Sabbath September 11, 2021 - Pastor Eustace Williams - "When The Tables Turn"

so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] happy salvage everyone want to welcome you to church today for those who are in person we want to say a special welcome to you you were brave enough to join us in church today and for those who are watching online we want to welcome you to our virtual community in church right now there's people are just waving at each other because they're not able to hug and to shake hands like they used to but it's a good feeling to be in the presence of the lord to be in fellowship with our brothers and sisters who we haven't seen in almost 18 months for some people who weren't here the last couple of weeks when we had in-person worship service so today we want to just give god thanks for his goodness and for his mercies towards us for sparing us to see another sabbath day where we can come together in his presence to worship him if you're feeling blessed to be in the house of the lord today can you just give me can you just wave your hand give the pasture wave and wave to your neighbors god is good god is good yesterday um pastor williams and myself we were at a funeral service and so while we were there we were reflecting on the fact that every day above ground is a day to give god praise amen amen amen today i want to um to make a special announcement um today um elder edgerton clark and sister velma clark they are celebrating 44 years of marriage and so we want to wish them happy anniversary i am delighted and i'm glad when i can see that you know our members are um celebrating 44 years of march and so to god be the glory we want to wish them well and to wish them many more years to come pastor i do believe that there is hope for those who are not yet married somebody say amen amen amen amen please i want those who are watching online i want you to help us to spread this virtual platform please like and share and also subscribe to our channel we want to reach at least a thousand subscribers by the end of this month so please be a finger soldier and spread the message spread the information there's so many things that you can share the best thing is to share the gospel of jesus christ so please share this info this platform so others can experience what you are experiencing week after week again i want to say special thanks for those who made it to church today um you are looking beautiful and i know that god will bless you richly for braving the coveted trip and getting here to church and also we want to encourage those of our members who are still you know deciding whether or not they should come and worship with us we are doing our part to make sure that we follow all the safety procedures both from the ontario conference and also from the government we are doing our part also and encourage everyone after service there should be no fellowship after you can fellowship on your way home by calling each other and fellowshipping virtually all this afternoon there is a special bible class that we want to invite you to be a part of for those who are not not members of the toronto port sda church you can get the link or zoom information in the chat if you just reach out um in the chat we can provide that information and you can join us this afternoon at 5 30 we have a guest presenter who he will be presenting on grief and and and mourning and so we want you to be a part of that and want to encourage our church family to make sure that you join us 5 30 this afternoon for this special program we will now have our call to worship may god bless you and keep you as we worship him together in spirit and in truth [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] give unto the lord o mighty ones give unto the lord glory and strength give unto the lord the glory due to his name worship the lord in the beauty of holiness this is our call to worship join with me in prayer at this time this is our prayer of invocation shall we pray our faithful father you are jehovah you are king you are the anointed you are the blessed father we proclaim your name in righteousness and holiness and truth and purity this morning because father indeed you have dispensed a fresh draught of grace into our souls today oh we are undeserving of such love we are undeserving of your the richness of your mercies but father god you love us with such an eternal love that you have emptied your reservoir of grace in our lives thank you jehovah god and because our hearts are moved and blessed and touched by your marvelous outpouring father we find ourselves before your throne this morning and we bow before your throne we bow and we say praise god praise jehovah praise to our faithful father because you are indeed the king of our lives those who are in sanctuary this morning and those who are worshipping online father all our hearts blend in unison all our hearts are united with those of angels and the 24 elders and the four living creatures and we say praise god from whom all blessings flow thank you for being with us today hear our prayers enrich our lives as we worship you today in jesus name i pray amen [Music] oh [Music] so oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] bless the name of the lord bless the name of the lord amen he is a worthy god and we're just here to lift him up amen amen point to yourself as saying my god is good i know the mass are on but say it as loud as you can say my god is good all right amen [Music] [Music] [Music] everything now doubles up alone [Music] annoying [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hey my [Applause] [Music] is forever [Music] is [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you are [Music] all the other gods they are the words of man you are the most high god there is none like you say all the other gods [Music] [Music] all the other [Music] there is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] jehovah [Music] giving the praise [Music] here who has the final saying is [Music] [Applause] [Music] he makes a way [Applause] [Music] who has the final say [Music] [Applause] he makes a way when there is [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] there is no way [Music] here you are gone and you're in control seated high you are lord of all great i am sovereign ruler lion of judah you are god you are [Music] great i am [Music] [Music] [Music] things things will change [Music] things will change [Music] come on wherever you are just lift your hand in the sanctuary or at home we serve a mighty god [Music] say you are gone and you're in control seated high you're a loyal great i am sovereign ruler lion of judah