On the occasion of the year-end council, Pastor Geoffrey Mbwana from the General Conference delivered a sermon this Tuesday, November 3, 2015 at the headquarters of the West-central Africa Division, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The basic text of his meditation was taken from Genesis 28: 15 and 16.
15 - “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
16- And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not”.
KJ Version.
The story of Jacob’s escape
Isaac was old and feeling close to death, asked his eldest son Esau to make him a meal to bless him. In complicity with his mother Rebecca, Jacob deceived his father and took the blessing reserved for the eldest brother.
Jacob was blessed, but unhappy because he was forced to leave home because he lied to his father when he used a false identity. Like Jacob, we sometimes lie willfully, we sometimes hide our identity. If the Holy Spirit tells us that we are Jacob, let’s accept it.
"You embellish lie, make things seem more attractive than they really are, hide your identity, but the truth cannot be buried. Truth always triumphs. We can trample on people today, we can sing that we are winning, but the truth will come to light. "
"One day, I asked this question to myself; why did you tell lies, Jacob? How can you plan lie? And God told me: "You are Jacob." You cannot defend falsehood with truth. To defend the lie, you still need to lie. "
When one follows the path of lies, it is difficult to get out of it. This is why the word of God says, "Pursue truth, and choose the path of truth and justice." Because of lies, Jacob had to leave the family home. It is not easy to leave home, but sin causes us to do so. The place where there is love and brotherhood is home; a place where everyone is accepted in joy. Sin can cause us to lose our home. Sin makes us miss the best things God has planned for us.
When Jacob ran away from the family home, he was blessed, but he could not enjoy this blessing. Life had no meaning to him. And there away from home, he asked God for forgiveness. He struggled with the Lord. He slept soundly on a stone and God appeared to him in a dream and told him: "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are laid, I give it to you and your descendants. "
What a God! What patience! God loves us with an Everlasting Love. In verse 14 of Genesis chapter 28, God says that his seed shall be as the dust of the earth. It shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south, all the families of the earth shall be blessed in him and his posterity. And God promised to be with Jacob forever.
Jacob’s sleep was both a physical and a spiritual one. Jacob ran away from home but he ran away from God also. That is why he awoke and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew not.
The place was dusty, dirty, but God was there with Jacob. We think that God is limited to a time and a place. We often show two faces; one face when we are at church and another one outside the church. God promises to be with us all the time. "Know you not that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit? And that the Spirit of God dwells in you? "This is why the psalmist says," Where shall I go from God's presence.
We must therefore worship God on a 24 hour/7 day basis. Worship is not limited to one place or at a specific time. Worship is a lifestyle. "Worship God in your work, worship God in your management, worship God in the way you eat, worship God in your way of leading, worship God in your trip report, whatever you do, worship God, worship God." Amen !
