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THE DREAM

"When Jacob reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. He found a smooth stone for a pillow and laid down to sleep. Then God gave him a dream in which he saw a stairway going from earth to heaven, and angels of God were going up and down the stairs! At the top of the stairway was God who said, "I am the same Lord of Abraham your grandfather and Isaac your father, and I am going to give you and your descendants all the land on which you"re sleeping . . . and your descendants will spread all around the world, and all the peoples on earth are going to be blessed by your future generations . . .  I"m going to be with you, and I"m going to watch over you wherever you go. But one day I will bring your people back to this land . . .  When Jacob woke up he thought "Surely, the Lord is in this place and I was not even aware of it!" Then he was afraid and said "This place is awesome! It"s the house of God – the gateway to heaven!" So early the next morning, Jacob got up and took the stone he"d used for a pillow and stood it upright as a memorial marker. Then he anointed the stone with oil and named the place Bethel, which means House of God . . . Then Jacob made this vow to God, "If you"ll be with me, I will honor you with my life and I will give back to you a tenth of all that you give to me.""    Genesis 28:11-22  

Action Plan: Listen to Pastor Tom"s DriveTime Devotions for Genesis 28.Click hereto listen (you may need to push play for the audio to start).

THE STRUGGLE: 4 PHASES GOD TAKES
US THROUGH TO GET US READY FOR HIS DREAM!
Genesis 32

1. THE CRISIS PHASE:

I STRUGGLE WITH GOD AND OTHERS
"That night Jacob sent his family across the Jabbok river.Then Jacob was left all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with Jacob all night."  Genesis 32:22-25(NLT)

"Before Jacob was born, he struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God."  Hosea 12:3(NLT)

2. THE COMMITMENT PHASE:

GOD TESTS MY FAITH IN HIS PROMISE TO BLESS ME
"Jacob wrestledwith this Man until dawn. When the man saw that he couldn't win the match, he struck Jacob's hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket.Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is dawn!" But Jacob panted, "I won"t let you go unless you bless me!""  Genesis 32:24b-26

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."     Galatians 6:9(NIV)

3.   THE CONFESSION PHASE:

I ADMIT THAT I AM MY BIGGEST PROBLEM
"The man asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is JACOB," he answered.""  Genesis 32:27(NIV)

Jacob = original: "deceiver/manipulator"

4.   THE CONVERSION PHASE:

GOD GIVES ME A NEW IDENTITY AND DREAM
"Then the Man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob. Instead you will be called ISRAEL . . . Then God blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God    face to face . . ."" Genesis 32:28-30(NIV)

Israel = "Prince with God"

"The sun rose as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip." Genesis 32:31(NLT)

"If anyone belongs to Christ, they are a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new!"2 Cor. 5:17(NCV)

Action Plan:  Take a piece of paper and create four columns and title the columns Crisis, Commitment, Confession, Conversion.  Write down your current struggle with God.  Next to it, write down how you see God testing you, what pain you are experiencing.  Next, write down your prayer admitting you are the problem.  The fourth column may not have been answered yet, so don"t complete it if you can"t, but make a note to come back to it.

HOMEWORK FORTHIS WEEK:TIME TO DREAM

      1. Read the devotional inOPEN DOORS for March 1-7

      2. In your Small Group watch & discuss video lesson 3
                    The 3rd Open Door: The Door To Greatness

       3. Pray for everyone else participating in our church family

      4.  Memorize 2 Corinthians 5:17
          "If anyone belongs to Christ, they are a new creation!"

Doable Discipleship: This week"s Doable Discipleship Rewind continues a Bible Study Crash Course. New episodes release every Tuesday. To listen, click here.

Talk It Over: Have you ever discussed the weekend message in your small group? Talk It Over provides weekly small group discussion questions as a way to bring the weekend message into your small group. To view this week's Talk It Over, click here