3 October sermon morning: Going Back to Bethel by brother Cher Yam

“GOING BACK TO BETHEL”Sermon Text:Gen 35:1-7

Going Back to Bethel –Introduction• Story of Jacob (Supplanter).• Cheated Esau’s birthright (Gen 25) & blessings (Gen27) – his flight to Haran.• Bethel (Luz) – Jacob’s ladder.• God’s promises to be with Jacob & safely returnhim to his home.• The dream prompted Jacob to make his vow - Gen28:16-22.• A vow is a voluntary promise to God to performsome service pleasing to Him in return for somebenefits.

“Going Back to Bethel –Jacob’s Vow”• Jacob makes four conditions, followed by threepromises:• IF:1) God will be with me2) He will keep watch over me/guard me3) He will supply my needs4) He will bring me back to Isaac’s house in peace(thus protecting him from Esau)• THEN1) He will be my God2) This stone will be God’s house3) I’ll give him a tenth of all I receive.

“Going Back to Bethel –Jacob’s Forgotten Vow”• Fast forward 30 years – in Shechem.• God has kept His promises to Jacob.• Gen 35:1-7 - In this passage God told Jacob togo back to Bethel.• Why? Jacob’s forgotten vow (Gen 28:16-22).• God is now calling Jacob to fulfil his vow.• There are several lessons that we may learnfrom "The Forgotten Vow Of Jacob.”

“Going Back to Bethel –Keep the Vows We Make”• Many of us are like Jacob.• Wanting God to meet us in our crisis.• Make vows & forget them.• God expects us to keep the vows we make.• Ecc 5:2-5 – “Do not be rash with your mouth,and let not your heart utter anything hastilybefore God. For God is in heaven, and you areon earth; therefore let your words be few…When you make a vow to God, do not delay topay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay whatyou vowed – better not to vow than to vow andnot pay.”

“Going Back to Bethel –Keep the Vows We Make”• If we have forgotten our vows, we need to goback to the beginning.• We noticed that Jacob was told to go back toBethel where it all began.• In a similar way, Jesus told the church atEphesus to go back to the beginning.• Rev 2:5 – “Remember therefore from where youhave fallen; repent and do the first works, orelse I will come to you quickly and remove yourlampstand from its place – unless you repent.”• Why we need to go back to “Bethel?”

“Going Back to Bethel –A Place of Acquaintance”I. BETHEL IS A PLACE OF ACQUAINTANCE• A defining moment for Jacob.• Many Christians have forgotten their Bethelexperience.• We need to go back “Bethel” to rediscover our God.• Bethel is the place where we can find power, purityand peace. It is the place where you can go backand fall in love with the Lord again.• To us, Bethel represents a right relationship withGod. Our Bethel is located in our hearts.

“Going Back to Bethel –A Place of Affirmation”II. BETHEL IS A PLACE OF AFFIRMATION• Can you recall all the times that you promised Godthat if He would help you, that you would do this oryou would never do something ever again?• Remember the vow you took the day you gave yourlife to God and promised the Lord that you would livefor him?• Prosperity & contentment has dull our love?• We need to go back “Bethel” to affirm the grace ofGod in our lives.• We need to go back to “Bethel” to affirm our goal -the reason you got saved – our purpose.

“Going Back to Bethel –A Place of Affirmation”• “It Is Well With My Soul” is easily one of the most beautiful,comforting and enduring of all Christian hymns ever penned.• It is an expression of faith & trust in one's God in spite of theraging storms that threaten to overwhelm us.• Unwavering hope in the face of almost unimaginable grief.• The trauma behind the writing of these words.• This hymn reveals a person who had been graced by God tomourn without bitterness, to sorrow without anger, to trustwithout resentment, and to rest in the peace of Christ whichsurpasses every man's understanding.• Horatio G Spafford – his Bethel was somewhere in theAtlantic Ocean

“Going Back to Bethel –A Place of Assurance”III. BETHEL WAS A PLACE OF ASSURANCE• I am sure that I am speaking to some today who had agood beginning with the Lord but somewhere along theway, things went wrong in your walk with the Lord.• You find yourself in a place today that you neverenvisioned. God is calling you back to Bethel today.• He is the God of the second chance - He is the God Whoallows U-turns.• He is the God Who loves you in spite of where your pathin life may have taken you.• God demonstrates those truths in His dealings with Jacob.I challenge you to allow Him to speak to your heart today.• Are YOU ready to go back to “Bethel?”

“Going Back to Bethel –Our Journey”• Observation One: Our journey back to Bethel begins whenwe once again are willing to hear and obey the voice of God.• Gen 35: 1: "And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel,and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, thatappeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face ofEsau thy brother.”• It was not that God hadn't spoken to Jacob. Somewherealong the way, Jacob either stopped hearing the voice ofGod, or became distracted!• Now he hears the voice of God. Why?• The trouble at Shechem brought him to his knees andunplugged his ears.• Do we hear the voice of God calling us back to Bethel? Arewe going to ignore God until we find ourselves in trouble?

“Going Back to Bethel –Our Journey”• Our treasures are the things for which we maketime and room in our lives.• Jacob took the things that stood in the way ofhis returning to Bethel, and buried them underan terebinth (mighty) tree.• Sometimes it is good for us to make a public actof repentance and rededication!• It becomes in effect an oak, a memorial toourselves and to others of our commitment tofollow Christ!

Conclusion• Bethel is where we can be assured of God'spresence and protection.• Bethel is where we will find revival andrestoration.• Bethel is where we will get a new glimpse ofGod.• So, are we dwelling at Bethel? If not, now isthe time to hear the voice of God, calling usback to Bethel.