In
this past Sunday’s sermon, Brother Dan shared from two narratives: Jacob’s
dream in Genesis 28, and Jesus’s calling of Nathaniel at the close of John
chapter 1. In both narratives, we see that the presence of God is marked by the
activity of ‘angels ascending and descending’—a sign that God’s commands in heaven
are being brought to bear in the earth.
In
John 1:51, Jesus alludes to Genesis 28. Jesus is our Rock, the One on whom
we rest; and He is the stairway, the One from heaven who came down to the
earth; and He is the gate of heaven, the only One through whom we can
experience the miraculous.
We,
as children of God, are called to be His agents in the earth. We follow the
example of Jesus, who remained in constant communion with His Father, and whose
ministry bore evidence of that intimate relationship.
Jesus
told Nathaniel, “You will see angels
ascending and descending on the Son of man.” If the spirit of Jesus dwells
in us, then we ought not be surprised when others bear witness to the activity
of God that occurs when we are present. My prayer for us is that we will always
be positioned to function as a gateway to the great things of God—whether through
our testimonies, our giving, our prayers, our words of encouragement, our warnings to the impenitent,
or our response to persecutions.
Below
are the narratives, which I encourage us to read and meditate on for today.
Blessings and peace to you.
Genesis 28:10-17
Jacob left
Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he
stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there,
he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in
which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven,
and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood
the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father
Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the
land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust
of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the
north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you
and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever
you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until
I have done what I have promised you.”
When Jacob awoke
from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place,
and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this
place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of
heaven.”
John 1:47-51
When Jesus saw
Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in
whom there is no deceit.”
“How do you know
me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I
saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Then Nathanael
declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of
Israel.”
Jesus said, “You
believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see
greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will
see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the
Son of Man.”
All
Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®,
NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All
rights reserved worldwide.
