It’s More than a Dream Part 1

Guest (Male): Today with Jonathan Evans.
Jonathan Evans: Why is it? What would make Jacob walk this way? Simple. He knew something from his past was after him. Now you don't get it. Many of you are not living out your blessing because you're so jaded from your past. And so you're not walking like you're forgiven. You're walking like a fugitive. You're holding on to a blessing, but you're walking right off the field of faith. Why? Because you're running away from your past. Okay. Some of you have gotten divorced in the room.
Guest (Male): You're listening to the faith walk with Jonathan Evans. In a moment, Jonathan will continue today's message. But first, to thank you for your support of this ministry. Jonathan has two gifts for you. The first is the audio series that you're currently hearing called All Eyes on Jesus, helping you refocus on the one who changes everything. The second part of this gift is a book by Dr. Tony Evans called The Power of Jesus Names. Discover how the names of Jesus reveal his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today. How can knowing him more deeply transform your faith? I'll tell you more about these later in today's program, or you can call right now at 1-800-800-3222 or visit tonyevans.org to learn more. Now let's get started with Jonathan's message. It's more than a dream.
Jonathan Evans: The setting is Jacob as a fugitive on the run. Yes, it says that he was going from Beersheba to Haran because he was going to find his wife there. But he was also running. I bet you he was. Because if you don't know Jacob's story, Jacob was a trickster. Up to this point, he had tricked some stuff off, if you will. He's a trickster. It says in chapter 25 that Rebecca had two nations in her womb that were already going at it. It makes another great statement in chapter 25, one of my favorite statements. The older sibling will serve the younger. Let me leave the sermon right here for a second. Any babies in the house? Hey, I'm just saying God love us. Because all through the Bible, you'll see that God would say firstborn heir inheritance, double heir, you know, all of that kind of stuff. But people don't really It slides by them that God would actually often use the baby. I'm just gloating for a second. Moses was the baby. David was the baby. Joseph was the baby for a while till Benjamin came later, but he had already gotten his favor by then. Even when Jacob blessed Joseph's sons, he blessed Ephraim on the right and Manasseh on the left. And Manasseh was the oldest, and Ephraim was the baby. All I'm saying is just for a second, God love his babies. Okay, back to the sermon. Jacob was on the run because from the moment Esau and Jacob were born, Jacob would be grabbing on to Esau's heel. Esau went out one day to hunt, and when he came back in, Jacob had some stew, and Jacob tricked Esau to trade his birthright to Jacob for some stew. So now Jacob has Esau's birthright. By the time you get to Genesis 27, now Jacob is tricking his own father, Isaac. To the degree that he put on some wool from an animal because his brother was hairy. And he went to his father and cooked a meal that Esau would normally cook. And his father ate it. He felt on his son just to make sure it was Esau, but it wasn't Esau. It was Jacob. His mama was helping him. And so he ended up giving the blessing to Jacob. Esau came in from the field and cooked a meal for his father and went over to his father, and he said, Okay, father, here's your meal. It's time for my blessing. And the Bible says Isaac shook. Because he realized at that moment that he had been tricked. And he told Esau, I already gave the blessing to your brother. And it says that Esau wailed, and he wept. He said, Father, do you not have a blessing for me also? Bless me also, father. But back then, blessings were irrevocable. And he had already given it to Jacob, and Esau wept, and he became angry. And the Bible says in chapter 27 roundabout 42 that Esau planned to kill Jacob. I bet you he did. Cuz Jacob had supplanted him twice. Let me back up just a moment to say something about Esau. I just saw a young man crying out for his father's blessing. And because he didn't get it, he became angry. There is a whole lot of children in the room that still don't have their daddy's blessing. And it has contributed to anger. It has contributed to broken relationships. It has contributed to all of these things, but I want you to know that just because you weren't blessed by your earthly father, you're blessed by your heavenly father. And he will never leave you nor forsake you. And to the fathers who have children, you go one by one and you bless your kids. You say, Well, I don't know how to do it. You know how to give some words of affirmation. Bless your kids in the name of God. Because that sticks with them, and a lot of times is the