Title [New Year] Promise (Genesis 28:20-22)
Contents
We started sailing towards the height of 365 days on the same boat in 2006. I bless you in the name of the Lord that God's blessings be with you on your home, workplace, and workplace as you go towards your destination.
The Bible Genesis is the story of the creation of the heavens and the earth and the lives and beliefs of the patriarchs. Among them, the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph occupy a large part. Jacob was born as Isaac's second son, and after living in his hometown, he left his hometown because of a conflict with his older brother Esau. In this text, we will look into the story of Jacob's experience of spending one night in the field of Bethel and the promise he made to God, and ponder the grace of God.
Verse 20 begins with “Jacob made a vow and said,” It means Jacob's vow to God.
He said three wishes and made three vows. Three wishes
first. “He is with me and keeps me in the way I go.” Second, it is “injecting food to eat and water to eat”.
The third is, “If you allow me to return to my father’s house in peace.”
Jacob's faith was that "God is with him." Because you are with us, you can tell us your wishes. Asking to protect me is about security, and asking for food to eat and clothes to wear is a condition of survival. And asking him to come back to his father's house is asking him to come and live in his hometown.
In a word, human desires have no bottom and no end. And the most basic things are eating, wearing, resting, and living safely. In the case of Jacob, when he sees what he asks of God, protect him, give him food to live, and let him go back to his hometown, etc. It is the most primitive and realistic thing.
However, the true essence of Jacob's faith is that it does not end only with prayer. After seeking the most common and mundane things, I made promises to God that these were religious and spiritual promises. I hope that this promise of Jacob will become our promise in the new year.
1. Promise 1- My God (21)
“If you bring me back to my father’s house in peace, the LORD will be my God.”
"My God" This one word confession is important. Of course, He is our God, our God, and the God of all mankind. But it does matter what it has to do with me.
In John 20:28, we see Thomas' confession of meeting the resurrected Lord. "My Lord and my God," he confessed. Confession should always be subjective. And confession must always be expressed outwardly. Unrequited love is called unrequited love, but lyric love is also called sad love. Likewise, faith that cannot be expressed or confessed cannot be fully believed and remains in sad faith.
Romans 10:10 says, "With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made, resulting in salvation."
Jacob's promise, "You will be my God," is that he will serve and live only God for the rest of his life, and that God is my God means that he will live by confessing that he is my God. It's never been easy. Your faith requires determination. Are you clinging to God? You have to decide whether to stick to the world, God's eyes, or the world's. There is nothing to do in moderation. Hosea 6:3 says, “Therefore, let us know the Lord, let us do our best to know the Lord.” Romans 12:1 says, “Do not be lazy in diligence, but be zealous and serve the Lord.” I pray in the name of the Lord that you will serve God diligently and set your life for the year ahead.
2. Promise 2- Stone Pillar Temple (22 phases)
“This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be the house of God.”
At that time, there was no church and there was no temple. So, 'jeon' here means a place to worship God. But later it became the temple of the Old Testament and the church of today.
This promise is a promise to lead a temple-centered, church-centered life of faith. Genesis 35:14 says, "Jacob erected a pillar, a stone pillar, in the place where God had spoken with him, and poured a drink offering on it, and anointed it with oil."
Decades later, Jacob finally went to Bethel and built a stone pillar there to offer sacrifices to God as promised to God.
The great ancestors of faith, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all had a painful point when they built an altar and worshiped God. They all lived a worship-centered, church-centered, religious life.
Let's not neglect worship during the year. The closest people are the ones you live with. The next closest people are the people you see often. If you only meet once or twice a year, it's just a name, not a close friend.
What is worship? It is meeting God. It is the greatest act of a believer by meeting God, fellowshipping, listening to the word, offering hymns, prayers, offerings, and exalting his name.
But how can we neglect worship and go to another place at the same time we were supposed to meet God? I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will become a blessed saint who fully gives the 52 weeks in 2006.
3. Promise 3 - One tithe (22b)
“Of all that you give me, I will surely give you a tenth.”
In fact, everyone born into this world pays all tithes. The only problem is where you do it. Some say they tithe the Dodok by accident, some go to the hospital, some get scammed, and some say they tithe. But we will have to give it to God so that there is food in the heavenly storehouse. He said there where neither moth nor thieves harm, and where thieves cannot break through. And in Malachi 3:10, says the LORD of hosts, Take your whole tithe into a storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and with it you will test me and see if I will not open the gates of heaven and pour out your blessings so that there is no room for them.” You said.
One of my wishes for the new year is that your home and business will be blessed with great growth. I pray that the amount of income, tithes, and offerings also increases and increases. Let's promise this to God, and let's put it into practice. I bless you in the name of the Lord that not only ordinary blessings but wonderful blessings that surprise the world and change the world will overflow both physically and spiritually.