Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen People.
Speaker 2: No games, Jacob, tell me what you've been scheming.
Speaker 3: I don't scheme, I prepare. Scheming makes me sound so villainous.
Speaker 3: I love this family and I would never jeopardize it
Speaker 3: for my own game.
Speaker 2: When you go in there, do not play like a child.
Speaker 2: Be a man and seize what's yours. And when you
Speaker 2: finally have it, except whatever comes after.
Speaker 4: With courage, he saw, Yes, I have done, and you
Speaker 4: told me and killed deer, eat my game and bless me.
Speaker 3: May God give you the doom of heaven, the fatness
Speaker 3: of the earth, and plenty of.
Speaker 4: Grain and wine. May people and nations bow down to
Speaker 4: you and serve you. You will be.
Speaker 1: Lord over your your brothers, and your mother's son will
Speaker 1: bend a knee to you. The words were a final seal,
Speaker 1: a decisive declaration that Jacob was now the inheritor of
Speaker 1: Isaac's promise, passed down from Abraham through Jacob, the blessing
Speaker 1: of God most I would endure.
Speaker 4: I will hunt him to kill. In my first.
Speaker 1: Esau stormed out of the tent and looked around, his
Speaker 1: eyes narrowed with a hunter's intensity. He grabbed his bow
Speaker 1: and arrow, searching frantically for his twin panic jabbed at
Speaker 1: Jacob's legs. He was shaking, agitated, ready to run.
Speaker 5: What do I do?
Speaker 4: Mother? What do I do? Mother?
Speaker 3: What do I do?
Speaker 4: Mother?
Speaker 3: Tell me what to do?
Speaker 2: My brother in heron. You can stay with him until
Speaker 2: your brother's fury.
Speaker 4: Don't.
Speaker 2: Maybe with time he'll forget what you've done to you.
Speaker 6: In a barren land with just a stone for a pillow,
Speaker 6: Jacob's eyes opened on a stairway to heaven shell. Oh
Speaker 6: my friends, from here in the holy Land of Israel.
Speaker 6: I'm l Exstein with International Fellowship of Christians and Jews,
Speaker 6: and welcome to the Chosen People. In each episode, we'll
Speaker 6: hear dramatic stories inspired by the Bible, stories filled with
Speaker 6: timeless lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life.
Speaker 6: Through Israel's story, we find this truth that we are
Speaker 6: all chosen for something great. Has this podcast blessed you?
Speaker 6: I want to ask you a favor to follow this
Speaker 6: podcast so that you never miss an episode and if
Speaker 6: your interests and hearing how the Fellowship is impacting millions
Speaker 6: of people around the world, saving lives, helping to bring
Speaker 6: Biblical prophecy to fruition, visit IFCJ dot Org. Now let's begin.
Speaker 6: Have you ever found yourself lost in the wilderness of life?
Speaker 6: Wandering searching for something real, something profound, something divine? Today
Speaker 6: will meet such a wanderer and a searcher, A man
Speaker 6: on the run, his heart pounding, his destiny unclear. He
Speaker 6: lays down his head on Earth's rocky ground and dreams
Speaker 6: of heaven. What does it mean to encounter the divine
Speaker 6: in the middle of everyday life? Can a single night,
Speaker 6: a single dream alter the course of history? Jacob's story
Speaker 6: in Genesis twenty eight one to twenty two explores exactly
Speaker 6: these questions. It's a tale of running from the past
Speaker 6: and into the future, where the ordinary stone becomes an altar,
Speaker 6: and a fugitive finds himself in the very presence of
Speaker 6: his father in heaven. As we say in Hebrew, a
Speaker 6: veno shepashemime.
Speaker 1: Jacob trudged through the wilderness, the weight of his past
Speaker 1: sins heavy upon his shoulders. The sun dipped below the horizon,
Speaker 1: casting long shadows that stretched like fingers across the barren landscape.
Speaker 1: He was alone, save for the quiet whispers of the
Speaker 1: wind and the occasional rustle of leaves. Underfoot. Each step
Speaker 1: seemed to echo the turmoil in his heart.