reason for their progress or the reason why they are stuck. It's just the father's blessing. And without that blessing being supplanted two times, he wanted to kill Jacob. And now you find Jacob in chapter 28 verse 10. It says now he's leaving Beersheba and he's headed to Haran. In verse 10, he's in Beersheba. That is southern Israel. That is the land of Canaan. That is the land of promise. It's saying he's on his way to Haran. Haran is in the tip of the northern sector of modern-day Syria, the bottom of modern-day Turkey. In other words, it's not in the promises of God. So here Jacob is he has a blessing, but he's leaving the place of blessing with a blessing. He's going out of God's will, out of God's promises while holding it in his hands, which lets me know that it is possible for you to be a blessed fugitive where you can have a blessing, but be living and walking like you don't. You have salvation. That means if you've accepted Christ, you have What was that blessing? It was the covenant. If you accepted Christ, you have the new covenant. And in that covenant are blessings. It's It's embedded into the covenant that you hold. You have salvation and hope and restoration and redemption. You have adoption. You have been chosen. You have eternal life. Death can't even stop you. Like you have all of that that's embedded in your blessing, and yet you're on the run. Why is it? What would make Jacob walk this way? Simple. He knew something from his past was after him. Now you don't get it. Many of you are not living out your blessing because you 're so jaded from your past. And so you're not walking like you're forgiven. You're walking like a fugitive. You're holding on to a blessing, but you're walking right off the field of faith. Why? Because you're running away from your past. Okay. Some of you have gotten divorced in the room. And you still have not forgiven yourself. So you're saved with a blessing, the grace of God, the hope, your sins have been washed away, but you are still living like you're unforgiven. Okay. Some of you ladies in the room, you may have gotten an abortion. And you're living with that in your mind and your heart. And you 're hurting and you 're in pain because you're thinking they would have been one or 16 or 21. I shouldn't have done that. And that regret and that shame is eating you alive as if your sins were not washed away. As if you're not holding on to the blessing. Okay. You may have been incarcerated, but you're still living like a felon even though you have the faith. Because just because a job wouldn't accept you, you feel like God won't accept you. And so now you're living like the unforgiving while you're holding on to the blessing of God. Or maybe you didn't raise your child, and now they're older, and you can't get those years back. And so now your heart on yourself, you're bleeding internally as if you have not been saved and been totally forgiven and washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. Okay. In In this In this blessing, Jacob is going to get a name change. His name going to be Israel. Jacob is going to have a heritage. He's going to have a legacy. He's going to have a great nation. In this In this blessing is already coming his son Judah, through which Jesus would arrive because Jesus is the lion of Judah. All of this is going to come with this blessing. And he's still living like he's hunted. Yes, it's true what he did was wrong. But it's also true that that blessing makes it right. Because God would still move forward with him. The blessing means that your shame is canceled by the salvation. The blessing means that grace cancels the guilt. The blessing means that your faults have been canceled by God's favor. The blessing means that your tomorrow is better than your yesterday. The blessing means that you're not supposed to live like the unforgiven and a fugitive when you have the salvation of God. Um David was an adulterous murderer. God gave him an everlasting kingdom. Moses was a murderer exiled to Midian for 40 years. And God still found him at the burning bush and made him the greatest savior in the Old Testament. Peter denied the faith three times. He denied Jesus. That is denying the faith. Jesus is the faith, and Peter denied it. And Jesus still came to him and said, Feed my sheep and tend my lambs. You're still How you going to make Peter the pastor? He denied the faith. And Jacob is a trickster, and God is still going to bless him. Because when I say that God can do exceedingly, abundantly beyond all that you can think, so yes, some of us are adulterous, and some of us are revilers and swindlers or all of these different things, but you were washed. You have been sanctified and justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That means it's gone. And if you don't realize that, you'll be walking like a fugitive even when you're forgiven.