you are gone things will change when we call when we [Music] things will change [Music] [Music] [Music] you're good and we won't stop training [Music] we won't stop praising help [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] them [Music] [Music] say [Music] and we won't stop praying and we won't stop praying and we won't stop praising [Music] you're good [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] and we won't [Music] and we won't stop praying [Music] we won't stop crazy [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah thank you god we won't stop praising hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah [Music] it's a simple song god almighty lord of glory oh we worship you god almighty lord of glory oh we worship you [Music] oh we worship you [Music] [Music] that's it [Music] thank god almighty [Music] oh we worship you oh we worship [Music] oh we worship you oh we worship you god peace [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh we worship you oh we worship you [Music] oh we worship [Music] glory oh [Music] almighty [Music] thank god almighty [Music] say [Music] worship you we worship there's no other gods [Music] we worship you lord we worship you oh we worship you only you only you only you oh god only you [Music] only [Music] you only one guy [Music] you oh [Music] you can hear [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] when you don't have the [Music] oh [Music] [Music] god almighty lord of glory oh we worship you where you are to sing that god almighty lord of glory won't we worship you [Music] oh we worship you [Music] lord of glory oh we worship you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] it's prayer time my apologies i ask you to stand kneel where it's possible and let us get ourselves in a frame of worship jehovah a jehovah's most high god waymaker life turnarounder god in control sovereign ruler mighty god the great i am great jehovah your god and we won't stop praising you heavenly father creator we come before your throne today to praise and lift up your high and holy name for you only are worthy of all praise lord you are the life giver you are our provider provider you are our sustainer and so we come to praise your name and we just can't stop praising your name so we lift your name on high dear father father we confess our sins before you we ask you lord that you would forgive us for the many ways in which we have failed the dear lord lord we ask your forgiveness for our sins for they are many and we ask forgiveness and we ask for strength dear father so that we can overcome them as we face them each and every day lord we want to thank you for all that you do for us thank you for life thank you for generally good health and strength in this time of pandemic thank you to your father for our skills and ability thank you lord for sound minds we cannot take that for granted dear father and so we just want to thank you dear lord thank you for providing for us thank you lord for our families for our circle of friends thank you dear father for just keeping us each and every day dear lord lord most of all we want to thank you for sending your son dear lord your son to save us who promised to give us eternal life if we will give our lives to him the father we want to thank you most of all for that lord today we want to present before you our church congregation dear father we pray for our pastoral staff we lift them up before your throne and ask that you will give them strength the father we pray for our board of directors we pray for each and every officer in this church we pray for each and every church member and their families dear lord lord we lift them up before your throne father we pray in a special way for our sick and shardens some who are following us at the moment and joining us in online we just lift them up before your throne ask lord that you were touched lord that you will strengthen them lord they are the ones who have gotten us this far with your help and we just want to lift them up before your throne father we pray for our youth who are living in a time that none of us has experienced before so we just want to lift them up before your throne lord we pray that you would continue to protect us from this dreadful disease dear father you've been good to us lord in a special way we want to lift up to those who have lost loved ones lord we think today of the weedle family we think of the watt family lord it just seems sometimes that our family members are just dropping but lord we want to lift them up before your throne and ask that you'd be with them that you would strengthen them and that you would comfort them lord debt is a death is a thing that we don't deal very well with and so we still pause to remember those who have recently lost loved ones like the clarks the williams's brother robert gordon and so on lord we lift them up before your throne father we pray for our city and the surrounding area lord when we listen to the news it's disheartening but we lift our the gta up before your throne lord we pray for situations in afghanistan we pray for the situation in haiti and lord there's trouble all over and so we just want to mention those situations before you the lord and ask that you would have mercy and that you would provide help for those in need lord you sent us a word today um to be brought to us by our past to pastor williams lord we pray that you would be with him in a special way that as he delivers your word that you would strengthen him dear father that you would help him to keep his eyes heavenward lord that you would that when we leave here today lord that we will have heard your word loud and clear dear father lord we pray that you would save us when you come keep us faithful keep us true keep us helpful lord let us keep our eyes on the world around us so that we can minister to them these and all and others blessings we ask in jesus holy and precious name amen good morning everyone the doors on the line and also those offline it is offering time now before i start my call for the offering i before i forget let me say right now those are you oh who are in house at the door on your way out there is a box so you can just leave your offering take me to the king i don't have much to give every time i hear this song i got a paranoid view of the bright star in the east taking the three wise men to the king of kings bearing gifts when i reflect on the song i found myself asking the question when has god asked us for much in malachi he asked us to give one part out of ten in matthew he said the least you have done unto one of these my brethren you have done it unto me let's