Leaving A Spiritual Inheritance
Jeff Strite
Genesis 28:10-22
OPEN: During the Persian Gulf War, a soldier was assigned to go to Saudi Arabia. As he was saying good-bye to his family, his three-year-old son was holding on to his leg and pleading with him not to leave. "No, Daddy, please don't go!" he kept repeating.
We were beginning to make a scene when my wife, desperate to calm him, said, "Let Daddy go and I'll take you to get a pizza."
Immediately, the child loosened his death grip, stepped back and in a calm voice said, "'Bye, Daddy."
APPLY: That's the kind of behavior you would expect from a 3 year old boy…
He loved his dad… but he loved his pizza more - that's what you'd expect from a 3 yr. old
But when grown men and women behave like that, we find it to be disappointing and irritating.
A grown person who would make their decisions based on what they could GET OUT of the relationship is someone we wouldn't trust very far…
I. Let me introduce you to Jacob - a grown man who acted like a 3 year old.
The Bible passage we just read sounds like a great tribute to Jacob's faith…
I mean, here he is receiving a great vision from God
He erects a stone pillar to honor his God
And he makes a commitment to his God
That all sounds like the behavior of a great man of faith
But that's not really true
You see (when we find Jacob sleeping by the side of the road) the reason he's there was because he was running away from home. Actually, he was running for his life.
He had cheated his brother Esau out of Esau's inheritance and Esau hadn't appreciated it. Esau threatened to kill Jacob as soon as he found him - so Jacob decided to leave town… to go visit some relatives.
Jacob was where he was - sleeping on the road - because he was a selfish, self centered man. A man who had hurt his brother and shamed his family.
II. And Jacob doesn't change all that much, even after God gives him this dream and promise
God gives Jacob this gre ...
Jeff Strite
Genesis 28:10-22
OPEN: During the Persian Gulf War, a soldier was assigned to go to Saudi Arabia. As he was saying good-bye to his family, his three-year-old son was holding on to his leg and pleading with him not to leave. "No, Daddy, please don't go!" he kept repeating.
We were beginning to make a scene when my wife, desperate to calm him, said, "Let Daddy go and I'll take you to get a pizza."
Immediately, the child loosened his death grip, stepped back and in a calm voice said, "'Bye, Daddy."
APPLY: That's the kind of behavior you would expect from a 3 year old boy…
He loved his dad… but he loved his pizza more - that's what you'd expect from a 3 yr. old
But when grown men and women behave like that, we find it to be disappointing and irritating.
A grown person who would make their decisions based on what they could GET OUT of the relationship is someone we wouldn't trust very far…
I. Let me introduce you to Jacob - a grown man who acted like a 3 year old.
The Bible passage we just read sounds like a great tribute to Jacob's faith…
I mean, here he is receiving a great vision from God
He erects a stone pillar to honor his God
And he makes a commitment to his God
That all sounds like the behavior of a great man of faith
But that's not really true
You see (when we find Jacob sleeping by the side of the road) the reason he's there was because he was running away from home. Actually, he was running for his life.
He had cheated his brother Esau out of Esau's inheritance and Esau hadn't appreciated it. Esau threatened to kill Jacob as soon as he found him - so Jacob decided to leave town… to go visit some relatives.
Jacob was where he was - sleeping on the road - because he was a selfish, self centered man. A man who had hurt his brother and shamed his family.
II. And Jacob doesn't change all that much, even after God gives him this dream and promise
God gives Jacob this gre ...
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