Guest (Male): More of the faith walk with Pastor Jonathan Evans in a moment. When life leaves you feeling spiritually dry, pressured by culture or unsure of your purpose, all eyes on Jesus will help you refocus on the one who changes everything. Today, with a gift to support the ministry of the Urban Alternative, Jonathan wants to give you a copy of his eight-part audio series All Eyes on Jesus. What could happen if you fixed your eyes on Jesus in every area of your life? Also included with your gift is a book by Dr. Tony Evans The Power of Jesus Names. Discover how the names of Jesus reveal his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today. Both the book The Power of Jesus Names and the eight-part audio series All Eyes on Jesus are a gift for you to thank you, to show our appreciation for your continued support. It is listeners like you who make this program possible. Our 24-hour resource request line is open at 1-800-800-3222. Let one of our team members help you. 1-800-800-3222 or get all the details at tonyevans.org. How can knowing him more deeply transform your faith? Now let's get back to Jonathan with the rest of today's message.
Jonathan Evans: And Jacob is a trickster, and God is still going to bless him. Because when I say that God can do exceedingly, abundantly beyond all that you can think, so yes, some of us are adulterous, and some of us are revilers and swindlers or all of these different things, but you were washed. You have been sanctified and justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That means it's gone. And if you don't realize that, you'll be walking like a fugitive even when you're forgiven. Why was Jacob dealing with this? Because he took the blessing the wrong way. He took it the wrong way. It doesn't negate that it's a blessing. He just didn't take it right. So when he took the blessing the wrong way, let me read to you how he felt. I want you to see how he felt in the verse. Not just read the words. It's communicating how he feels in this scene. Verse 11 says he came to a certain place, spent the night there because the sun had set, and he took a stone of the place and put it under his head and laid down in the place. Okay. He's at a certain place. He's got a blessing, but he's in a certain place. You know what that means? He's somewhere but nowhere. It's like when you ask somebody, How you doing? I'm all right. What you doing with yourself? I'm just trying to make it. Wait a minute. You got a double inheritance of the father? You got the inheritance of Jesus Christ? You are a son and daughter of God, and you just trying to make it? You must have took the blessing the wrong way. It says the son has set. That It's not just telling you what time of day it is even though it is. It's telling you it's setting in his life, that it's dark in his life, that he's depressed. He's somewhere but nowhere. He is totally depressed, and he finds a stone in the place and uses the stone as a pillow. You got a birthright of Isaac and Abraham, which means you got money. That's what that means. And you're somewhere but nowhere depressed, and you got a stone as your pillow. In other words, what he's saying is his head space was in a hard place. You got people out here who are blessed and depressed, people out here that are blessed and burdened, people out here where God is meeting your needs and he's showing up and you're still somewhere but nowhere. We must have took the blessing the wrong way. Jacob took it as a schemer. We took the blessing with a lack of faith and expectation in our redeemer. We took the blessing thinking that salvation was only for heaven. And because you took salvation wrong, in other words, it's not just for heaven. The Bible says I've given you life and life more. The Bible says that when you accept Christ, the old is gone and the new has come. That you have been crucified with Christ. It's no longer you that lives, but Christ that lives in you. The light that you now live is not like the life you used to live, but by faith in the son of God. In other words, you have been made new. All of that stuff that Jacob did, that you did, he cut it off. That's why Jeremiah 31 says I will remember your sins no more. So if a perfect, unblemished, righteous, holy God can forgive you of your sins and remember them no more, how can God forgive you but you can't forgive you? You tie a rope around my waist. I wish I would have brought it, but I just thought about this. You tie a rope around my waist. There's the promise. I'm trying to get to the promise, but I'm fatigued, and I can't get there because I feel like I'm tethered to something that's holding me back. And then when you look to see what's holding you back, it's you. I'm not talking about your feelings. Feelings are hard to manage. Feelings don't have intellect, so it's hard to not feel different. I'm calling you to walk based on what you really have. My dad would often tell me that it's not about feelings. You have to demand that your heart follow the