Speaker 3: I have the birthright, yet no tint to dwell in
Speaker 3: or food.
Speaker 4: In my belly.
Speaker 3: I have the blessing, but I'm trampling on dirt instead
Speaker 3: of lying in bed.
Speaker 1: Each step was a rhythmic reminder of the betrayal that
Speaker 1: had driven him from his father's house. Jacob didn't blame
Speaker 1: Esore for his anger. However, he refused to let the
Speaker 1: threat of death stall his ascent. Jacob may not have
Speaker 1: been the bear his brother was, but he was no pushover.
Speaker 1: His legs were sturdy. As he traversed the desert path
Speaker 1: to Haran, he walked with defiant force, murmuring under his
Speaker 1: breath intensions for greatness.
Speaker 3: I refuse to let this break me. I will thrive
Speaker 3: in Laban's household. I return richer and wiser, ready to
Speaker 3: take back what's mine for my brother.
Speaker 1: As night fell, the air grew cold and the sky darkened,
Speaker 1: a velvet blanket strewn with stars. Jacob's weary eyes scanned
Speaker 1: the horizon, seeking a place of rest. His journey had
Speaker 1: been long, and his body ached with exhaustion. There wasn't
Speaker 1: a torchlight for miles no town or city set upon
Speaker 1: a hill to seek refuge. He was alone, wholly and
Speaker 1: utterly alone. Wolves howled in the distance, causing Jacob's legs
Speaker 1: to tingle with unrest. He shook his head and gripped
Speaker 1: his auburn curls tightly.
Speaker 3: What am I doing here? Is this even the right
Speaker 3: thing to do? Have I messed all this up before
Speaker 3: it even had a chance to begin.
Speaker 1: There was no response from the skies or whispers of
Speaker 1: comfort in the wind. Jacob shook his head in resignation.
Speaker 1: He was weary from the journey, eyes heavy with melancholy
Speaker 1: and physical exhaustion. The sky overhead was a vast, unending
Speaker 1: expanse of deep indigo, flecked with countless stars that glittered
Speaker 1: like shards of ice. Her crescent moon hung low in
Speaker 1: the sky, its pale light casting eerie shadows upon the ground,
Speaker 1: illuminating the jagged silhouettes of the distant mountains that framed
Speaker 1: the horizon. Jacob looked out from the dimly lit hill
Speaker 1: on which he stood. His grandfather called this place loose.
Speaker 1: It was a sight that bore the scars of time
Speaker 1: and conflict, its stones weathered and worn by centuries of wind,
Speaker 1: and rain. The history of Lews was edged into the
Speaker 1: very landscape, a silent record of the peoples who had
Speaker 1: passed through, each leaving their mark in the form of
Speaker 1: scattered cairns and ancient, weather beaten carvings. In the days
Speaker 1: of Jacob's ancestors, this land had been across roads for
Speaker 1: traders and nomads alike. The ancient paths that wound through
Speaker 1: the hills were once traveled by caravans laden with goods
Speaker 1: from far off lands, spices from the east, precious metals
Speaker 1: from the south, and grains from the north. The trade
Speaker 1: roots brought commerce, stories, and traditions, weaving a rich tapestry
Speaker 1: of cultural heritage that lingered in the air like an
Speaker 1: unseen mist. But despite its storied past, Lows had fallen
Speaker 1: into relative obscurity by Jacob's time, overshadowed and forgotten. Jacob
Speaker 1: wondered if Abraham's promise had fallen to the same fate.
Speaker 1: Would the greatness of Abraham's lineage end with him? Finding
Speaker 1: a smooth flat stone, he placed it beneath his head
Speaker 1: and lay down to rest. As he lay upon the hard,
Speaker 1: unforgiving ground, Jacob's mind was a tumult of thoughts and fears.
