Bethel: House of God
Bethel: House of God • Sermon • Submitted
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· 206 viewsJacob is allowed to see in a dream the great reality surrounding him: that God is present and at work in the world around us. This is the very basis of the Kingdom of God.
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This morning we’re starting a new sermon series called Bethel, Bethel is Hebrew for “House of God.”
Basic idea here is to talk about what it means for us to be a part of God’s house.
But when I use word “house”, I want you to think not about house as physical structure, but house as it’s often used in Britain, like Royal House of Windsor, or in British school system…like Hogwarts, for example. House of Gryffindor, House of Slytherin.
More on that later. We’re going to be in Genesis 28:10-22, story where we get phrase “Jacob’s ladder” from.
Prayer / Genesis 28:10-22
How awesome is this place! This is none other than Bethel (the house of God), and this is the gate of heaven.
Or, another way to say that, this is heavens gate. When you put it that way, if you’re like me, first thing that comes to mind is that crazy cult that engaged in mass suicide in 1997 (cult was called HeavensGate).
Do you remember that? And it was crazy - and tragic. Group led by guy by name of Marshall Applewhite, or Do
He had convinced his followers that in order to achieve higher evolution that they needed to escape their vessels (their human bodies) and their consciousness would be transported up to the extra-terrestrial spacecraft that was coming. Spacecraft was coming soon - it was following Haley-Bopp’s Comet.
All dressed in black t-shirts & sweatpants, all wore brand new black and white Nike Decades sneakers (by way, selling on ebay for $6,660), arm bands that said “Heaven’s Gate Away Team”, they all had $5 bill and 3 quarters in their pockets (fine for vagrancy, to call home). Cult actually took out “alien abduction insurance”!
Then they committed suicide. Ate poison. 39 people. It was horrible and fascinating, all at same time.
Why would they do it? It seems so obviously nutty.
Strangely enough, it’s often very bright people who get caught up in cults. But whole thing speaks to our powerful urge to belong, to be a part of something bigger than ourselves (part of what makes cult leaders so devious, they cut you off from other connections so you become more and more dependent on group).
Folks who were just trying to make sense of life, as we talked about last week - find themselves, they were looking for different route than traditional religions, some sort of alternate spiritual experience.
They thought they had found gate of heaven, but tragically, they were definitely looking in wrong place.
I share that because there is little something crazy about our Bible story this morning, this dream - this very vivid dream - Jacob has. Imagine for moment if someone you knew came and told you that they had had this dream.
I was sleeping last night and I had craziest dream - there was staircase - it started here on earth, and it went right up into sky, into heavens.
It was busy, lot of traffic, figures going up and down…turns out they were angels!
Then all of sudden there’s God, right there beside me, and he starts talking to me.
It is wild story - but it’s helpful to put ourselves in Jacob’s position for moment, because this actually would have been familiar imagery to him.
Jacob was born around 2,000 B.C. First large empire in that area was Akkadian empire, Akkadians ruled from about 2300 to 2100 B.C.
In numerous places around empire Akkadians built temples with ziggurats (towering structures with lots of staircases). Temple, house of the god, would have been at bottom of structure. Priests would climb staircases to make their way up to top, to gate of heaven (which was at top), in order to serve their god (Anu, Bel, Ea).
Hope was that deity himself would ascend down to them, come down to temple, house they’d built for him.
So God is revealing himself to Jacob in way that would have been familiar to him.
But there are couple of things that are very different here
first, Jacob’s not looking for God. He hadn’t built any structure, he wasn’t trying to climb up to see him.
In fact, God may have been last person Jacob wanted to see - he was leaving his home in Beersheba because he had just stolen birthright of his older brother Esau by deceitful means (tricked his father, Isaac, with help of his mother, Rebekah - not healthiest of family dynamics), Esau wanted to kill him. So, under guise of finding wife, he goes to visit family.