look at the story of the poor widow two pennies two pennies were more than what those rich folks gave god works better with quality than with quantity i think i should repeat this god works best with quality than with quantity it has been said that little is much when god is in it please put god first give and you will be given now this statement is true i have proven it what i do notice the more i give the more i receive so let's prove god today let us pray thank you god for providing for us thank you for giving us enough so we can give to others thank you for continuing to make us instrument of your peace thank you for everything let everyone that had breath praise the lord [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] great is thy faithfulness oh god my father there is no shadow of turning with thee [Music] thou changest not thy compassions they fail not as thou has been thou forever will be [Music] great is thy faithfulness [Music] great is thy faithfulness morning by morning new mercies i see [Music] [Music] is faithfulness lord unto me [Music] pardon for sin thine own dear presence to cheer and [Music] tomorrow [Applause] [Music] great is thy faithfulness great is thy faithfulness morning by morning new mercies i see all that i have needed your hands have provided great is thy faithfulness lord unto thee oh great is thy faithfulness great is thy faithfulness oh morning my morning new mercies i see [Music] great is thy faithfulness lord unto me [Music] [Music] amen bless the lord with me don't let covey take away your praise hello somebody we serve a mighty god and we gonna praise god through this thing amen amen want to thank sister andrea for that love the song and for the praise team and for all those who participated in our own in our service thus far we want to give god thanks for his goodness and his mercies towards us are you feeling blessed today amen amen i'm in a worship spirit today i just want to give god thanks for his goodness and his mercies for his faithfulness towards us we serve a mighty god and indeed we need to give him the highest praise today the privilege is mine to introduce to us the speaker for the hour um but just before i do that i just want to remind you of our sermon series we are looking at the patriarch um jacob and we are learning lessons from his life and from his ministry and testimony in scripture and so today um our senior pastor pastor eustace williams will continue to preach on this series as we look to hear another word from the lord we want you to help to prepare his heart for the message we want you those who are in house to whisper a word of prayer in your heart to prepare the speaker to deliver the word of god to us today and for those who are joining us online please it's not too late to share this link there is somebody in your circle someone needs to hear this message today let us not be selfish with the word of god with the worship of god please share this this channel so others can come and see what we are experiencing week after week we're gonna invite the praise team to come back and prepare our hearts to receive the message for the hour god bless you as we continue to worship god and please don't allow covid or the problems or worries of this life to take away your worship we're gonna worship god today let us lift our hearts to heaven and allow the atmosphere of worship to comfort us as we continue to go and as we continue to experience these challenging times we do so with hope because we serve a risen savior god bless you [Music] [Music] oh lord [Music] how excited how how excellent [Music] is this [Music] says [Music] [Music] is [Music] hallelujah we serve almighty god say oh lord [Music] and we lift your name cause you're worthy [Music] [Applause] i wanted to soak into your spirit say oh [Music] i see oh how excellent [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the earth in all the earth [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Applause] [Music] my [Applause] [Music] oh he's worthy of the praise [Music] let's mix it up one more time [Music] every day [Music] is [Music] jesus who can break every change [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] most of us remember that day it's etched in our minds a permanent reminder of tragedy we all watched helplessly as lives were lost heroes were born and a nation was forever changed the loss was unimaginable the sorrow unbearable but through that pain we witnessed the resolve of a nation we saw chaos give birth to courage fear transform into fortitude and destruction give way to determination in the midst of the brokenness freedom stood and movable today we remember those we lost we honor the heroes who saved so many and grieve with the families who have suffered so much it's been 20 years we still remember and we will never forget [Music] and we will never forget i want to thank our tech team members for providing us with that reminder tomorrow is 9 11 am i right today oh sorry yeah you're listening to me carefully thank you today is 9 11 and we appropriately want to pay our tribute to all those who gave their lives for freedom this is not just something for the united states it's it has changed the world forever am i right and so we are all in this together and we pay our tribute to the lies lost today we are celebrating our praise and worship team can the church say amen i am sensing that over the last number of months all this music was just building up within them the passion to be on stage and to sing to the glory of god was just overflowing and now that we have returned to in-person worship with all of this beautiful stage that we have this new pulpit that we have and the lights we have on stage and the beautiful background when you stand here man it is a real opportunity to sing for the lord am i right yes we are very very grateful to our praise and worship team to sister andrea our music coordinator for organizing and bringing this level of this is quality worship friends if you're online i want you to type in the chat this is quality quality worship i want to thank our personal ministries team brother carl chambers and sister pansy bromfield and others for planning and organizing for today i want to say thanks to our musicians on my right thank you musicians let's put our hands together for them they are not just playing but they are playing with passion for god am i right yes yes we we appreciate that i want to thank pastor nicholas for his kind words of introduction [Music] at the end of today's service we would love to spend a moment in prayer for our students and our teachers and parents last week they returned to the