“ThePower of Transforming Grace”

Genesis25

CanGod Use Me?

– My past is marredby sin. I’vegot the scars, the tattoos, the wounds and the memories of all thatI’ve done wrong. Can God use me?

CanGod Use Me?

– Other Christians can help the poor and give money to the church, butI’mbarely getting by. Ineed help from others to just make it day by day. Can God use me?

CanGod Use Me?

– I struggleacademically. Thepeople in my Bible study group talk about commentaries andconcordances, Word Studies and famous preachers. I barely made itthrough High School. Can God use me?

CanGod Use Me?

– I’m notoutspoken. Icould never lead a Bible study, and even the idea of witnessingterrifies me. Can God use me?

CanGod Use Me?

– Mylife is a mess! I’ve got financial problems, family problems and my marriageis falling apart. I see Christian families with their kids all neatand pretty, and my life will NEVER fit that picture. Can God use me?

Todaywe will study a story from Scripture that focuses on the question ofour ability to be used by God. Itis the story of Jacob and Essay from Genesis 25. This story containsmore than just interesting history about Israel’s patriarchs. It is a story that is repeated in both Old and New Testaments aboutGod’s grace.

Genesis25:21–34 “Isaacprayed to the Lordon behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lordanswered him and Rebekah his wife conceived. ” “But thechildren struggled together within her; and she said, “If it isso, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of theLord.” “The Lordsaid to her, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peopleswill be separated from your body; And one people shall be strongerthan the other; And the older shall serve the younger.” “”When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, therewere twins in her womb. ” “Now the first came forth red,all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. “”Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on toEsau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixtyyears old when she gave birth to them. ” “When the boysgrew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacobwas a peaceful man, living in tents. ” “Now Isaac lovedEsau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. “”When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and hewas famished; ” “and Esau said to Jacob, “Please letme have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.”Therefore his name was called Edom. ” “But Jacob said,“First sell me your birthright.” ” “Esau said,“Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is thebirthright to me?” ” “And Jacob said, “Firstswear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright toJacob. ” “Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; andhe ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despisedhis birthright.”

Theposition of Jacob and Esau is presented in the following verse fromthis passage:

Genesis25:28 “NowIsaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah lovedJacob.”

Here’sthe crux of the story – According to cultural practice and custom,Esau was the inheritor of the family legacy. He would receive adouble portion of the father’s inheritance, as well as theprimary position of family honor. But Jacob was chosen by Godinstead of Esau, who traded away his first born privileges to satisfyhis hunger (Gen 25:29-34).

Esauwas also a natural choice for assuming this position.

    1. Skillful Hunter (in a remote world). Genesis 25:27 “When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents.”

    2. Father’s Favorite (in a man-ruled world). Gen 25:28 “Isaac loved Jacob”

    3. Firstborn (in a world of pecking-order rules).

Intoday’s terms…..ESAU, would be the NavySeal, thecaptain of the footballteam, theguy with the squarechin, good looks, and chiseled abs, theextrovert,thestraightA student, thekingof the prom, theguy with a fullride to college, theman’sman, drivesa 4WDPickup, theguy who could fixa car, climb a mountain, field dress a cat, andorderhis meal in Italian. His Weakness was that he was IMPETUOUS

JACOBwould be the introvert. Thecaptain of the chessclub, theguy with allergies,an inhaler, and his doctors phone # onspeed dial, the skinnykid pickedlastfor dodgeball, theguy who readspoetry andnodate to the prom, thethinker,theday-dreamer,themamma’sboy, theguy who drivesa Prius, whogets a stomachache fromEATINGItalian. HisWeakness was that he was CRAFTYand deceitful.

Jacobwas a mama’s boy. Jacob was MAMA’s favorite. His motherRebekah Plotted to deceive Isaac when it was time for Isaac to blesshis two sons (Gen 27:5-10).Rebekahwas quite possibly involved in deceiving Esau over the birthright -Gen 25:29. The text uses this same phrase “Esau was out in theopen country” to describe Esau’s location when he soldhis birthright and when he lost the blessing due to Rebekah andJacob’s deception. The idea is that Esau was out in the fieldswhile Jacob was home, near mama’s apron strings.

WhyDid God favor Jacob, when Esau was the Natural Choice

Theanswer to this question is given in Romans9:10-24

Romans9:10–24 “Andnot only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceivedtwins by one man, our father Isaac; ” “for though the twinswere not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so thatGod’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not becauseof works but because of Him who calls, ” “it was said toher, “Theolder will servetheyounger.”” “Just as it is written, “JacobI loved,butEsauI hated.”” “What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God,is there? May it never be! ” “For He says to Moses, “Iwillhavemercyon whomI havemercy,andIwillhavecompassionon whomI havecompassion.”” “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or theman who runs, but on God who has mercy. ” “For theScripture says to Pharaoh, “Forthisverypurpose Iraisedyou up,todemonstrate My power in you,andthat My name might be proclaimedthroughoutthewholeearth.”” “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardenswhom He desires. ” “You will say to me then, “Whydoes He still find fault? For who resists His will?” ” “Onthe contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thingmolded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me likethis,” will it? ” “Or does not the potter have aright over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel forhonorable use and another for common use? ” “What if God,although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His powerknown, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared fordestruction? ” “And He did so to make known the riches ofHis glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand forglory, ” “even us, whom He also called, not from among Jewsonly, but also from among Gentiles.”