Yet here’s God coming to him, giving him this amazing vision, opening heaven up, allowing him to see what’s going on all time, all around him (God isn’t making this happen just for Jacob) - but he does not have eyes to see it.
Then God goes on to affirm all promises of his covenant to Jacob, just like he’d done with Jacob’s father, Isaac, and Isaac’s father, Abraham. I’m going to give you this land, I’m going to make you father of great nation, there’ll be too many people to count, and all nations of earth will be blessed through nation I’m making through your family.
And I will be with you. I will make this happen. God makes all these amazing promises, and he makes them all to lying, cheating scoundrel. Not only are his promises amazing, so is his grace (that should be a song).
Here’s other thing that’s significantly different from Akkadians. There is no building. No temple. No ziggurat. No stairs.
In ancient days, gods were always localized. God of particular land, place. Why they had house.
But not the Lord God. I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. (I’m Lord God here, there, everywhere).
No wonder Jacob is excited - Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God (Bethel) and this is the gate of heaven.
In other words, God’s been here whole time and I couldn’t see it.
Think about that for a moment. God’s right here in this place and I didn’t know it. I wasn’t aware. I wasn’t paying attention.
How much does that describe way we live most of our lives? It’s not that God isn’t here. It’s not that he isn’t present, right here, right now. It’s that we don’t know it. We don’t have eyes to see it.
And yet, when Jacob does see it, he’s thrilled! God, you really are right here! You really are with me. And this is exactly point: God is closer, more present than we’re aware of. Veil between heaven and earth is far thinner than we ever imagine.
Here’s what I want to propose this morning: what if heaven’s gate cult and all those worshipers of Anu and Bel and rest of the Akkadian gods - had right inclination, but they’d been looking in all wrong places?
Gate to heaven isn’t coming as extraterrestrial spacecraft following Haley-Bopp Comet - and killing yourself is definitely not way to get there.
And that gate of heaven isn’t at top of tall ziggurat that if you just climb up all those staircases and make right sacrifices and do right things, god might show up, might even make his way down into the temple
What if, as Jacob discovered, true God of universe, was far closer and more readily available to us than we know.
That God really is in this place and we don’t know it (because we’ve been looking in wrong place, or not looking at all)
Take us to Gospel of John where we see Jesus saying something very interesting, John 1:51
Very beginning of gospel, first encounters between Jesus and some of men who would become his disciples, and they’re amazed at what they are seeing in Jesus already.
Jesus says to them, “You will see greater things than these. Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
If you read that verse without knowing story of Jacob, what does that mean, heaven opened, angels of God ascending and descending on Son of Man? Is there little staircase on top of his head going up to heaven, angels making their way up and down, going through gate into heaven? That’s kinda strange (so we gloss over it and move on).
But it’s hugely important shift. It’s emphasizing what we’ve already gotten taste of in story of Jacob - to be with God, to know him, to be aware of his presence and live in his power - that’s not about particular place.
It’s not about temple, church, physical building (or even mountaintop setting, beach at sunset, as beautiful as those are). I hope our online worship time has reminded us of this.
It’s about person. It’s about Jesus, it’s through him. Heaven and earth come together in Jesus. Heaven is open to Jesus. In Jesus, we, too, see heaven opened up. That’s what he is inviting us into.
Jesus and Kingdom of God
To give you sense of what I’m talking about, let me give you a few examples.
Because we sometimes make mistake that Jesus could simply just do everything he wanted because he was God in the flesh. Now, Jesus was truly and fully God in flesh
But in Philippians 2, we learn that he did grasp or cling to his divine power and glory, instead he emptied himself, taking on form of servant, being born in likeness of men.
In other words, Jesus put aside his eternal power and knowledge to live fully as human being, with all of our flaws and limitations. He did it so he could show us what kind of life - what kind of fully human life - he wants us to live.
In Jesus we see what it looks like to live as someone to whom heaven is open, reality of God’s presence and power. Notice how he prays in John 11, right as he’s about to raise Lazarus from dead…(He’s bringing another person back to life again!)