classroom and we didn't get a chance last week because our services were recorded but we don't want to overlook the opportunity we have today to present our our body of educators students parents before the lord in prayer last week's sabbath we concluded our 50th anniversary celebrations and they were all inspiring worship services am i right i publicly want to say thanks to our coordinators our planning committee our programs committee and all those who participated those who reflected and those who uh did their respective pieces we want to thank you for adding to the the inspiration as we look back on 50 years what god has wrought in the life of his church as pastor nicholas mentioned today we continue our sermon series we are looking on old testament patriarchs particularly we are looking on some central figures in the book of genesis we are looking at such individuals as abraham to a lesser extent abraham primarily we are looking on jacob we are looking on the other individuals who interplayed in the life of jacob and folks i i want you to not to miss this follow me carefully on this today i don't want you to miss this we are not just preaching about jacob because we want to do something on jacob no we are not just selecting this this uh biblical personnel because we have nothing else to do i want to tell you that there is a reason why we are preaching this sermon series the reason behind it is is god the reason behind the church is that god in the beginning established a plan and a purpose and god has chosen these individuals that we are preaching about to work through them despite their their deceptive attitudes despite their trick retendances god is going to work through these individuals to accomplish this great plan and his great purpose for the earth so i want you to follow me carefully today because we are going to see today where god is going with this just where is god going how can god bring good such good out of evil despite our sinfulness despite our ill nature tendencies god the almighty the sovereign the gracious the beautiful the powerful god he is going to bring his purpose and his will to redeem mankind out of all this interplay with jacob when i preached here on the 28th of august i remember sharing with you jacob's first amazing vision that god gave him remember that story jacob had stolen the birthright blessings i want to call them the better blessings if you will through deception he gained the better blessings from his father isaac and he was now on a course a run away from home course some commentators believe that from beersheba to paid an errand where he was now headed was about 600 miles and jacob is covering all of this on his two feet it must have taken him they say more than an entire month to do it but that first night that first night is recorded by moses in the book of genesis because that first night was a telltale night he had a vision remember that vision ladder from earth touching heaven and the angels of god descending and ascending and at the very top of the ladder as jacob looked at the angels ascending and descending he saw a figure at the top and he says this is no other than god and i shared with you in the august 28th message that god imparted three p blessings three p blessings to jacob p blessing number one god guaranteed jacob his presence i'm with you jacob second p blessing was god promised him protection and the third p blessing is god guaranteed jacob preservation today there is another figure that comes up in the divine saga there is another figure alongside jacob that i want to introduce to you today we need to look at the story but keep in your minds folks don't you forget what i am saying to you at the beginning because it is going to come right back at the very end of this message i am trying to say to you that god is at work in accomplishing his purpose to redeem the entire world god is doing something big jacob doesn't understand it and all the other figures in the story today they don't yet understand it but god the sovereign the mighty the powerful god is working through these individuals despite their sins and their failures and their deceptive natures disposition and attitude god is going to work through them to accomplish his mighty purpose in the earth follow me carefully genesis chapter 29 is where we are genesis 29 and i want to start reading from verse 13. i want you to see the next figure that pops up in the story then it came to pass when laban heard the report about jacob his sister's son are you seeing the other figure that he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house so he told laban all these things this is jacob telling his uncle laban everything now uncle i stole the birthright uncle i put on sheep skin on my body uncle i i've cheated uncle i have done all these things uncle i have i've run away 600 miles on foot uncle here i am he told him all these things and laban said to him surely you are my bone and my flesh and he stayed with him for a month then laban said to jacob because you are my relative should you therefore serve me for nothing tell me what should your wages be wow we're getting into deep waters now love story a love sick guy watch watch what's going to happen now laban had two daughters the name of the elder was lea and the name of the younger was rachel leah's eyes were delicate but rachel was beautiful of form and appearance wow now jacob loved rachel so he said to laban i will serve you seven years for rachel your younger daughter have mercy verse 19 is critical i'm going to elaborate on it a little later on but watch verse 19 this is where the the experienced you know laban was about 25 years older than jacob at this time laban himself is full of deception he's a swindler he is a trickster extraordinaire and he has 25 more years experience than jacob who is a deceiver himself so two deceivers have clashed under the same roof talking about love business and women business marriage and watch what's going to happen watch verse 19. jacob agrees with laban he says i love your younger daughter rachel and i would like to work seven years to receive her hand in marriage and jacob laban is going to respond in verse 19 and laban said it is better that i give her to you than that i should give her to another man stay with me you know what is happening here friends the trickery has begun the tables are turning that's that's my message today the title of the message is when the tables turn we could say another way when the trickster is strict but laban is pulling a fast one it is better that i give her to you he does not say it is better that i give rachel to you nothing specific is mentioned