Speaker 1: The stone beneath his head was cold and unyielding, but
Speaker 1: it was also strangely comforting, grounding him in the reality
Speaker 1: of his journey and the trials yet to come. He
Speaker 1: was caught between past and future, between the weight of
Speaker 1: his sins and the promise of redemption. In this liminal space,
Speaker 1: he drifted into a deep, dream laden sleep, the world
Speaker 1: around him fading into the background. As the vision unfolded,
Speaker 1: the night around Jacob seemed to thicken, the shadows deepening
Speaker 1: until they were almost tangible. The air grew still, an
Speaker 1: expectant hush falling over the landscape, broken only by the soft,
Speaker 1: rhythmic suceration of the wind through the rocky crags and
Speaker 1: the distant hoot of an owl. Jacob opened his eyes
Speaker 1: to a vision. He found himself standing at the base
Speaker 1: of a monumental staircase that stretched upwards into the infinite
Speaker 1: expanse of the heavens. The staircase was constructed of a
Speaker 1: stone so smooth and luminous that it seemed to glow
Speaker 1: from within. Each step bathed in a soft golden light
Speaker 1: that shimmered like the surface of a tranquil sea Under
Speaker 1: the moonlight, the steps, though solid, appeared almost ethereal, as
Speaker 1: if they were fashioned from pure light and divine essence.
Speaker 3: Ah ah, oh, what is this?
Speaker 1: Jacob stepped forward, drawn to the light of the staircase
Speaker 1: and the holy glow that emanated from the top. Jacob
Speaker 1: knew very little about what he was seeing, but he
Speaker 1: knew he wanted to be at the top of that staircase.
Speaker 1: He inched forward, only to be drawn back by a
Speaker 1: holy procession of angels. A faint celestial music, like the
Speaker 1: sound of distant bells or the harmonious chords of a liar,
Speaker 1: filled the air, mingling with the faint whisper of angelic
Speaker 1: voices that spoke in a language beyond human understanding. The
Speaker 1: air itself seemed to hum with a sacred energy, vibrating
Speaker 1: with the resonance of countless prayers and ancient hymns. Angels
Speaker 1: moved gracefully along the staircase, ascending and descending with a
Speaker 1: serene purpose. Their forms were radiant, clothed in robes of
Speaker 1: light that flowed like liquid silver. Each angel bore a
Speaker 1: unique visage, their expressions a blend of serenity and wisdom.
Speaker 1: Their eyes aglow with an inner fire that bespoke their
Speaker 1: celestial origin. They moved with an effortless grace, their wings
Speaker 1: barely stirring the air, leaving trails of luminescent sparks in
Speaker 1: their wake. The light pulsed, and wisps of living color
Speaker 1: descended down with the angels. Its brilliance nearly blinded Jacob.
Speaker 1: As he beheld this wondrous sight, a profound awe and
Speaker 1: humility swept over him. His heart pounded in his chest,
Speaker 1: not from fear, but from the overwhelming sense of being
Speaker 1: in the presence of God Most High. His legs trembled,
Speaker 1: and he felt the urge to fall to his knees. Fear, awe,
Speaker 1: and anticipation welled within him. He turned to the ground,
Speaker 1: hiding his face from the light, and wonder, Am I.
Speaker 3: Going to die? Or turn to gold? It seems like
Speaker 3: each is possible at this point.
Speaker 1: Then a warmth spread through him, starting from his core
Speaker 1: and radiating outward, filling him with a sense of peace
Speaker 1: and an unshakable certainty that he was not alone. Jacob
Speaker 1: peered up. There, standing right beside him stood a vision
Speaker 1: of God Most High. He spoke to Jacob. His voice
Speaker 1: was unlike any Jacob had ever heard. It was a
Speaker 1: voice encompassing the roar of the ocean and the whisper
Speaker 1: of the wind, the crackle of a mighty fire, and
Speaker 1: the gentle rustling of leaves. It resonated through the very
Speaker 1: marrow of Jacob's bones, a sound that was once thunderous
Speaker 1: and soothing, now commanding and comforting.
Speaker 4: I am the existing one, the God of Abraham, your father,
Speaker 4: and the God of Isaac.
Speaker 3: You here, he, You're really here.
Speaker 4: Look around, you, son of Isaac. Behold the splendor of
Speaker 4: this land.
Speaker 1: Jacob surveyed the Starlit landscape. The radiance of the staircase
Speaker 1: illuminated its rich and vibrant valleys cut with rushing rivers
Speaker 1: and lush forests.
