Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn't even aware
of it!" But he was also afraid and said, "What an awesome place
this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!" --
Genesis 28: 16-17 (NLT)
Sorry, this is not homage to a classic rock and roll song. It is a reference to dream that Jacob had when he first encountered God in a personal way. All of his life Jacob was a deceiver. He usurped his brother's birthright for a bowl of lentils and stole his blessing by tricking his father who had lost his sight. Prior to this moment, Jacob was so very much like we were in the world. Very carnal in his thinking. Very deceptive and sinful. His reaction here in the key verses speaks to some conditions and facts we should be aware of after we have our personal encounter with God; in our own walk and salvation.
The very first thing we need to realize is that we need to have a God consciousness. Yesterday we examined our sincerity before God -- which can be found here:
http://www.828ministries.com/Diary/Sincerity-and-Intimacy-Bef-by-Anthony-Wade-120529-990.html
This however is speaking to our awareness of God in our lives. If we were to be real honest with ourselves we would have to admit hat we tend to forget about God within the day to day grind of this life. We can tend to save our interactions with God for pre-set and scripted events only. We certainly deal with God on Sundays for a couple hours and maybe for a prayer meeting another night. We might say a good morning prayer, pray before we eat or travel and possibly say some good night prayers before bedtime. It is in all of the middle areas that our life actually takes place however and we can tend to leave God out of them.
Here is today's deep theology -- wherever you go -- there God is! You do not have to go to that business meeting without God because surely the Lord is in that place! You do not need to have that talk with your spouse without God because surely the Lord is in that place! Your doctor's office, your child's school, in traffic -- wherever you can possibly think of -- surely the Lord is in that place! I remember I had a person at work that I was always at odds with from the government. We simply never got along. No matter what worldly logic and thinking I applied the situation only grew worse. Our weekly meetings were something I dreaded. I prayed and God reminded me that I needed to pray for her and take Him with me to the meetings. I printed out a verse from Psalms about meditating on His decrees in the middle of slander and every time she tried to start a disagreement, I lifted my note pad and read the Scripture. For one month straight there was not one confrontation. After one month the government canceled the weekly meetings. A year later she toured some VIP through my work facility and only had nice things to say. Surely the Lord was in this place and I wasn't even aware of it!
But besides developing a God consciousness throughout our day we also need to develop more appropriate reverence toward who He is. We see in the key verses that Jacob also was afraid and realized how awesome the place was. There is simply not a healthy fear of the Lord anymore in this country. There is simply not a sense of reverent awe. I have witnessed worship services completely devoid of any humility before a holy God.
"These
are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you
are about to enter and occupy,
and you and your children and grandchildren must fear
the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees
and commands, you will enjoy a long life. -- Deuteronomy 6: 1-2 (NLT)
I have heard Christians try and
dismiss verses such as these because it is the Old Testament -- nonsense! The
cross and salvation has to deal with how we will be judged in the end days, not
how we are to conduct ourselves in this life. Look at what God is saying here.
He is not saying to obey these commands so that you will go to heaven but so
that you will enjoy a long life here on earth! Why? Because disobeying the
commands of God is what leads to the problems we face in this life. We
desperately need a reverent fear of God today.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my
presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation
with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and
to act according to his good purpose. -- Philippians 2: 12-13 (NIV)
The sad truth is there are too
many Christians who not only do not work out their salvation at all but they do
so brazenly! They think that they can rest in the grace of God but the Bible is
very clear that we are to work on who we are constantly. We are to be
continuously transformed into the image of God as we progress in this life. God
is holy and we are not. We should be in reverent awe that the God who spoke
everything into existence chose to send His only Son to die for our sins. That
He chose to have an intimate relationship with us! Think of it this way. The
Apostle John walked with Christ. He was considered and called -- "the disciple
that Jesus loved." Yet years later when John was exiled to the
When I turned
to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. And standing in
the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was
wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as
snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His
feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered
like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in
his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face
was like the sun in all its brilliance. When
I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on
me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the
Last. I am
the living one. I died, but look--I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the
keys of death and the grave. -- Revelation 1: 12-18 (NLT)
He fell at His feet as if he were dead! Yet we can stand in a worship service and be checking our watch because there is a game coming on! We need to get a healthy fear and reverent awe of who it is that we serve!
Wrapping this thought up -- why is it important to develop a
God consciousness and a reverent fear of the Lord? As the key verses state -- we
are the house of God and the very gateway to heaven! The Holy Spirit of God
resides inside of us if we are born again. We are the temple, or the house of
God. But how are we the gateway; or the stairway if you will to heaven? Because
the people we come into contact with in this life need to see heaven through
us. They need to see the risen Christ through us. We need to be a reflection of
the glory of God! There were very specific people who witnessed to me. They
planted seeds and watered them over a period of four years before the weight of
my sin became too unbearable and I realized my need for a Savior. Remember, the
things of God are foolishness to those who walk in darkness. You cannot just
quote Bible verses at them. You certainly cannot judge them with the morality
of Christianity. You must show them Christ. They must see
Rev. Anthony