here just the generic her is better that i give her without specifying who the er is it could be leah it could be rachel but laban's 25 years in trickery and deception is beginning to tell around it is better that i give her to you then i give her to another man stay so jacob served seven years for rachel and they they seem only a few days to him because he was a man who was madly in love then jacob said to laban give me my wife for my days are fulfilled that i may go into her and laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast and it came to pass in the evening that he took leah his daughter and brought her to jacob and he went into her and laban gave his maid zilpah to his daughter leah as a maid so it came to pass in the morning that behold it was not rachel in the morning after the marriage was consummated in the morning when their eyes were open in the morning they realized jacob realized that it was leah and he said to laban what is this you have done to me was it not for rachel that i served you why then have you deceived me and laban said it must not be done so in our country to give the younger before the firstborn what a condition you know what he just did to jacob he stabbed jacob real hard he daggered him he daggered jacob really bad because jacob automatically remember the story of how the younger stole the birthright of the older jacob that's what you did you younger you stole from the older but in my country that's not how it's going to be the older has some rights in my country wow jacob meets his match the tables are turning the trickster is being tricked fulfill her weak and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve me still another seven years father in heaven be gracious to us today thank you for enlighten us with your word bless our hearts we pray father in jesus name jacob had a grandfather his name was abraham god one day said to abraham abraham do you see the world and abraham said yes god i see the world god said abraham do you see the cruelty do you see this selfishness do you see all that's going on this suffering the death the crisis the violence the wickedness that has pervaded the entire world and abraham turned to god and he says yes god i see the suffering i see the violence i see the cruelty i see the madness that is on display i see what proving 19 is doing to the entire world and god said to abram said abraham i have good news for you despite everything that is happening in the world the world is sick of suffering we are sick of death and dying and grieving and sadness and god says the good news abraham i am going to do something about it what are you going to do god god said to abraham i am going to save the world i'm going to redeem the world i am going to heal the land i am going to restore things i'm going to change things i'm going to make this world a much much better place and abraham said to god god how do you propose to do this and god said to abraham i'm going to work through you abraham to make the world a better place and how do you propose to work through me god and god said to abraham beginning with you abraham and with all of your tribes and your descendants i am going to give children every one of your generational descents will have children and i am going to select one of these children i am going to make them make that person rather the seed of the messiah do you see what god is doing here friends one of your descendants will be the seed one of your descendants will have the strain of the messiah my son the anointed one the one who would give his life the one who will come and redeem and heal and restore and reconcile and bless and turn things around and make this place a better place god is at work despite abraham's failures and lies god says i'm gonna work through you and your descendants and your children i'm gonna turn this world around through you and abraham had one son you know his name isaac and when isaac's wife rebecca was pregnant god sends him a message and says isaac your wife is pregnant with twin two boys are in her womb but isaac i am telling you i am prophesying to you right now and i want you to raise up your head and listen to what i'm saying because this is a part of the divine saga this is a part of what i'm going to work through to bless the world the strain of the seed of the messiah is going to flow through this twin that is in the womb it was lost on isaac yeah it was lost in him what god prophesied god's prophecy was that the older would serve the young girl don't take that lightly church friends don't take what god prophesied lightly when he says the older is going to serve the younger because in saying that and doing that and prophesying that god is going to send the seed of the messiah the redeemer the healer the restorer the one through whom salvation for the world would be wrought god is engineering he's setting the stage is putting out the basics the platform god is engineering and setting the stage are you with me church don't sleep you know i'm going somewhere with this and you're going to see god's divine golden thread as he works his way through evil hearts and evil intentions and deceptive dispositions you're going to see the hand of a god who is powerful and loving and compassionate and gracious to us what did isaac do isaac ignored god isaac loved esau more than he loved jacob he gave everything that he had to esau against the will of god and you know the story quite well that esau and jacob had their teeth and the birthright blessings that god intended from the beginning when he says the older will serve the younger the birthright blessings were eventually passed on to jacob and jacob ran away from home as a fugitive and now he's in paid an errand 600 miles north of beersheba and he comes to uncle laban and telugu live on everything that happened in his young life and laban says you are my flesh you are my own family i can turn you away you are now under my roof and you're going to be a part of my family one month's pass and laban realizes something about jacob he realizes that jacob is a diligent hard worker he is a man who is destined for success he's a guy who is a very skilled worker and he says jacob i can't let you do all of this for nothing what do you want and jacob says you know what i love your younger daughter because she's so beautiful i want her as my wife i will even work seven years for her and we read the story laban says i will give her didn't say rachel because the deceptive impulses are just reeling up in laban and he has a plan he says i can work this guy i can enrich myself and at the same time i can solve another problem if i don't marry leah