He lifts up his eyes…Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.
A couple of things here...
Fact that Jesus prays at all. Jesus doesn’t just snap his fingers and make it happen. His praying demonstrates that he had truly emptied himself of divine power and glory - he’s praying because he’s relying on Father’s presence and power to work through him.
And he’s absolutely confident of it. He trusts it. He’s looking up, talking to Father. Heavens are open to him. Thanks for listening to me. I know you listened. You always listen. And I’ve always trusted it. I’m saying this because I want everyone here to trust it, too.
What Jacob got glimpse of 2,000 years before in that wild dream, Jesus lived continuously.
Heavens opened, Father right there, all time, working, sending his angels.
Another example…Jesus is being arrested in Garden, Peter draws his sword and begins to fight to protect him. And Jesus tells him to put away his sword. Then he asks Peter (Gospel of Matthew)
Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?
Jesus was deeply aware of angels, ascending and descending, doing Father’s work all time. He knew that Father, right there with him - could make them available to him.
When Jesus talks about kingdom of God, this is what he’s talking about (and it’s what he preached and taught on more than anything else).
That God is active and alive, working in world, present right now. His angels and ascending and descending, doing his work.
Jesus lived that reality. Heaven was open to him.
Why he told those first disciples that you’ll see it if you follow me. Heaven opened up. Angels ascending and descending on Son of Man. More we follow Jesus, more we live as he did and how he taught us to (which is what it means to live under reign of God in his kingdom), more we’ll see these things. And not just see them, but share in them, share in that divine power. Share in that divine glory.
Over weeks to come, that’s what I want to talk about - we’re going to use image of house to talk about Kingdom of God. House of God, Bethel.
In very first book of Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone, Harry goes to school of magic, Hogwarts, for first time. All incoming students have to be assigned to house.
Big banquet the first night, one by one each of incoming students put on Sorting Hat, which magically determines which house you’ll be part of - Gryffindor or Slytherin or Ravenclaw or well, nobody really wants to be part of Hufflepuff.
It’s huge deal, with lots of anxious waiting and cheering - huge impact on their experience over next 5 or 6 years, for rest of their lives. Whatever house you’re part of, that’s your family, these people will be your closest friends, people you strive together with in competition, study together to become best magicians
Becoming part of that house, part of something bigger than yourself - part of long lineage that became your lineage, its history becomes your “history”, each house had certain values, traits that were encouraged (Gryffindor was chivalry, courage), nurtured in those values.
I hope you’re seeing connection with being a part of House of God.
As demented as it was, this was motivation of Heaven’s Gate cult
we look for this in all sorts of ways, our “house” (fans of sports teams, particular occupation, some people find it in a place (bar), school you attended, political party, groups of friends - why teens will eventually succumb to behavior of their friends or find new friends). Because being part of that “house” begins to shape you
Jesus is inviting us to be part of Bethel, House of God, this Royal House (he is king)
What we’re going to look at throughout summer (what it means to live in seeing heaven opened up, power of God available to us, and what it is God wants to nurture and develop in us).
Begins right here, this almost crazy belief, particularly in today’s world
Fascinating, because in some ways we’ve become so attached to materialistic view of world - that if we can’t test it, see it - it’s not real. Can’t be.
And yet, hunger for spiritual realities is so strong - ordinary people getting involved in cult looking for spacecraft. There’s actually growth in interest in occult today, horoscope is still there in newspaper, every day…people will search for it because that’s who we are. God made us to be with him, to live in soul connection.
Here’s my final prayer for us…can we share in Jacob’s dream? Can we begin to trust in great spiritual reality that God is really in this place (I just didn’t know it). That in Jesus, we might begin to see heaven opened up, to see angels ascending and descending, as God’s faithful servants, doing his work.
That’s why God has given each of us gift of his Holy Spirit, to begin to see just that. Let’s pray together, inviting the Holy Spirit to work in us.