3rd Sunday in Lent – Sermon 48

13th February 2011 Off By Derek Buckthorpe

Bible References :

Prayer to start

May the words of my lips and the thoughts of our hearts be graciously received for the Glory and Honour of our Lord Jesus Christ

AMEN

Introduction

What are we looking for in life?

A good job? Lots of money? Relationships?
Security – power – happiness

Or maybe all of these?
Most of the time we’re not really sure what we are looking for.

Sometimes we get so caught up with our goals in life – that we miss out on seeing what is really–important

When it comes to seeing “God with us” we are often blindly unaware of His presence – too preoccupied with our own problems – to notice that He is right beside us – ready to help –

 

First Point    Jacob

 

That was certainly the case with Jacob –

He was an opportunist – and prepared to achieve his ambitions by fair means or foul. To him the most important thing was to secure the transmission of the blessing given to his father and his grandfather before him. He was a twin but not the older son – and therefore not the obvious choice to receive the family inheritance –

Many years before – God had promised his parents that the “elder son would be the servant of the younger” – that Jacob would receive the blessing –

But now that Issac was getting old and his memory was failing – Jacob and his mother had lost faith – and decided that the balance needed to be tipped in their favour –

They engineered a plot to deceive his father and cheat his brother – Jacob pretended to be Essau and asked Issac for the blessing – knowing that he was nearly blind with cataracts and couldn’t distinguish between the two.

but their trickery backfired – and far from giving Jacob the security and position he wanted – it resulted in him being driven out of his home – in fear of his life – and being sent to the north to live with his uncle

Away from his family and friends – he was now on his own for the first time – He was a very lonely and frightened man – and feeling very vulnerable.

That night he had a hard pillow – an uneasy conscience – and a very heavy heart –

But in that desolate spot – in his moment of loneliness – God came to him – and showed Himself to him in a dream

God repeated to the this unpromising man – the promise made to Abraham and to Issac –

“this land on which you are lying , I shall give to you and all your descendants, they will be countless as the specks of dust on the earth, you shall spread far and wide – all the families of the earth will wish to be blessed as you and your descendants are blessed”

and He added His personal guarantee

“I shall bring you back to this land – I shall not leave you – until I have done what I have promised you”

Jacob was no pilgrim – or returning prodigal – yet God came to him –

Even though Jacob had wrangled his way into receiving the Divine promise –

In his dream Jacob sees a ladder or staircase reaching up to heaven from the ground – with angels of God going up and down on it.

“How awesome is this place “ he says” this is none other than the house of God – a gateway to heaven”

“Truly the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it”
He realised that his ambition and drive had prevented him from seeing and trusting God

But despite all he had done – God was still prepared to stand by him. – and although he deserved nothing – He gave him everything he dreamed of –

That stone became a pillar of grace – it served as a reminder that God does not give us what we deserve – He gives us His mercy and His love –

Point 2   The disciples

 

In our NT reading we see the disciples meeting Jesus for the first time –

First we have Andrew – he attached himself to John the Baptist in the hope of finding answers – but when John pointed Jesus out as “the Lamb of God”- he went with another disciple to follow Him.

They were clearly unsure of what was going to happen –

Jesus recognised that they were searching – and He invited them to –

“Come and see”

The two men went and spent some time with him – building up a relationship that would change their lives forever-

There’s something deep inside each one of us – that drives us to search for God – even when we become Christians – our search for God doesn’t end –

As St Augustine puts it “Our hearts are restless until they rest in God”

After meeting with Jesus – Andrew goes off to tell his brother Simon and brings him to Him – Jesus gives him a new name – Peter – meaning the rock – Jesus sees Peter as an individual with important qualities – and tells him – by naming him – that these qualities are important to God –

Jesus wants a close relationship with each one of us that chooses to follow Him – and as with Peter – He recognises and affirms the things that are special and unique about us –

The next day we see Jesus singling out Philip – like so many of us – He gives him a personal invitation to follow Him –