TheBIRTHS of ISAACand ISHMAEL taughtus a lesson about God’s PROMISE

TheBIRTHS of Jacoband Esau teachus a lesson about God’s MERCY

Oursense of FAIRNESS wants to focus on ESAU and asks the question, “whywas Esau NOT CHOSEN?”

Butthe focus of the illustration is not ESAU, but JACOB.

Thefocus is a POSITIVE FOCUS on God’schoosing Jacob, eventhough Esau.

        1. God is not unjust (Rom 10:14)

        2. God is not arbitrary (Rom 10:23 “What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory.”)

Hereinlies an important Spiritual Principle: God displays His power throughthose the world overlooks. – He does this so that HE gets the glory. This truth is most clearly explained in 1Corinthians 1:26–31 “Forconsider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wiseaccording to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; ” “butGod has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, andGod has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things whichare strong, ” “and the base things of the world and thedespised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He maynullify the things that are, ” “so that no man may boastbefore God. ” “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus,who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness andsanctification, and redemption, ” “so that, just as it iswritten, “Lethim who boasts,boastin the Lord.””

Wereturn to the key question – Can God Use Me?

Ifwe want to be used by God, we must seek His MERCY, not his JUSTICE.

Ifwe want God to RECEIVE US, we must seek his MERCY, not his Justice.

JUSTICE= I earn my place with God

MERCY= I don’t deserve a place with God. I come as a destitutebeggar.

RandyAly communicates this truth in a story about God’s grace.

NOJACKET REQUIRED (By Randy Aly – accessed on sermoncentral.com)

Ishook my head in disbelief. This couldn’t be the right place.After all, I couldn’t possibly be welcome here. I had beengiven an invitation several times, by several different people, andhad finally decided to see what this place was all about. But, thisjust couldn’t be the right place. Quickly, I glanced down atthe invitation that I clutched in my hand. I scanned past the words,”Come as you are. No jacket required.” and found thelocation. Yes, I was at the right place. I peered through the windowagain and saw a room of people whose faces seemed to glow with joy.All were neatly dressed, adorned in fine garments and appearedstrangely clean as they dined at this exquisite restaurant.

Ashamed,I looked down at my own tattered and torn clothing, covered instains. I was dirty, in fact, filthy. A foul smell seemed to consumeme and I couldn’t shake the grime that hung to my body. As Iturned around to leave, the words from the invitation seemed to leapout at me…”Come as you are. No jacket required.” Idecided to give it a shot. Mustering up every bit of courage I couldfind, I opened the door to this restaurant and walked up to a manstanding behind a podium. “Your name, sir?” he asked mewith a smile. “Jimmy D. Brown,” I mumbled without lookingup. I thrust my hands deep into my pockets, hoping to conceal theirstains. He didn’t seem to notice the filth that I was coveredin and he continued, “Very good, sir. A table is reserved inyour name. Would you like to be seated?” I couldn’tbelieve what I heard! A grin broke out on my face and I said, “Yes,of course!”

Helead me to a table and, sure enough, there was a place card with myname written on it in a deep, dark red. As I browsed over a menu, Isaw many delightful items listed. There were things like, “peace,””joy,” “blessings,” “confidence,””assurance,”hope,” “love,” “faith,”and “mercy.” I realized that this was no

ordinaryrestaurant! I flipped the menu back to the front in order to seewhere I was … “God’s Grace,” was the name of thisplace!

Theman returned and said, “I recommend the ’Special of theDay’. With it, you are entitled to heaping portions ofeverything on this menu.” You’ve got to be kidding! Ithought to myself. You mean, I can have ALL of this! “What isthe ’Special of the Day’ I asked with excitement ringingin my voice. “Salvation,” was his reply.

“I’lltake it,” I practically cried out. A sick, painful ache jerkedthrough my stomach and tears filled my eyes. Between my sobs I said”Mister, look at me. I’m dirty and nasty. I’munclean and unworthy of such things. I’d love to have all ofthis, but, but, I just can’t afford it. Undaunted, the mansmiled again. “Sir, your check has already been taken care of bythat Gentleman over there,” he said point to the front of theroom. “His Name is Jesus.” Turning, I saw a man whose verypresence filled the room. Walked to Him and in a shaking voice Iwhispered, “Sir, I’ll wash the dishes or sweep the floorsor take out the trash. I’ll do anything I can do to repay youfor all of this.” He opened His arms and said with a smile,”Son, all of this is yours if you just come to me. Ask me toclean you up and I will. Ask me to take away the stains and it isdone. Ask me to allow you to feast at my table and you will eat.

Remember,the table is reserved in your name. All you must do is accept thisgift that I offer you.”

CanGod Use Me?

Allof Jacob’s blessings were supernatural – things that only Godcould do

– Flocksthat multiplied

– God blessed Laban on account of Jacob (Gen 30:27)

– Jacoblearned to rely completely on the LORD

Ifyou are an ESAU – blessed with natural talent, position and potential

– Relyfully on the LORD