Speaker 4: The land on which you lie I will give to
Speaker 4: you and your descendants, your offspring shall be like the
Speaker 4: dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to
Speaker 4: the west and to the east, and to the north
Speaker 4: and to the south.
Speaker 5: Through you and your.
Speaker 4: Descendants, all families of the earth will be blessed.
Speaker 3: So you have blessed me. I didn't know if I
Speaker 3: wasn't sure if you.
Speaker 1: Jacob's words were caught in his throat. He wrestled with
Speaker 1: feelings of assurance in God and doubt in himself. Deep down,
Speaker 1: he knew he was a deceiver, a trickster who stole
Speaker 1: his blessing in some ways. In surprise Jacob to receive
Speaker 1: such a blessing from God himself.
Speaker 4: Behold, I am with you, and I will keep you
Speaker 4: wherever you go. Though you leave, I will bring you
Speaker 4: back to this land, or I will love to leave
Speaker 4: you until I have done what I have promised.
Speaker 1: Just then, Jacob awoke with a start, his breath coming
Speaker 1: in short, sharp gasps. The memory of the vision lingered
Speaker 1: in his mind. He looked around him, surveying the land
Speaker 1: God promised him him, not just his father and grandfather,
Speaker 1: not his brother Esau, or his sons. Him, Jacob, God,
Speaker 1: most I was here in this place, and I didn't
Speaker 1: even know it. He's been working, moving and dwelling here
Speaker 1: right under my nose. He rose to his feet and
Speaker 1: ran his hand over the smooth stone he used as
Speaker 1: a pillow.
Speaker 3: How amazing is this place. This is the house of God,
Speaker 3: the gate of Heaven itself.
Speaker 1: Early that morning, before the rays of light painted the valley,
Speaker 1: Jacob arose with fervor. He took the stone and set
Speaker 1: it up as a pillar. He poured oil over the
Speaker 1: stone and consecrated it as a holy place.
Speaker 3: This place will no longer be called Luz. That is
Speaker 3: the name my grandfather's people gave it. It's no longer
Speaker 3: there to name. As a keeper of the promise, I
Speaker 3: rename it Bethel, the House of God.
Speaker 1: Jacob turned his cheek to the rising sun, basking in
Speaker 1: its warmth. He raised his hands in the air.
Speaker 7: Hear me, existing one, the God of Abraham and Isaac.
Speaker 7: If you will be with me, keep me wherever I go,
Speaker 7: and give me enough bread and clothing to survive so
Speaker 7: I can depart in peace, then you shall be.
Speaker 3: My God too.
Speaker 7: Let this monument stand as a testament between us that
Speaker 7: you are not just the God of my forefathers.
Speaker 5: You are the God of Jacob.
Speaker 6: When my Abba, my father a bytheil Exstein, embarked on
Speaker 6: the journey to build the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews,
Speaker 6: many people of faith judged him, Many misjudged him. They
Speaker 6: questioned his motives, and they doubted his mission. But my
Speaker 6: Abba pressed on, his head bowed, and his faith steadfast,
Speaker 6: and the calling he knew was from God. He continued on.
Speaker 6: In those early years the criticism was often very sharp,
Speaker 6: and the words hurt him deeply. But even as the
Speaker 6: fellowship flourished and respect began to pour in from all corners,
Speaker 6: what I saw was that my father never lost his
Speaker 6: profound humility. Those trying times in the beginning taught him
Speaker 6: that success was not of his own doing, It was
Speaker 6: a blessing from God. In this week's cinematic Bible story,
Speaker 6: we encounter Jacob's dream. He dreams of a ladder. It's
Speaker 6: base firm upon the earth, its summit touching the heavens.
Speaker 6: Many interpretations arise from this vision, but one stands clear.
Speaker 6: God revealed to Jacob that the way to heaven begins
Speaker 6: with being grounded on earth. Yeah, you heard that right.
Speaker 6: How do we touch heaven? To be humble? We must
Speaker 6: be humble. This principle is echoed throughout the Chosen People's tradition.