Sometimes the direct approach is needed – we have to be told plainly what is good for us – because we can’t see it straight away for ourselves. Jesus calls us to Himself – when we get to know Jesus we are able to hear Him and follow His lead

“We have found the man of whom Moses wrote in the Law, the man foretold by the prophets; it is Jesus Son of Joseph, from Nazareth”

Many passages in the Bible point to the coming Messiah -– Philip saw this and went and told Nathaniel –

but his response is one of skepticism – How can the Messiah come from a place like Nazareth? –

“Come and see” says Philip

As Nathaniel takes his first steps towards the meeting – he finds Jesus coming to him – what’s more Jesus knows things about him that no one else could – He reached into the very depths of Nathaniel’s heart – and he knew it –

“You are the Son of God, the King of Israel”

 

Point 3   Seeing God

 

But Jesus can do more than read our hearts – He can open the door to heaven – and to God Himself

“In very truth I tell you – you will see heaven wide open and angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” –

Here we have a direct reference to Jacob’s dream –

Jesus tells them is that – He is Jacob’s ladder – He is the bridge that extends between earth and heaven –

Here we see right at the beginning of His ministry – Jesus telling the disciples who He is –

Jesus came into the world – to die on the cross for our sins – so that we can be forgiven and our relationship with God can be restored – Jesus is the only way to God –

He brings us the truth about God – and leads us to salvation with Him – In Jesus heaven has come to earth and things can never be the same –

 

Conclusions

 

Although the story of Adam and Eve is an ancient one – its consequences are very much part of us today – Because of that broken relationship with God – we sometimes express a sense of incompleteness and meaninglessness – we often “miss the mark” – fall short of giving the perfect response because there is so much within us that holds us back – and drags us down –

Jesus’ first call to us is to Himself – as Martin Luther said – “I do not know the way I take – but I know my guide” – Jesus is the way – the truth – and the life – through Him we have a direct pathway to God – and the promise of forgiveness and salvation – through Jesus we have the Glory of God breaking out into our lives – and the perfect answer to sin

Lent is a time of preparation for the coming passion and resurrection of Christ – (what better preparation can there be than to learn more about Him – perhaps by joining one of the local Lent lunches / groups) –

there is only one way to freedom – one saviour -and one hope for sinners –

through the one man on the cross we have the gift of forgiveness and the promise – that we too will be lifted up and become one with Christ –

 

Point 3   Seeing God for ourselves

 

so what about us?

One of the problems about believing in God – and being aware of His presence – is that we can’t actually see Him – and what we do see is always capable of a different interpretation –

But as Christians we believe from our experience that we are all loved by God – and he wants to be close to us – that He reveals His presence to us – in our thoughts – and feelings – and through others

We can’t see the wind – but we know its there – because we see and feel its effects on the things around us –

We can’t see God but we know He’s there because we see and feel His effect on the people around us

But Jesus wants more than for us to be aware of His presence – He wants a personal relationship with us – and He wants us to make it our goal in life –

Jacob Knew of God – but his Spiritual awareness came through suffering – he had to experience complete loneliness in order to see God within Him –

The disciple knew of God – but it was not until they developed a personal relationship with Jesus that their lives were transformed –

For us to understand the nearness of God – we must recognize that God has met all our deepest needs through Jesus – we must be willing to:
talk at length with Him like Andrew
be drawn to Him like Peter
recognize Him in the Scriptures like Philip
question Him like Nathaniel
accept His undeserved gifts like Jacob –

Like the disciples Jesus calls us by name – He is the answer to all we seek out of life – and like the disciples He calls us to take up our cross and follow Him –

Conclusion

 

We all have dreams – many of them will never become a reality – Jacob’s dream became a reality – in the person of Jesus Christ –

Jesus calls us to “come an see”

And if we are prepared to follow Him – He will lead us through the open gates of paradise

 

Prayer to Finish

In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit

AMEN