Posted on 02/24/2008 6:49:33 AM PST by Forgiven_Sinner
Old Testament Challenge 4 - God Is With Us
From a book By John Ortberg with Kevin & Sherry Harney
On line links: Northwoods Community Church http://www.nwoods.org/storyWithChart.asp?storyid=393
Willow Creek Church http://www.willowcreek.com/resources/courses/otc/ 9/29/07 Old Testament Challenge - Sermon Tim Riest “God is With Us”
Genesis is very real—almost too raw. Genesis is exactly like today. There is murder, polygamy, favoritism, sibling rivalry, lies, stealing, war, incest, and homosexuality.
Sometimes we feel alone. We need assurance of God’s presence. Kids want stuffed animals at night because they don’t want to be alone. Adults are the same way.
God is: Transcendent – beyond the universe. Immanent – God is here and personal and active Omnipresent – God is everywhere.
God is with us in our decisions – Isaac
Genesis 24:7-9 Abraham was worried about a wife for Isaac. This involves the two big decisions of our life: 1) What will we do with God and 2) Whom will we marry?
The first decision determines our eternity, the second determines our life on this earth. Abraham’s servant went on a mission with ten camels – this was a good-sized caravan.
The second recorded prayer in the Bible is in Genesis 24:12-15 as the servant, Eliezar, prays for help in finding a wife for Isaac. God shows His Presence. Rebekah agrees to marry a man she hasn’t met.
Eliezar then praises God Genesis 24:26-27. God was heavily involved in the selection of Isaac’s wife.
God is With Us in Our Difficulties – Jacob
Jacob’s name means “One who deceives”—it was like a prophetic name. Rebekah wanted Jacob to get his father’s blessing. Isaac preferred Esau. Jacob stole the blessing from Esau. Esau wanted to kill Jacob. Jacob ran away for 20 years.
Genesis 28:10-16 Jacob was afraid after the dream of heaven intersecting with this world. How many times is God present and we don’t know?
When Tim’s daughter was 6 she had a vision of heaven—she wasn’t even a Christian at the time. She became a Christian at 6—eight weeks later.
Jacob marked the place of his dream with a stone and named it “Beth-El”—the house of God.
Laban, his uncle, deceives Jacob with substituting another wife, Leah. Jacob marries Rachel too. Jacob has to labor seven years for each of them. Afterward, he asks for wages and winds up with better flocks than Laban, thanks to God’s blessings. Genesis 31:7
After he leaves Laban, he faces Esau after twenty years. Before he does, he protects his family and goes to meet Esau with gifts. Before that happens, God appears to him and wrestles with him all night. Genesis 32:28 Jacob did not give up and let God go until He blessed him. God gave him a new name: Israel – which means “prince of God”.
Jacob meets Esau himself—he embraces his true identity and is healed of his old identity.
2 Corinthians 5:17 We’re all a new creation in God.
God is With Us in Our Desparation – Joseph
Joseph had a dream—he will rule over his older brothers. He was sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape and imprisoned. After all this, he had a very positive attitude about his experience: Speaking to his elder brothers in Genesis 50:20 he said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” This foreshadows Romans 8:28
Ping to OTC list.
That it is speaks speaks volumes for the righteousness of the Jews, and even further attests to it's origins in God.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.