truth. You put it on a leash and you drag it along because what's true is I'm a saint. What's true is I've been delivered. What's true is I've been redeemed. What's true is I'm saved. What's true is he has washed my sins away. We cannot continue to wait on heaven. We certainly took our salvation the wrong way. Yes, that's true, but it's not the only true part about our salvation and your blessing that God sees fit to take care of his children and that you have been brought into the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through the your salvation. And he continues to tell Jacob, I know you took it the wrong way. I know you made a mistake. No, I didn't authorize what you did. No, you shouldn't have done it. You shouldn't have done that, and you shouldn't have done that. Okay. But you still have the blessing. And I'm still going to use you. And I still chose you. And the reason why you're sitting in that seat is because I am not done with you. Your new identity has been embedded. It's in there. You cannot just be somewhere but nowhere letting fear trump your faith. When you see what God is telling you to do, this is me. When you see what God is telling you to You have the blessing of the son of God. And God backs his blessings and his promises because when he blesses, there is no sorrow with it. Well, if it's the right blessing, I must have taken it the wrong way. So Jacob is down and out, depressed with a blessing, burdened with a blessing. Doesn't think he's going to make it with a blessing. He's haunted with a blessing. He's fleeing and a fugitive with a blessing. And then when he finally goes to sleep on the stone that he put under his head, God gives him a dream. Now I'm going to give you his dream while you awake, so we going to call it a daydream. This is more than a dream. It says in verse 12 he had a dream. And behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its with its top reaching the heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I have given it to you and your descendants. He's in a hard place. His head space is in a hard place. He's depressed. He's somewhere but nowhere, and then God shows up. I don't know if anybody's ever had God show up when you're somewhere but nowhere, when you're depressed, when your head space is in a hard place. God shows up and gives him a word. There is a ladder. There's angels streaming up and down the ladder. This is 24/7. It don't close. There's angels streaming up and down the ladder. The ladder stretches from heaven to earth. The Lord is on top of the ladder, speaking promises down the ladder. All of this is happening in a dream. And Jesus interprets the dream in the New Testament when he had a conversation with Nathaniel. And because not only was Jesus noticing good things about Nathaniel, he would teach him something about something that happened two years earlier. So I've got to take you, if you don't mind a quick Bible study, to John chapter 1. And I want to take you back to the conversation he had with Nathaniel. John chapter 1 verse 47 through 51 says Nathaniel said to him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come see. Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him and said to him, Behold an Israelite indeed whom there is no deceit. Nathaniel said to him, Jesus He said to Jesus, How do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathaniel answered him, Rabbi, you are the son of God. You are the king of Israel. Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these. Verse 51 says And Jesus said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, watch this. You will see the heavens open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man.
Guest (Male): That was Pastor Jonathan Evans. Before you go today, I want to remind you that we have a couple of gifts for you. An eight-part audio series All Eyes on Jesus and a book The Power of Jesus Names. How can knowing him more deeply transform your faith? Through Dr. Evans' book The Power of Jesus Names, you'll discover how the name of Jesus reveals his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today. We're also including Jonathan Evans' All Eyes on Jesus audio series, helping you refocus on the one who changes everything. Discover how to deepen your faith, stand firm in difficult times, and live with confidence in God's calling. What could happen if you fixed your eyes on Jesus in every area of your life? Both resources are a gift to you to thank you for your donation to help support the ministry of the Urban Alternative. It's our way of showing appreciation for the continued support of listeners like you who make this program possible. Call 1-800-800-3222 anytime or get all the details online at tonyevans.org. Again, that's tonyevans.org or you can call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you. That's 1-800-800-3222. Thank you for listening to the faith walk with Jonathan Evans. The faith walk is produced as a part of the Urban Alternative, a ministry of Dr. Tony Evans.