Speaker 6: In Psalm thirty seven, David wants a humble shepherd boy
Speaker 6: himself says, and I quote, but the meek will inherit
Speaker 6: the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. The Sage has
Speaker 6: taught us, and I quote, he who is small is
Speaker 6: actually great. So today is God's Chosen People. Let us
Speaker 6: all ask ourselves, how might we walk more humbly with him.
Speaker 6: This story doesn't just instruct us to be humble, it
Speaker 6: instructs us how to be more godly. Verse twelve describes
Speaker 6: the scene he had a dream in which he saw
Speaker 6: a stairway resting on the earth with it stop reaching
Speaker 6: the heaven. But Jewish tradition teaches that this also describes
Speaker 6: a godly person, someone who is grounded on the earth,
Speaker 6: but whose thoughts and prayers are in the heavens with God.
Speaker 6: We have our feet on the ground and our soul
Speaker 6: in the sky, and we have our prayers and our
Speaker 6: words and our heart to bridge it. A godly person
Speaker 6: doesn't have to be separated from this earthly reality. In fact,
Speaker 6: what we see from the scriptures.
Speaker 3: Is that it's the opposite.
Speaker 6: A godly person stands firmly on the earth pursuing their
Speaker 6: earthly life, but that life is guided by their head,
Speaker 6: which is in the heavens with God. Now let's talk
Speaker 6: about Bethel, an actual place here in the Holy Land
Speaker 6: of Israel still today. In Hebrew, Bethel means house of God.
Speaker 6: Jacob's encounter at Bethel was a reminder that God's present
Speaker 6: isn't confined to temples or holy places.
Speaker 1: No, we are.
Speaker 6: Reminded that God can meet us anywhere and everywhere, even
Speaker 6: in the middle of nowhere, even when we're running away,
Speaker 6: even when we're uncertain and scared and feel alone. We
Speaker 6: live in a world where the sacred and the secular
Speaker 6: are often seen as separate. We might go to church
Speaker 6: or synagogue each weekend, but the rest of the week
Speaker 6: belongs to us. We do what we want. But here's
Speaker 6: the thing that the scriptures teach us. Every situation has
Speaker 6: the potential to be a bethel, a house of God,
Speaker 6: and every moment has the potential to be a divine encounter.
Speaker 6: God's presence isn't limited. God is everywhere, always, and we
Speaker 6: have to remember this. When Jacob set up that stone
Speaker 6: and named the place Bethel, he was saying, God is here.
Speaker 6: So I want to ask you, where are your bethels?
Speaker 6: Where are those places where you've encountered God in a
Speaker 6: way that left you changed that you can say this
Speaker 6: is the house of the Lord. Let's all of like Jacob,
Speaker 6: recognizing God's presence in our everyday lives, wherever we are.
Speaker 6: Let's go even deeper into Jacob's heavenly encounter with our
Speaker 6: good friend Bishop Paulinier.
Speaker 5: Thank you, yeah, Earl. I'm sitting here looking at my Bible. Well,
Speaker 5: actually I've got two Bibles in front of me, and
Speaker 5: specifically I'm staring at this Genesis champ the twenty eight.
Speaker 5: And then we moved to this part of Jacob going
Speaker 5: to Bethel is such a significant city. It's mentioned in
Speaker 5: your Bible more than any other city except Jerusalem. And
Speaker 5: there is going to engage the angels. It's not his
Speaker 5: only time. Actually, we'll see it again in Genesis thirty two,
Speaker 5: verse two and Genesis thirty five, verse one. And in
Speaker 5: this particular story was getting dangerous because he was traveling
Speaker 5: at night, and so he stopped to rest for a while.
Speaker 5: Bible says, if he took a stone, Oh, here we go.