to him then i have leah on my hands for the rest of her of her life and my life i need to get rid of leah i need to marry her off and i need to enrich myself and jacob you are the man to accomplish both goals and so the hour came for the wedding and leah was brought to the dressing room and leah was veiled from head to foot and leah was presented in marriage and jacob thought he had his beautiful racial and after they woke up in the morning he realized that it was leah instead of rachel and he went to laban and he says what is this you have done to me you have deceived me and laban says no my nephew i have not deceived you you don't understand the culture in my country the culture in my country is that the older person receive the blessings first unlike what you did jacob the older is going to be blessed seven more years he had to work to get rachel you know that story but i want to dive down now into something here i want to dive down into leah's relationship with jacob you know leah the bible said had delicate eyes i am yet to read a bible translation that accurately depicts what that meant commentators of different sorts if you read a hundred different commentaries pastor nicholas everybody have a different slant to what delicate eyes mean it can mean that she was car's eyed it can mean that she had protruding eyes but whatever it was leah was like second class second rate she was second beautiful i'm gonna use something that is not good english rachel was beautifuler how about that you get the point rachel was it more beautiful and leah was the outcast and yet jacob is stuck with leah because of laban's deception watch this now friends i'm going to pick up another part of the story verse 31. remember i told you that god cannot be outdone by man's follies if you go home today and your little brother sister child ask you what pastor preach about today tell him or her if your mother father grandparents ask you what was preached about today tell them that god cannot be outdone by man's deception god's purpose is going to come true god's plan is going to be worked out god will not be undone despite our folly and our failures and our frolicking and our sins our deceptions and the evil tendencies and propensities that work within us god is the almighty and his sovereign is glorious his plan is to save the world and nothing can stop god from accomplishing his goal watch this now jacob is married to leah but he hates leah no ounce of love his eyes are set on rachel but look at verse 31 when the lord saw i want you when you read scripture to note something anytime the bible says and god saw watch out god does not just see things and leave things undone sister and god is always on the move ready to pounce into divine action when the scripture says and god saw exodus tells us that that when god saw the the suffering of the children of israel in egypt when he heard their cries and saw how they were suffering on the egyptian task masters the scripture says and god came down hallelujah when god saw that leah was unloved didn't say when god saw that leah was barren when god saw that she was unloved she was hated she was rejected she was despised a woman of the worst self-worth and self-esteem when god saw that she was unloved he opened her womb but rachel was born in verse 32 so leah conceived and bore a son and she called his name reuben i'm going somewhere for she said the lord the lord the lord has surely looked on my affliction now therefore my husband will love me have mercy lord she thought in her mind i am unloved i am hated i am rejected i am nobody i am the girl that nobody wants she says now that god has blessed my womb and they have produced a son called ruben she says the lord has surely looked on my affliction i am a hundred percent positive that my husband jacob is now going to love me what's the outcome of ruben being born you think jacob fell in love with her now jacob still hated her and jacob still despised her and jacob still stumped her to the ground and she felt a high level of unacceptance even though she produced reuben and prayed and hoped that now my husband will love me never happened never happened you know what the word ruben means it means i am seen somebody will see me somebody will observe and notice me that i am alive that i am in the house that i am taking care of a newborn baby that i am cooking his meals that i am taking care of all the domestic chores somebody will see me as a partner in the relationship somebody will see me as the person they're married to that beautiful night somebody will see me but jacob didn't 33 then she conceived again and bore a son and says because the lord has heard that i am unloved he has therefore given me this son also and she called his name simeon you know what simeon means simeon means i am heard she wants to be seen she wants to be loved she wants to be accepted she wants to be heard oh my god what a terrible state of affair but i want you to notice that god is working through all of this at the same time when the woman feels unloved uncared for and is not seen by the love of her life god is still on the throne he is in control and god is just waiting his time and the moment when he will bring to pass the seed of the messiah that's what god is after you know the seed of the messiah how many of us in here how many of us are online listening to the message you feel unloved you feel like nobody see you you feel unaccepted you feel rejected you feel like nobody nobody cares and nobody loves despite all your efforts you dress well but you're not seen you speak well but you're not seen you have a university degree a bachelor's degree but you're not seen and you want to be seen and you go one step further and you spend all that money and your labor through the hours of the night you burn the midnight oil and you come up with a master's degree hoping that somebody will see you but you're still not seen [Music] you give all your service to the church every call every appointment everything to be done you are here you are giving you are giving hoping that somebody will see and recognize and appreciate and love what you're doing but at the end of the day you're still not seen i want you to know that the most important person sees who you are can i hear somebody say amen god sees listen to me church notice what the text says leah in her depression in her in her moment when she feels rejected she says the lord has surely looked oh we serve a god who is high but he looks low am i right church no matter what our station or standing or status is in life we serve a god whose presence is within us and a god whose presence is constantly around