth

Isaac had twin sons—Jacob was holding on to Esau’s heal at birth, so Esau was the eldest son and by law was in line to inherit Isaac’s wealth and blessing. When Esau traded his birthright for a bowl of red soup, he gave up the right to all the wealth owned by Isaac. When Jacob cheated him out of his ‘blessing’ Esau lost his rightful position of being known as the “father of many nations”—he lost the special blessing that God had originally given to his grandfather, Abraham. Dear ones, do not condemn Jacob nor feel too sorry for Esau…just remember that in all the maneuvering minds of men—God has always been the architect that drew the plans. Careful study of the blood line from Abraham—through King David to the birth of Christ was God’s plan for the coming Messiah to be according to the prophecies as recorded throughout history.

Note: Sorry for the two paragraph distraction; now let us go back to Jacob’s conversion.
I want to make a special appeal to anyone that worries about the tithe belonging to God. Here is a man {Jacob} that had lived a selfish life, without the benefit of parental training [both parents had disobeyed God and neither one was an example worthy of a child’s respect] but somehow he knew that it was the will of God that all who follow him owe one tenth of their income to his cause. Immediately upon his conversion his first promise was that he would return unto God the tithe [10 %] that was his. This is the second time that the Bible teaches tithing, both before the establishments of the law on mount Sinai. The first mention of the tithe was when Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek. In so far as I know, the Bible had never mentioned anything about a tithing at the time of this incident.

Conversion is more than a stated belief. Conversion contains faith or belief first, but it is followed with action that proves the faith is real. Faith may seem like an abstract word, but like the word ‘wind’ it must be proven by seeing something moving in your life. The presence of wind is proven by watching leaves move. In your life, faith is proven by watching you change your life style; no cheating—but giving your tithe instead; and this includes you time, talent, and witness. When you are spiritually converted you do not loose your abilities, or shrewd business sense; instead of loosing, one gains the daily presence of the Holy Spirit to protect and guide in righteousness.

From this study about the family of Jacob and Esau we have been warned again about the consequences that can continue for generations when parents show favoritism…or when they differ or exhibit conflict with each other regarding disciplining of their children. Many families have been damaged, even destroyed, because of parental differences. Some parents will argue that it is impossible to keep these conflicts out of the everyday life of the family. I will agree that it is very difficult to prevent problems from arising, but I do not believe it is impossible. As my last thought for today, I want you to think about this. We believe in the trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit and they are three distinct spiritual beings—however they are only ONE. They work individually with man, each at different times and under different circumstances—but their instructions to man never disagree, and always support each other.

The Bible teaches us that a man and woman make a sacred marriage vow and they become ONE. If they will commit their lives to the true teachings of the triune God they will be able to work individually with their children at different times and under different circumstances—but their instructions to their children will never disagree and they will support each other. Families, who PRAY TOGETHER — work, play and STAY TOGETHER.