Speaker 5: Took a stone a rock and placed it in that space,
Speaker 5: and he used it as a pillow. And when he
Speaker 5: put his head down and went to sleep, the eyes
Speaker 5: of his spirit man were opened, and he could see
Speaker 5: things that normally his eyes would not have seen if
Speaker 5: they were open. You know that God caused Adam to
Speaker 5: sleep a special sleep so that God could remove from
Speaker 5: his side his bride Christians would even say that in
Speaker 5: Jesus he slept a special sleep and that his bride,
Speaker 5: the Church, came from his side. You know that Abraham
Speaker 5: was made to sleep a special sleep where God could
Speaker 5: prophesy into him and to say to him that from
Speaker 5: your nursery is coming a nation and they're going to
Speaker 5: be enslaved, but I'm going to deliver them. And all
Speaker 5: of that prophetic word. In the Christian scriptures, we find
Speaker 5: something really incredible. It's pivotal, it's consequential. Between Jesus and Peter.
Speaker 5: It's interesting. There was a moment when Jesus took his
Speaker 5: disciples to a filthy place and it's called Cesarea Philippi,
Speaker 5: and Jesus asked his disciples. He basically said, look, you've
Speaker 5: spent time with the crowds. You've heard what they're saying,
Speaker 5: So you tell me who do the people say that
Speaker 5: I am. Well, of course, Peter spoke up and he said, well,
Speaker 5: some say your Jeremiah of the same, you're perhaps Elijah
Speaker 5: or the prophet. And what that means, As in the
Speaker 5: Gospel of John, the prophet Moses was so renowned and
Speaker 5: revered you didn't even have to say his name you
Speaker 5: could just say the prophet and everyone knew what you
Speaker 5: were talking about. Jesus looked at Peter said, but Peter, who.
Speaker 4: Do you say that I am?
Speaker 5: I don't know. I wasn't there, but I wouldn't be
Speaker 5: surprised if it didn't. If it didn't, you know, just
Speaker 5: kind of move around a little bit and wrestling with
Speaker 5: that moment until he blurted it out. He said, I perceive,
Speaker 5: I believe you are the Christ. Well that's the Greek
Speaker 5: word for Messiah. You are Mushia. Oh my goodness, we've
Speaker 5: become so comfortable with these words as Christians. We don't
Speaker 5: even know how revolutionary, even absurd blasphe famous these words were.
Speaker 5: If those words had been heard by the wrong people,
Speaker 5: Rome would have crucified Peter with Jesus that day. Now
Speaker 5: we know that later wrong Peter is crucified upside down.
Speaker 5: But it's interesting. It's interesting that Peter was first of all,
Speaker 5: Peter was not the only one to make such a
Speaker 5: confession compassion about about you are the Messiah, you are
Speaker 5: the son of a living God. Nathaniel did this, and
Speaker 5: we'll see that in just a moment, and actually in
Speaker 5: John Chump the eleven Lazarus sister said basically the same thing,
Speaker 5: and Peter speaks this profound word in Jesus say, is
Speaker 5: let me tell you something, Peter, you didn't get this
Speaker 5: revelation by studying harder or listening to the conversations of
Speaker 5: people are looking on social media. Now what you just said.
Speaker 5: It's a direct download from the throne room of Heaven.
Speaker 5: It's revelation. I'm just information, and i want you to
Speaker 5: know something. I've had the Garden, I've had Noah's Ark.
Speaker 5: I've had that, the people of Israel, the nation of Israel,
Speaker 5: and the tent of Meeting, and he ultimately the Temple
Speaker 5: to temples. But I'm telling you I'm going to build
Speaker 5: something else called the Church, not to replace, but to join,
Speaker 5: and it will be the final vehicle through which I
Speaker 5: will release the Kingdom of God. And it will be
Speaker 5: he said, upon this, Wow, listen, upon this rock of revelation.
Speaker 5: M what did Jacob have he put his head on
Speaker 5: a rock. Here, Jesus says to Peter, upon this rock
Speaker 5: of revelation, I'm going to build my church, and he
Speaker 5: says the gates of hero Well, that's a unique phrase
Speaker 5: there that you find up in Cesa of Philippine. I'm
Speaker 5: not going into that right now, but Jesus says that
Speaker 5: the gates of Hell will not survive the onslaught of
Speaker 5: this extraordinary offensive church who engages the glory of the
Speaker 5: Most High God. Well, let's get back to what was
Speaker 5: in Jacob's dream. In Genesis chapter twenty eight, verse twelve,
Speaker 5: it says that as Jacob slept, the eyes of his
Speaker 5: spirit Man were open, and he saw a ladder, probably
Speaker 5: a stone stairway, ascending and descending, much like we would
Speaker 5: see later in the temple. And upon this ladder or
Speaker 5: staircase you see angels ascending and descending. Now again, I
Speaker 5: want to talk about messianic implications for Christians here from
Speaker 5: the New Testament. In John chapter one, now this is heavy.