us and god looks upon us you think you are nobody you feel unwanted low self-worth i want you to know you can be worse than leah the lord has surely looked her and he's looking still looking to their friends he's still with those same eyes he's watching you he's observing your faithfulness he's noticing your moments of sacrificial giving and he's waiting for the moment when you are when you are your back is against the wall yes and god is saying i am storing away in my divine memory bank because that moment when man's opportunity when my opportunity comes and you are your most needy at the time i am going to work the miracle i have seen what you are doing and at the right time i am going to make sure that my divine hand is outstretched to bless you in ways you would never have imagined surely the lord looked then in verse 33 says when he when she gave birth to simeon because the lord has heard that i am unloved do you feel unloved i want you to leave here today knowing two things god hears and god loves god sees god hears you may pray your prayers in the midnight hour and you are led to wonder does god hear the situation continues and continues and you wonder is god working on my behalf does god hear when i pray i want to remind you today don't lose faith in jehovah god god as ears better than anybody else god is hearing your prayer keep on praying verse 34 she conceived again and bore a son and she says this time now this time what he didn't know before he's going to know it now what he didn't see before he's going to see it now this time i have borne her him three sons he can't disregard me anymore this time my husband will become attached to me you know what's the meaning of the word levi levi means i am attached that's what it means remember i told you that god said to abraham one of your descendants is going to be the seed of the savior of the world what do you see god doing here friends [Music] now this time my husband will become attached to me because i have borne him three sons [Music] you know who the who leave i was you know who the levites were in scripture am i right yes do you see the hand of god despite the the ugly layer so to speak despite the unwanted despite the downtrodden despite the unaccepted and unloved god is working through her and god is saying leah not rachel you are going to bear to the world the seed of the messiah watch this no church not done yet verse 35 and she conceived again and bore a son and said i hope you're looking at this in your bible this is sweet stuff she didn't say i hope my husband she stopped looking to jacob to accept her and to hear her and to love her she stopped focusing on the man who was supposed to be her husband who has rejected her all her life she stopped looking to man she says now i will praise the lord therefore she called his name judah then the scripture says she stopped bearing children no more looking to man no more hoping for man's blessings and love and regards she says i'm tired of all of this foolishness i'm tired of this my eyes are fixed and focused in only one area i am looking to jehovah god i will praise the lord because he has blessed me with a son called judah that's what the name judah means praise and i want to close this message by telling you that judah there is a significance to this statement in the bible that she stopped bearing children because at the moment when judah came out of her womb god's plan of redemption god's plan of salvation god had reached the point where he said stop now leah no more i have accomplished the seed through whom the savior will be born and the world will receive redemption through his blood no more the tables have turned the despised has now become the seed of the messiah you want to know something church it is through this judah that jesus came forth john in the book of revelation he wrote in chapter five he says and i saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a skull written inside on the backseat with seven seals then i saw a strong angel proclaiming with a lord voice who is worthy to open the scroll and to lose its seals and no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look at it so john says i wept i went because no one was found worthy to read and to open the scroll and but one of the elders said to me john wipe your tears john come out of your weeping mode john stop being sorry for yourself behold there is one who is ready and willing and competent and able i am gonna tell you who this one is uh he's no other than the lion of the tribe of judah he is the root of david he has prevailed to open the scroll and to lose its seals this is jesus god's plan of salvation has finally been unraveled and it came through the unloved the unwanted the unappreciated the persons that they walked upon and trampled on it came through leah and praise god the savior of the world is available to all of us today we have this hope yes because of the lion of the tribe of judah salvation is free salvation is for all there is hope for you sister brother there is hope for you today no matter what you're going through no matter how you feel no matter how you have been shut out no matter how you have been all cast no matter how people have stepped upon your reputation no matter how depressed you feel and your self-worth is below zero i want to let you know that the lion of the tribe of judah he has come to lift you up and to redeem you and to save your soul so you can be somebody of worth in the kingdom of god yes the lion of the tribe of judah yes all we need to do friends listen to me church i'm closing it now you know but i don't want to close unless i tell you what god wants you to hear you must have faith in jesus you must place your faith in the lamb of god the seed the messiah you must be a person of faith isaiah 45 22 says look onto me leah was looking to jacob leah was looking in all the wrong directions and some of us are guilty of it too we think our tesla that we drive around can redeem us [Music] you think your bmw and your mercy these bends can redeem you eh you think the nice expensive ring on your finger can redeem you you think your beautiful well-paid job your career can do the redemption of the soul let me share with you friend the good news nothing can save the soul until we look to jesus christ look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth for i am god there is none else i am god says god i am god says jehovah stop looking stop looking elsewhere second chronicles 7 verse 14 says if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray yes and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways this is a secret leah reached the point where she says no more looking here and no more looking there i'm going to look to jehovah god whatever your troubles are whatever your worries are whatever is bothering you plaguing you whatever your disappointments in life i want to let you know that the seed of the messiah has come jesus christ has come he has paid the price on calvary's cross and jesus is the resurrected glorious triumphant victorious god he's sitting at the right hand of his father right now [Music] he says look to me if any man thirst let him come to me and drink of the water of life freely are you out there today bitter disappointed maligned ostracized thrown aside feel like a good for nothing i want to let you know your savior jesus will elevate you today look to him and be saved is there somebody here today who feels that way you want to look to jesus would you raise your hand today church want to look to jesus [Music] somebody online today may be listening to this message tired of looking elsewhere and nothing productive is going on but you won't know how to now look to jesus would you at home wherever you are raise your hand [Music] and give it to jesus father in heaven in your mighty powerful gracious beautiful worthy name we have come thank you lord we can now look to you and praise you because you are the conquering lion of tribe of judah accept us today our unworthiness is before us shining in our faces like the noonday sun our unworthiness our impurities we are rejected and despised we feel like filth and dirt but father god we throw ourselves at your feet today and say lord god hear us receive us we look to you we are praying today lord for the students many of whom have by now return to school lord we are praying for these children because so much is required so much demand so many expectations [Music] it's tough to be in the classroom and it's tough to be at home what a time what a world but father we are placing the children of this church many children of this church some at the very basic kindergarten level and they work their way all the way up elementary school high school college universities father we are giving them into your hands that you will sprinkle the blood of jesus over them the blood of anointing the blood of protection protect their minds from evil thoughts from the penetrating influence of satanic forces and influence father we pray in the name of jesus that they'll be covered with the blood of christ jesus no evil will befall them they'll be protected both night and day we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age pornography is available on every site dear god we hold up the children oh lord may their minds be sprinkled with the bloodstained banner of jesus christ we are praying for the parents today god what a sacrifice what a commitment yet their hearts are filled with grave uncertainties as they send their children out every day there is a heavy burden on their hearts father we pray that they will find comfort in you and that you will open the doors of financial opportunities and bless them so that the the children will not be taken out of the classroom father god you can you will you are able to do it oh we pray for the teachers today we uphold them before you magnify their minds convert their hearts encourage their spirits lord because it's a a great challenge to be standing before the children students so cover them with your blood to lord anoint them enrich them fortify i pray o lord and all the other children wherever they are with whatever school they attend we pray your blessings on them today father in the name of jesus christ our lord our master our savior amen amen i know i preach long today i know i preached long but i wanted you to capture god's marvelous plan i want you to leave encouraged knowing that god will not leave you he won't forsake you seek the lord god bless you we look forward to seeing you next week next week sabbath right here in this sanctuary i'm gonna hand you back over to pastor nicholas right now who will share further encouraging sentence with you and then we will be dismissed [Music] let the church say amen those online if you have been blessed by this service want you to just give those raised hands in the chats right there let us give god some praise for the man of god for allowing himself to be used in such a powerful way we thank you pastor williams god to use you the way he did to remind us that god is in control and even in those places where we think life is unfair to us that we can trust that god is working out his plans for our lives so let us continue to trust god let us continue to believe in him and keep hope and faith alive alive sorry um i want to encourage our members to pray for our young people you know pastor did that in his prayer please pray for young people who are going back to school and also reach out to them give them a call send them a text message just to encourage them to let them know that we are there with them we are supporting them with our priors and you know toronto um perth family is a giving church so i know that many of you will reach out to them and and bless them financially as you know that school can be very expensive and i'm speaking as a weakness to this so please let us continue to be supportive and encourage our young people in their pursuit of further education we are about to dismiss um there should be no gathering outside please you can call each other on your way home to discuss the sermon i know you like to hug and take some pictures i see sister broomfield in her wonderful hat and a wonderful outfit and so um she will do so when she gets home but god bless you all thank you for worshiping with us today remember three o'clock is small groups and 5 30 we have a presenter who will be presenting on grieving for all those who are grieving the loss of their loved ones god bless you let's pray i'm going to invite you to stand as we have the benediction [Music] known to him who is able to keep us from falling and to present us before your throne of grace and mercy we thank you dear god for this worship experience i pray o god that this message will strengthen our faith and help us to be better christians let us not keep these words to ourselves but let us share this message this testimony of your word with those who we associate ourselves with bless us no father as we depart from here i know god that your spirit will go with us bless us and keep us in jesus name amen please be seated [Music] yes [Music] god bless you thank you very much you

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Length: 132min 22sec (7942 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 11 2021