Speaker 5: John chapter one, verse fifty one, Jesus says to one
Speaker 5: of his disciples, namely Nathaniel. Nathaniel, You're going to see
Speaker 5: something supernatural. The eyes of your spirit are going to
Speaker 5: be opened, and you're going to see the angels of
Speaker 5: God ascending and descending upon the son of Man whoa
Speaker 5: this This is huge. Jesus is saying, I am the
Speaker 5: latter that Jacob saw, and the angels are ascending and
Speaker 5: descending upon me. What does that mean? He is saying,
Speaker 5: I am the mediator between heaven and humanity. You know,
Speaker 5: we're going to spend some more time later talking about portals,
Speaker 5: portal persons and peoples and places and points of time.
Speaker 5: We just don't have time to go there right now.
Speaker 5: But the thing that's so important to me and significant
Speaker 5: here is Jacob took that stone upon which he had
Speaker 5: received this revelation. He discerned the presence and the power
Speaker 5: of God and said, you know what, I've been in
Speaker 5: the presence of the Lord, and I didn't even realize it. Well,
Speaker 5: that's happened to me before, probably to yourself. But he
Speaker 5: was intentionally took that rock and he established it. He
Speaker 5: said it as important to himself, and he poured oil
Speaker 5: upon it. And in chapter twenty seven, when he's talking
Speaker 5: to his father Isaac, Jacob refers to God. He says
Speaker 5: to his father Isaac, he says, your God, your God Father.
Speaker 5: But when we get to this chapter twenty eight, verse twenty, Jacob,
Speaker 5: in this really traumatic encounter with God, makes a promise
Speaker 5: and he says, he makes this vowel really and says, God,
Speaker 5: if you will God me and protect me and provide
Speaker 5: for me and sustain me. And if you will bring
Speaker 5: me back to this space again, life, I will tithe
Speaker 5: unto you everything I have. I told you this chump
Speaker 5: to twenty eight is fascinating, and I just pray the
Speaker 5: blessing of the Lord upon this word.
Speaker 6: Jacob, alone and afraid, found God in his wilderness moment,
Speaker 6: and in that encounter, an ordinary place became extraordinary. When
Speaker 6: we feel lost and alone.
Speaker 7: God shows up.
Speaker 6: He doesn't wait for us to find our way to him.
Speaker 6: He comes to us right where we are. That's the
Speaker 6: beauty of our journey with God as his chosen people.
Speaker 6: Do you feel it that He transforms our everyday paths
Speaker 6: into sacred journeys. Every step, no matter how uncertain, is
Speaker 6: part of his divine plan, and each moment, no matter
Speaker 6: how mundane, has the potential to become a divine encounter.
Speaker 6: So today, let's seek God's presence in every circumstance, every situation,
Speaker 6: every step we take. Let's look for Him in the
Speaker 6: midst of our struggles and our joys, in our highs
Speaker 6: and our lows, in the ordinary and the extraordinary. Like Jacob,
Speaker 6: let's turn those ordinary places into Bethel's, into places of
Speaker 6: God's faithfulness, his promises, his presence, And remember, my friends,
Speaker 6: you are never alone, even when it feels dark, even
Speaker 6: when it feels hard, I promise God is with you,
Speaker 6: walking beside you, guiding you, transforming you, and blessing you.
Speaker 1: You can listen to the Chosen People with the Isle
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Speaker 1: made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina,
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Speaker 1: producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, Edited by
Speaker 1: Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by
Speaker 1: Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore.
Speaker 1: Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and
Speaker 1: Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin,
Speaker 1: kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller and the team at International Fellowship
Speaker 1: of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot
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Speaker 1: enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Egstein, please rate and
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